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Google Releases Customized IE 7

narramissic writes "Google has released a customized version of Internet Explorer 7 that uses Google as the default search engine and provides users with the Google Toolbar and a Google homepage they can personalize. Perhaps not exactly what Microsoft intended when they released the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, which allows developers to customize IE."

48 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. They're not the first, are they? by JeremyBanks · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:They're not the first, are they? by Chrismith · · Score: 5, Informative
      Not only did Yahoo do this first, but when Google first released their version, they blatantly ripped off Yahoo's page.

      If you look closely at the pictures, you can even see where they blurred out the "Y!" logo in the IE7 screenshot.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Google supporter, but someone dropped the ball on this. (It's since been fixed.)

    2. Re:They're not the first, are they? by Varun+Soundararajan · · Score: 2, Informative

      I m expecting our google fan boys to come out commenting, saying the Google IE7 is far better than the Yahoo one!!... Obligatory Disclosure:(I m also a google fanboy.. :-))

    3. Re:They're not the first, are they? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 2, Informative

      Doesn't look the same anymore... http://www.google.com/toolbar/ie7/

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    4. Re:They're not the first, are they? by t0tAl_mElTd0wN · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Friend of mine made this image - http://www.notsorandom.com/y-g.png. It shows the color difference between the two pages when overlayed. Note - Black pixels signify the exact same color.

      I'm sorry Google... I love you and all... but this is just low. Not only ripping off the layout, they copied the entire page itself...

    5. Re:They're not the first, are they? by t0tAl_mElTd0wN · · Score: 2, Informative
      Sorry. From that same blog entry ( http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/008122.htm l )

      Seriously, click those images and look at the full-sized versions. They're remarkably similar. And I've checked with our PR group to make sure that this wasn't just a template that Microsoft gave to all partners. It's not.

      Second to last paragraph before the Update:
    6. Re:They're not the first, are they? by paganizer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Just finished installing it on my only computer that will run it; the two search bars sort of freaked me out.
      First impression: it's a skinned firefox
      2nd impression: you can't seem to move the tool bars to a better position; I can't help but think this is possible, but it's not obvious.
      3rd impression: They moved things, like standard windows file/edit stuff, to buttons. why? just to show a difference from IE6? it's not easier, and EVERY FLIPPIN' microsoft user knows how to do things that way.
      final thoughts: kinda neat, will still use firefox/seamonkey by default.

      --
      Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
    7. Re:They're not the first, are they? by Simon+Donkers · · Score: 5, Informative

      Google noticed the fuss everywhere and has since then changed the page. A very interesting post about this is made by Matt Cutts (Google employee) on his private blog explaining how annoying it is if somebody steals your layout. Very interesting read.
      http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/ie7-promo-page/

    8. Re:They're not the first, are they? by Jugalator · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, the toolbars in IE 7 can't be moved around, as funny as it may sound.

      You can "unlock" the toolbars to resize one of them, but it seems MS didn't listen to all the complaints that were raised about this during the betas.

      I don't really understand the logic behind radically changing the UI and at the same time remove customization.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    9. Re:They're not the first, are they? by gbjbaanb · · Score: 4, Informative
      Yes, I was really pissed off that the time-honoured menu bar was removed for the sake of it. MS seems to be moving away from menus. Anyway, the good old menu can be restored - but once you do, you'll see its always underneath the toolbar (sigh). Fortunately, this registry key will put it back init s rightful position: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser " set the value "ITBar7Position" to a dwrord 1 and its back as you'd want it.

      To turn the menu bar on in the first place - go to the tools menu/button and select 'menu bar'

      (or put this in notepad, save as a reg file and then click it)

      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser]
      "ITBar7Position"=dword:00000001
    10. Re:They're not the first, are they? by strider44 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually, I believe the argument was something like "We apologise for ripping off the page and have fixed this, but to Yahoo, please don't be such a hypocritical holier than thou arsehole when you've been consistantly ripping off our pages." For the record, I believe that ripping off the ad look is a lot worse than what's really is a simple and definitely minor page that would have taken half an hour (being conservative) to build. The ads are something that Google pretty much bases their entire business on.

  2. HAHA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    MS pwned by their own system. Nice! FP :D

  3. not exactly what Microsoft intended? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    >Perhaps not exactly what Microsoft intended when they released the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, which allows developers to customize IE.

