search marketing blog: ambergreen

Just as Firefox is poised to launch the latest version of its open source browser, version 2.0, Microsoft has jumped in there and released IE 7, the first update to its browser in five years. strange to think that it has taken this long for a major update to take place given the pace that developments occur online these days, but the question is has it been worth the wait?

Well, not is Danny Sullivan’s recent experience is anything to go by; he spent hours trying to get his computer back to normal after either IE7 or its system updates killed his entire system. Not exactly a good first impression.

The new version of the Microsoft browser has seen the interface streamlined, anti-phising defences added, and a range of new tabs designed to compete with the growing popularity of the thorn in its side, the increasingly popular Firefox. Take a tour of the new system here.

One of the new features is an automatic RSS reader which sits on the toolbar. This could have important implications for clients still trailing their feet when it comes to pushing news out to customers, especially when you consider that Microsoft has taken the decision to push the update out to all users who have automatic updates enabled. Although they can reject the update and carry on using their current version, how many non-savvy users will?

In his blog Matt Cutts reviewed the new Firefox update, but was too scared to try out IE7 in light of Danny’s experience. By all accounts he was pretty pleased with the new version, and Robert Scoble has noticed that some sites seem to run a little slower on IE7, with Firefox being muchg faster than the Microosft browser. Only time and in house testing will tell.

Posted in Browsers |