Internet Explorer about information.
Internet Explorer about information.

Ok, I must admit it, I started late. I only tried IE7 (Internet Explorer 7) Beta 2, skipping any of the previous editions. I use to be more active, but I guess aging makes you more patient about certain things.

First impression, a flat, single file to download 11Mb. This is surprising low for any version of Internet Explorer.

Installation is very classical, and as you’d guess with a Microsoft product, you need to reboot at the end.

Text test in Internet Explorer.
Text test in Internet Explorer.

What I like best on IE7.

  • The close icon is directly on the tab. I find it sometimes disturbing on Firefox to click on the complete right side of the bar.
  • There is something about the font rendering that makes it nicer and more pleasant to read online.

What I dislike about IE7.

  • You should first go to google.com and make IE7’s search feature to default to Google.
  • Security seems the new big focus; however, I must admit that the Manage Add-ons is a little confusing especially as Microsoft has programs like “MUWebControl Class” which are not really self explanatory.
  • After changing some settings in the Add-ons manager, the message was “You might have to restart Internet Explorer”. It’s either you must restart it or not. It might sound confusing.
Text test in Firefox.
Text test in Firefox.

What I like best on Firefox.

  • Firefox is about 5Mb (vs. 11Mb) to download.
  • No need to reboot after installation.
  • Google is the default search engine.
  • The search via Ctrl-F that displays this small search bar.
  • Funnily enough, starting a new tab is also Ctrl+T and can be done by clicking on the smaller tab on the right side.

Printing from the browser has always be, for me, something I really cared about and I must admit that Firefox made things great. IE7 small consolidated menu items are great for essential features, including access to the printer. It seems to be printing in a nicer way that it used to. Thus I really like Firefox printing capabilities, especially when I want to print Dinosaur pictures from the Internet (for my son): zooming, displaying only the image, etc.

IE7 also seems faster and more responsive than any of the previous version of Internet Explorer.

Finally, I had a few rendering issues with some sites, but nothing crucial and I am pretty sure they will be solved in a near future.

Will I switch? Too soon to tell but the future looks interesting.