    Bullshit. Perhaps EXACTLY what Microsoft intended to help keep those pesky anti-trust lawsuits away.

    1. Re:not exactly what Microsoft intended? by empaler · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hell, forget about the lawsuits. They're just happy to see their browser being leveraged by other sites than their own.
      Bill: OMG, Steve! Google is redistributing our browser with a slight smear on the top with their logo! Whatever shall we do!?
      Steve: Send in the flying monkeys?

  4. But... by TubeSteak · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What about http://www.google.com/firefox

    Did Google ever pick a side in the browser wars?

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
    1. Re:But... by NineNine · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Did Google ever pick a side in the browser wars?

      Smart businesspeople would never call it a "war" or choose to pick sides. Just support the big ones, whatever they are. The customers are important. Google could care less what browser their customers use. Only geeks care about "the browser war".

    2. Re:But... by alshithead · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Google only cares that your browser supports their site. As long as the browser functionality supports all Google options, they are happy.

      --
      I reserve the right to think for myself. Others' opinions are optional. Puppy on lap = typos...not illiteracy.
    3. Re:But... by Tetravus · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Only geeks care about "the browser war".

      Well, geeks and people who have to design two or three different implementations of a web page so it will show up correctly for all visitors. Oh, and the people who have to pay those developers who are now putting in overtime... and the content authors whose work is framed by the pages that the developers make (and want to appear equally professional to all visitors)... and maybe the investors in the company that hired the developers who want to get to IPO and get their money out as soon as possible.

      But yeah, mostly just geeks care about that stuff ;-)

    4. Re:But... by Killer+Koala · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Then why is Google running Firefox's Phishing Filter for Firefox 2.0 and greater? Google has already picked a side...they chose Firefox.

  5. Hmm... by locokamil · · Score: 2

    The term "pwned" comes to mind.

    That's my first reaction. Second reaction is... shouldn't Google be pushing anything but Internet Explorer to its customers? A certain browser named after a certain bushy animal comes to mind.

    1. Re:Hmm... by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 3, Funny

      Google seems to be trying to put it's name on anything and everything, FireFox, IE, Dell (far as I've seen all new Dell's come with Google Toolbar and IE Google Toolbar pre-installed...and it freezes the computer if you remove one...).

      I'm just waiting for the Google burger at McDonalds, or the Google Sub, or the Google car...

      --
      There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
    2. Re:Hmm... by bensafrickingenius · · Score: 3, Funny

      "A certain browser named after a certain bushy animal comes to mind"

      I don't think gopher was technically a browser...

      --
      I am not left-handed, either!
    3. Re:Hmm... by dheera · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You ought to be at a university. Students at my school use Google speakers. I have 13 Google T-Shirts myself. There are Google whistles, Google flashlights, Google notebooks. I have a friend with a Google lava lamp, too. All of the above given for free by Google. You'd be surprised what kinds of things they give away in the academic domain to try to recruit people and advertise. Personally I think it's a great company, but Google software certainly isn't the limit :)

    4. Re:Hmm... by CCFreak2K · · Score: 2, Funny

      A certain browser named after a certain bushy animal comes to mind.

      Oh, you mean this thing?

      --
      "Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."
  6. Re:just think... by mingot · · Score: 3, Informative

    Doesn't seem like they really want to take them to court.

    From TFA:

    ieblog

  7. this version? by arazor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Does it still check for a ummm "proper" Windows XP?

  8. Re:Perhaps not exactly... by zifn4b · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There certainly has been an admin kit for prior versions, at least for IE6 anyway. Not sure why this hasn't been thought of before.

    http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/ie/re skit/6/default.mspx?mfr=true/
    --
    We'll make great pets
  9. #1 thing that is good about Google by dheera · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The #1 thing that has kept me liking Google is their lack of using force as a way to get consumers to adopt their products. Microsoft and AOL are very aggressive in promoting their products and try to shape their users' habits to their profit rather than catering to consumer needs to gain profit. Google, on the other hand, just comes out with wild stuff that is just so good that people flock to it. Gmail blew away Hotmail and Yahoo for a little while with the 1-gigabyte of storage space. Google maps with the Flash-based interface was just awesome. Nothing was ever forced on me. I use Google's products only because I want to.

