IE7 for XP to Arrive as High Priority Automatic Update

Excellent!!

I'm not on the fence; I don't want it. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I have simply grown very comfortable with Firefox.

I'm glad MS is still leaving it as a choice. Otherwise I might have to go out to Redmon, set fire to 40,000 foxes and turn them loose on the MS campus! (just kidding for those who have connections to the ASPCA)

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Ha HA Ha!!

It is so funny to me that the entire program has been deemed a big enough security risk for MS itself to call it's successor a "High Priority Upgrade." That of course means, "We *#(% this one up so badly that we suggest every single person using it switch to something else."

It's only going to be a choice for now. It might take six months or it might take two years, but IE6's days are numbered.

I accept MSIE 7 as a High Priority Update because MSIE 6 SP1 has too many security breaches.

Wow, i was right...i actually mentioned that possibility some time ago in one of the Firefox vs IE blogs here...didn't expect them to actually go through with it...here's the thing though...by doing it this way, MS is actually implying that a PATCHED COPY of IE6 is STILL a security risk!!!...even after the deluge of updates and patches!...right now i'm using FF and Opera as usual, but i downloaded IE7 beta3 just to take advantage of its antiphishing capabilities...it's not a bad browser but it's not better than FF1.5...this move also, by the way, gives MS the perfect excuse not to offer patches for IE6 any further than the release date for IE7. It would be, in essence, the final patch for IE6...but what about me? i'm using IE7 beta 3..surely, i'm not in the SAME risk category as IE6 users! so shouldn't the update for IE7 beta users be placed in the optional updates as usual? how can updating a beta to full release be considered 'critical'?

IE 7 is the patch for IE 6 but don't expected it to be patch free

Amazing to listen to all of the Pro FireFox people. You would think that FireFox never has had any problems or patches. They also tend to forget that the initial development took years when it was originally Netscape based code and designers.
I like FireFox as well but many give it FAR too much credit.

What do they mean by: all "GENUINE" xp customers should upgrade?

what about us not-so-genuine users? will it report our IP addresses, or it this just malarkey?

Anyone here know when FF2 will be released?

Anyone here know when FF2 will be released?

Yes tcsgreg, FF has had it's share of problems, but in the world of software some problems are bigger than others...right now there's even a trojan going around that's piggy-backing on a certain FF extension...it's clear there's no such thing as a totally secure exploit-free browser..that said, there IS such a thing as a MORE secure browser...that subset doesn't include IE6...the fact is you can take 10 years to write code for a browser and still come up with swiss cheese for a browser, especially when you pile insecure code on top of itself as has happened during IE6 development...that's because you only get a secure browser when you actually create your code with security in mind...and that's the difference between MS products and the competition...MS has, until now, never given any thought to anything other than functionality, and security went out the window(s) as a result...now the tide has turned and they are finally beginning to get their approach right...that's why i expect both Vista and IE7 to be much more secure than their predecesors...IE7 will still need patching, as all software does, but because of the approach used, patching requirements will be much less than for the hackers' playground otherwise known as IE6..let's face it, finding security flaws in FF is like finding a needle in a haystack...IE6 is like a damn easter egg hunt!

i've been using the beta version of IE7 for quite a while and besides the security considerations, i must say it's a much improved browser compared with IE6. does it matter that some features (eg tabbed pages) were copied from firefox and opera? i like it

Opera rulez!

I will probably give IE7 a try, but I think I will stick with FireFox or even Opera as my primary browser. When MS crushed the Netscape browser they stop development on IE. It was only when FireFox came along and started taking away their market share that MS started development on IE7. I'd hate to see history repeat itself here.

Hasn't anyone tried Maxthon??Its a very srong machine. But I will add IE 7 as soon as it comes out .

'Clicking "Ask Me Later" will produce the upgrade advisory later.'

Like every 15 minutes until you finally give in? There's no way. We all know IE7 won't work right until it gets a service pack 1.

Not one to rip another browser but I have gotten so used to Firefox its hard to go back to IE. Main reason for me is tabbed browsing. FF wins hands down. Tabbed browsing in IE is not good for my use. I did try IE7 and did not see any great improvement. Looked and felt like IE6 with addons.

