I'm Guessing

USA

IT Manager

Welcome to the next round of the browser wars. Microsoft just released Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2. Another day, another under-whelming product from the minds at Microsoft. I know I wonder constantly, "what the heck are they thinking?".

Internet Explorer is another reactive (as opposed to proactive) move by Microsoft brought about solely because another company is threatening part of their monopoly. Is there any doubt that IE7 was a knee jerk reaction to Mozilla's Firefox & Opera's web browsers stealing significant market share?

Because they are constantly in reactive mode these days, the results are very predictable. Microsoft's latest reincarnation of Internet Explorer catches up to Firefox & Opera on some features, falls short on others, and in general offers nothing that the others don't. And let's not forget that Firefox 2 is scheduled for release shortly and that Firefox 3 is already under development.

Here are some random snippets on the web regarding IE7.

IE 7 is an attempt by Microsoft to catch rival browsers as it includes features that have long been seen in competitors such as Firefox and Opera.

Internet Explorer 7 is a solid upgrade, but it's disappointing that after five years, the best Microsoft could do was to mostly catch up to smaller competitors.

IE 7 was Microsoft's one chance to leapfrog ahead of the competition, but the company has only barely caught sight of the current front-runners. For more features and greater security, switch to Mozilla Firefox.

I did find one website that referred to IE7 as a "Radically new Internet Explorer". Compared to IE6, definitely. Compared to Firefox or Opera, hardly. And considering IE6's track record, how hard was it to be "radically different"? I own a Toyota, which is radically different than the domestic vehicles I've owned in the past. Toyota, Firefox/Opera. Domestic, Microsoft.

The choice is yours. You can enable Microsoft to keep dumping average software on us, or you can vote with your hard earned mind share. Let me know what you think.