    I don't use Microsoft's products because I want to. I use them (on occasion) because I'm forced to by the standards of others (Word documents, argh) that Microsoft has carefully crafted. I don't have to use Google maps or Froogle or anything at work. But if it's the best out there, I use it!

    I sincerely hope that this does not change. Preinstalling Google toolbar on computers is a little pushing it, in my opinion.

    1. Re:#1 thing that is good about Google by SuperStretchy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Exactly! Throw in GMail drive extension (watch the ToS for GMail!), google calendar, google earth (blew my 75 year old grandfather's mind), etc...

      I don't have google toolbar though.. Nor any toolbar for that matter.

      People love it for its free-ness, clean ui, and lack of intrusiveness (with the exception of google desktop- which basically just destroys the point I was trying to make...)

    2. Re:#1 thing that is good about Google by diskofish · · Score: 3, Informative

      Correction: Google maps is NOT Flash based. Yahoo! Maps is Flash based and Google maps uses Ajax.

    3. Re:#1 thing that is good about Google by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 2, Informative
      I have removed Google toolbar multiple times from each one. When asked, nobody remembers wanting to install it.

      I distinctly remember seeing the Google toolbar included in places like Shockware, and every time, there was an option to install it or not. Just because the user reflexively clicks next-next-next without ever reading or looking at "custom" options doesn't mean they weren't given a choice.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  10. This is news? by MeanMF · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah I'm sure the Microsoft folks will be devastated if a lot of people download and use their software....

  11. Isnt this exactly what Microsoft intended.... by slashnar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is everyone here this dumb?? This is exactly what was intended when the Administration kit was made. Microsoft would want everyone out there(Amazon, eBay, Apple for gods sakes) to be pushing out a customized version of IE7. Dont u get it??

  12. Not really news... by compupc1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How is this news? The IE has been around for years and years. I remember using it to customize IE 5.5. It may have been around even earlier than that. And as to Microsoft somehow being upset, please look past the knee-jerk reaction and notice that the IE Blog, from Microsoft, actually praises the Google release, and links to their download page. This is what people are SUPPOSED to do with the IEAK. The article is really trying to make a big deal about something that's not...

    --
    -James
  13. Re:And of course... by RealGrouchy · · Score: 2, Informative
    Can you say plagiarism?

    Yes I can, but I only do so when I have sufficient evidence to believe it happened.

    While Yahoo's page may predate Google's page, could it be the case that both came from a template provided by Microsoft in the IE Admin Kit?

    If so, then neither is plagiarising, they are simply implementing a tool which they rightfully may.

    - RG>
    --
    Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
  14. Been doing this for years by DeadboltX · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Does no one remember all the branded versions of IE 5.5?
    Comcast had one, SBC DSL had one, I'm sure there were hundreds.

    I don't see why Microsoft would get upset at this; this is why they released the kit in the first place.
    A company is more likely to distribute a browser if they can brand it and what does Microsoft want? You got it, more people using IE7.
    Only a select few morons are going to mistake a Google branded IE7 as "Google's internet browser". Everyone else will continue to know that it is Microsoft's Internet Explorer but Google is happy to get its name in all the places it can.

  15. you missed it by kahrytan · · Score: 3, Insightful


      You people missed the point of Google doing this. I am sure Google still fully supports Firefox movement.

    Google released a customized IE7 for the sake of brand recognition. And it really doesn't help Microsoft either. It just gives MS bragging rights and no profit. This customized version of IE7 will get people using Google homepage and search engine. Which in return will boost revenue for Google. And with that boost, it will support Google's efforts in the Google Foundation and open source applications with the higher revenue.

    In the end, It is a win-win for the open source community. And a loosing situation for Microsoft. No one uses their precious Windows Live or MSN search. A small loss in revenue for Microsoft.

    --
    \
  16. Re:Activation? by Arctic+Dragon · · Score: 5, Informative

    My IE7 Program File directory is 2.57MB, but since installing it required two reboots, I imagine that additional files are scattered all over the place.

