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IE 7.0 Beta 2 Available to the Public
spyrochaete writes "Microsoft has just made available their latest beta preview build of their Internet Explorer 7.0 web browser. New features such as tabbed browsing and RSS subscription are summarized in an animated tour. MS welcomes feedback at the Internet Explorer 7 newsgroup." There's also a Channel 9 interview available, as well as commentary on the IEBlog. Update: 01/31 19:58 GMT by Z : prostoalex wrote in with a link to a review of the release at PC Magazine.
Microsoft cannot survive developing new features at its current pace. 5 years between releases for SQL server and and 3 years for most other applications is too much. We haven't had a new IE since 2001. Meanwhile, new versions of the competing open source solutions are being released every year, sometimes more often, with tons of new features. At this rate, in 10 years, MS software will have a quarter of the features of the competing open source products.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
It's not the number of features that's important; it's whether you implement the important ones well.
This is the first beta with the rendering engine changes in (CSS fixes, HTML improvements, PNG alpha channel support, etc). And it would be a bit late for web developers to check for compatibility and report bugs after the thing has been released, wouldn't it? No, this is the right time for Slashdot to report this.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
They didn't need a new IE until Firefox started creating bona fide competition.
No sig for you!
Noone spits on Apple for doing it. Not trying to flame, trying to make a point.
space is pretty cool.
I don't mean to defend MS, but I don't think the differentiators are the frequency of the releases, or the additional features.
If a product is well designed and build you don't need frequent releases. In regards to features, most people don't want to do many things with a browser except view web pages, and it a browser does that good and creates a pleasant experience users don't care about features they wouldn't use anyway.
Take the example of the iPod: there are plenty of players out there with a ton more features and available for a lower price. But none of them come even close in market share. Features don't win the hearts of consumers.
These things are fixed:
Which basically begs the question, "Will IE ever 100% support any standard?" Sadly, the answer is probably not. IE doesn't even fully support HTML 3.2.
It's easier to develop for browsers that follow the w3c dom/html/css standards. IE6 has a number of weird bugs that make it a pain.
I think MS is more concerned that corporate intranets might start developing for FF rather than IE6, than any perception among the general public that IE6 a poor quality product.
Are there any extra features? Their handling of RSS is more user friendly (when you click into an XML page), but I don't see live bookmarks. There are still no mouse gestures, ctl-L still pops up a window, no AdBlock... It's like catching up with an ex-girlfriend who's finally learned to play video games, then finding out she's gained 200 pounds and a beard. You can keep her.