But I guess at some point I will have to upgrade IE. For those who say IE7 is a patched IE6 well you can say that for any software that is upgraded. When FF2 is released it too will be a patched 1.5 if you get the drift

Free is always good. Upgrades and fixes are part of life just as people using software they didn't pay for. Firefox is not for me, it lacks some features. Maybe it has gotten better, but many are comfortable with Microsoft products.
Yes they are too big, and move too slow.

As the Creative Design Manager for a conglomerate of 8 companies, I'm not thrilled by the changes. Never found much use for tabbed pages. But it's better than having our members use Firefox, simply because 60% of the calls that come in for support are people that are using Firefox.

There are a number of technologies that Firefox does not integrate with that are used by e-commerce and web sites. In our case - we use ASP.NET and SQL to dynamically create replicated web pages and a back office for our members. Anyone using Firefox has been unable to access the utilities and such that are created dynamically.

Same problem pops up to a small degree with Opera and AOL.

For now - I will recommend people stick to their IE browsers.

It's free, it's promised to be better so why complain?

I've got to wonder if the posters here who have issues with Firefox are confusing bad content with bad browsers. My experience with Firefox is that it doesn't always display sites that were written for IE. That's because IE (at least through 6, I haven't looked at 7) is much poorer at implementing W3C standards than Firefox is. I personally get frustrated when IE cannot properly render a fully W3C compliant page properly (e.g., IE 6 uses white as the background for transparent backgrounds on graphics. The page background should be displayed.)

We only use IE to access sites that won't work with FF (like the offsite office email) and, of course, MS sites. Makes sense that it would be a high priority update though--if there is a new (theoretically more secure) version available why would you (want to) keep using IE6? Certainly not because it's a great user experience. IE won't go away for Windows users but doesn't it make sense to use the best IE available when you have to use it at all?

Those using IE betas have previously had to uninstall an older version before installing a newer one. Will those using IE7 beta 3 have to uninstall it before installing the "release" version, or will automatic update take care of this? Thanks.

IE 7c is much better than all the ie versions but still i dont feel like using ie becoz of ad's and still ie cant trust look at memory usage opera is awesome with windows memory management also it dose have bowser sessions, all the way around opera and firefox rockz firefoz 2 even got spelling chk and phishinf filter also live bookmarks for rss is kool
as a summery IE 7c got many good things technicaly not so bad hope it will protect nromal users from evil internet marketing stuff.

WPA cracks are almost everywhere and hackers has been able to skip licence check.
firefox beta1 is avilable to download

Anyone else smell a rat? I don't think they're pushing this out as a security update (since when is a .0 version more bug-free than the previous .x version?). I think they're pushing it out to stem the flow of users from IE to Firefox.

I fail to comprehend why so many simply love to hate microsoft when all their effort go towards making your life simpler.

Both IE and FF are software -and they will have defects. No matter how they are deveeloped, they will have the same issues. One way or the other.
Information Technlogy has reaced a level where innovation is at a turtle's pace actually.

Every company has to pitch in some way to make people use their products.. Who does not? I have been using firefox and IE for a long time now, both are strife with defects. I come from a school tat teache me to to set myself right before I judge another.

These are not demons - just people behind a product who wants you to have a better product and in turn make their life better.

I use both, IE is more mature, it is prone to attacks because it has a larger user base. It would be the same situation for firefox it it were leading.

I think people nowadays are judging too quickly or lean towards an opinion too quickly. We should develop a more mature community which will look at BOTH sides of the coin critically. It will help the community in general in the long run. Constructive feedback will egt you things that you never thought of.

I do not understand what is there to laugh about when IE or FF forthat matter coems with a new product which says - " I have heard your issues -here is a new one that sincerely attempts to put you at ease"

My 2 cents

Grow up folks!!

To all posters out there, do all of us a favor and preview your comments before you post them and make sure what you wrote is actually what you meant to say and makes sense.

Have we wait until SP2 for IE7 avaiable? Couple months later, we will see some "holes" in it.