    A couple of months ago, I did some quick testing to see which browser uses the most RAM. I checked the RAM usage right after starting the browser with a blank page, and again after opening a total of 3 tabs (of course, YMMV):

    Mozilla Firefox 2.0 (default theme, no extensions)
    blank page: 20MB
    3 open tabs: 31MB

    Mozilla Firefox trunk build (default theme, no extensions)
    blank page: 20MB
    3 open tabs: 30MB

    Mozilla SeaMonkey 1.1A
    blank page: 17MB
    3 open tabs: 28MB

    K-Meleon 1.02
    blank page: 15MB
    3 open tabs: 24MB

    Internet Explorer 6.0SP2
    blank page: 11MB

    Internet Explorer 7.0
    blank page: 17MB
    3 open tabs: 35MB

    Opera 9.02
    blank page: 14MB
    3 open tabs: 24MB

  17. Yahoo = Evil, Google = Good? by TooManyNames · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why is it that when this same story came out for Yahoo, everyone declared that Yahoo was "pushing IE7 on Firefox users?" People were even claiming that Yahoo was trying to leverage monopolistic practices. Now that Google has done exactly the same thing, people are claiming that this somehow diminishes Microsoft's original intentions (though I don't understand how having a popular search engine endorse your web browser would be a bad thing). How is Google's decision to use this strategy any different from Yahoo's? I'm just curious to know what sort of BS /. will provide in order to prove how Google's plan is so different and ethically superior to Yahoo's.

    --
    "Is not a sentence" is not a sentence. Well damn.
  18. Re:So Much For "Do No Evil" by Acid-Duck · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Although I don't usually agree with trying to pressure a monopoly on people, Google is the tweaker behind this customized IE which was created especially for the purpose of using Google services on an IE platform. Nothing wrong with what they did, if someone doesn't want to be forced using Google as a search engine then just use the standard IE that comes with every copy of Windows instead of downloading Google's customized version.

  19. Just to clarify... by cyberwench · · Score: 3, Informative

    Mute = myoot. As in unable to speak.

    Moot = moot. Little practical value or meaning.

    It's one of those things like "another words" / "in other words".

    --
    ~ Leilah
    1. Re:Just to clarify... by SpectreHiro · · Score: 2, Informative

      **Off-topic warning**

      Language Log coined a term to refer to this type of (near) sound-alike -- Eggcorns. Every now and again, LL talks about new eggcorns they've discovered in the wild. Most of the time, these things are pretty entertaining in a "giggling at people's linguistic foibles" sort of way (foibles that we're all guilty of at some point, I should add). There's also a website dedicated to cataloging them locate here.

      --
      You can't win, Darth. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
  20. Re:Activation? by csplinter · · Score: 2, Informative

    Thats intresting but, it's an apples to oranges comparison with IE compared to other browsers. IE is so fused together with Windows that you can't tell were Windows starts and IE stops. Maybe 10% of IE is tangled up in other Windows processes, maybe 50%, theres no telling how much is being offloaded.

  21. Actually, it's EXACTLY what was intended. by PixieDust · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Must be a really slow news day.

    From Microsoft's Page regarding Advantages for Content Providers .

    To customize Internet Explorer, you can add your organization's name or other wording to the title bar. For example, the phrase "Windows Internet Explorer Provided by Proseware, Inc." could appear on your title bar.
    You can preset the following Web pages and links:
    Customer support page
    Users' home page
    Users' search providers

    So no, it's EXACTLY what Microsoft intended. And the very fact that it's being offered by Google is actually a boon to Microsoft. They may be competitors in some areas, but this has obvious benefits for both.

  22. Missing option by quakehead3 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Optimized for Slashdot"

  23. Re:Activation? by SnprBoB86 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is an extremely unscientific measurement.

    1) The order in which you perform this test could influence which DLLs are loaded in which processes
    2) Some applications may allocate memory in chunks or do other funky memory management
    3) Which pages were used? Was it the same for each browser?
    4) Do these pages include Flash, Java, or similar content which may indicate fault of plug-in rather than browser
    5) prob a million more, it's late, I'm tired

    --
    http://brandonbloom.name
  24. It's *exactly* what Microsoft intended by joeykiller · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Perhaps not exactly what Microsoft intended when they released the Internet Explorer Administration Kit
    I'd say it is the other way around. This is exactly what Microsoft intended: Let companies and users make and distribute customized versions of Explorer, and by doing this help Microsoft regain market share. The fact that two out of the top ten internet sites now does this, must be great for the IE team (if not for the Windows Live Search team).
  25. Re:And of course... by RealGrouchy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ah, it's so much easier for me to speculate blindly and let someone correct me than to actually do the research.

    Thanks.

    - RG>

    --
    Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!