Microsoft has made the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Internet Explorer 7 available for consumers to download free of charge at www.microsoft.com/ie. The previous beta releases of IE 7 have been quite stable, and this version has so far proved stable as well, from the use of it I’d had in the past 36 or so hours.
I’ve noticed that I’m still not a huge fan. The trusty toolbar that groups the ‘back, forward, stop, refresh etc’ buttons has been split in half with IE7, and there are just other things I’m simply not used to and which aren’t impressing me – certainly nowhere near as much as ‘Windows Live Writer’ has impressed me and just about everyone else! Indeed I’m using it regularly now for every blog post.
So, while IE7 now has tabbed browsing (which lets you open several web pages and select which one to view from a menu of ‘tabs’ in a single browser screen, instead of having to open multiple and separate browser windows as you can see in the image above), and a range of other nifty features, it doesn’t duplicate the features I’m used to with the free Maxthon browser www.maxthon.com - my favourite browser for some time now and one I’d like to see upgraded itself. In case you’re wondering, this picture above is not of IE7 – it’s of Maxthon. Even the way they do tabs and let you save them as groups, along with the amazingly useful ‘undo’ button for sites you closed by accident is stuff that Microsoft hasn’t seen fit to copy. Why not?! Maxthon does ask for a voluntary donation when the first time you start using it in a box that you can stop from popping up again. It’s obviously not compulsory, and I haven’t done this yet myself, but I’m thinking that as a long term user who likes their product, I may do it to encourage them further!
Many people are also big fans of Firefox www.getfirefox.com, with its own Version 2 due soon, and its many downloadable plugins. Also a free download, it’s been a much bigger success than Maxthon in terms of market share and media publicity, so they’re doing something right over there, and I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements Version 2 will offer.
We also can’t forget Opera’s latest Version 9 browser – it’s now free as well, and the latest version is very polished and competent. It’s also the browser that will be loaded onto Nintendo’s Wii games console, and is used on many mobile phones around the world. You can even download a version for your Pocket PC and enjoy tabbed browsing and other features, although from memory that is a paid download. Visit www.opera.com for more info.
You’ll get used to IE7 fairly quickly if you’re an existing IE6 user - but it will take a little time. The interface is quite different, even though it essentially looks the same, but it does bring extra benefits, especially if you’re not already using a different browser and are still stuck with IE6.
Check it out on a friend’s machine first if you want to see it in action before you install it on your computer and remove IE6 completely. And if you do install IE7, but want that familiar IE6 style interface back… with even more cool stuff than IE7 – give Maxthon a go! www.maxthon.com
Hi, I am glad that you like Maxthon! Please feel free to send ideas of how we can improve it and make it better.
IE7 Strikes Back?? More like IE7 plays catch-up! Doesn’t sound like there’s anything in IE7 that isn’t already available in Firefox 1.5 (+ extensions), – no need to wait for Firefox 2.0. The problem with using Maxathon (or any other browser that sits over IR) is that you still have all the underlying security bugs that go with IE. Better to switch to a more secure brower, either Opera or Firefox.