Obviously many people posting have no concept of what is tracked by IE or what we can query in webstats. IE: being what it is was never meant for your benefit. It was Microsofts ammunition against the old Netscape lawsuits (remember the initial windoze update lawsuits?)
IE is crap, IE7 will be crap, but the public will buy it, install it, or use it because the public likes 'the same crap' Hey..if it's simple, then it must be good ;) (..cough* liquidmotion...cough*)

Go back to sleep, but don't complain about the world you wake up in.

I've tried IE 7 - not very impressed.

I'll stick with Opera.

I've tried FF, Netscape, Opera, and IE. The truth is that I've experienced very little problems with video playback, opening pages and playing online games using IE. Every other browser sooner or later asks for a missing plug in, in order to use a feature on some web pages. IE does too, but no where near as often as the rest.

Something else I hate about the "others" is the fact that the are clutter with junk bars, search bars and a whole lot more junk. IE makes it so easy to clear all the junk and to move the bars where and how you like them. The "others" are not so flexible when it comes to arranging the bars and the process of getting rid of some of the clutter is more difficult. With IE you right click on the tool bar and everything is there to customize the bar buttons and to pick the bars you want. I?ve fooled around with the "others" and the process is lengthier, some of the bars can't be removed at all.

I know that tabs are nice and some people are complaining about IE not having tabs, but I get around that by opening a new page for each URL link, if I feel the need. It works just has good as tabbing. In fact, it works better for me because by not having a tab tool bar at the top of the browser, I end up with more viewing space on my screen for viewing the website site contents or whatever it is I?m working on. I sometimes use the full screen function in IE, but I don?t like it because the status bar goes away. I see a lot of people with a lot of tool bars and buttons and they only have a small viewing space left. With opening new windows, if you want to see the title of each window (tabs) then all you have to do is go down to the start tool bar, and bingo, there they are. To open room for the window title in the start tool bar buttons, I moved the bar up a bit. So instead of one line of buttons, I have two lines with more room for the titles in each button. Since it auto hides, it does not affect the viewing space of the screen.

I don?t know why, but I get a feeling of anti Microsoft sentiment from some (not all) of those putting IE down. I personally don't like Microsoft, but when comparing software functionality, ease of use and so on, Microsoft does come on top. Which makes sense since they are the makers of the OS that the browser is running on. For example, everything that I've read regarding browser comparisons, says that IE is faster than the rest.

I think that I will definitely give IE7 a try. Meanwhile, I might give Maxthon a try. I?ve never tried it but it looks good. It may be as fast as IE since is uses the IE platform to operate. Cheerio!

IE7's tabbed pages were *not* "copied from firefox and opera." Truth be known, the latter two copied Booklink Technologies and their "InternetWorks Browser" from 1994. There was another Internet browser which used tabbed pages prior to Opera or Firefox as well, but I can't recall its name at the moment.
Just as the GUI as we know it today originated from DEC and not Apple or Microsoft, anything worth copying will be copied by someone else. That's a good thing as long as the copiers don't take credit for the thing they copied.

Not sure what all the hoopla is about. I've not had a pop up window, virus, intrusion, spyware invasion, unwanted cookie, or even an unsoicited ad... I don;t have virus protection or anti-spyware software installed and its been this way for about three years. If anyones envious.... visit your local Apple Macintosh store.

Two years ago when everyone was gung-ho about tabbed browsing in FF, an MS official dismissed it as some gimmick. He went on to say that browser users don't care about tabbed browsing altogether. 1 year after that, IE7 draft requirements had tabs as the most basic requirement. What does it show, complete disregard for customer. Now they are doing it becasue of loss of market share to FF.

And to someone's comment on some sites not working on FF. Open your eyes. Those sites don't work on FF and Opera because they are not W3C compliant. When you use proprietary and immature technologies like ASP and .NET on something like web, you are asking for trouble.

I downloaded Maxthon last weekend myself and have experienced terrific results. As much as I like Firefox I like Maxthon even better because it is easier to work with and has even easier to use tabbed browsing capacities.