IE7 beta: reviewed — Jason Preston

[Image: IE7]As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been using Internet Explorer 7 (almost) exclusively since the 10th, so I figure it’s about time to post my thoughts on the new browser:

It’s really impressive.

Coming from Firefox, which was built with functionality in mind, the first thing I noticed was how much prettier IE7 looks. Fortunately, it’s more than just pretty.

IE7 comes with a few killer features that, with a minor exception, are probably familiar to anyone who uses Firefox. In fact, a lot of the functionality built in is directly compatible to Firefox (think ctrl+click to open in new tab) and made switching over extremely easy.

My favorite additions (aside from tabs, which isn’t really anything special anymore) are the built-in RSS reader and the quick-tabs function.

The built-in RSS reader is simple to use, integrated well with the broswer (ctrl+j brings up the sidebar) and is lighting-fast. The speed is the real kicker here, because it kicks any Firefox plugin’s ass at drawing up content. My guess is that most FF plugins redirect the feeds through their servers, whereas IE7 probably just pings the feed.

Quick-tabs is a really cool function, especially since I tend to browse with 7+ tabs open at once, that allows you to get an expose-like view of all your open tabs, letting you click on the thumbnail you’d like to go to.

Other than that, there are a few things missing - I don’t get control over how javascript links open (tab, new window, etc.) and I don’t have access to the unbelievable scope of plugins that Firefox allows me to use, but I’m sure these types of things will become available when IE7 hits public release. There’s an option in the tools menu for adding “add-ons,” which I suspect will be similar to FF extensions.

But the bottom line is that I’m really impressed with IE7. It’s unfortunate though that it reads like a prettier Firefox with a better RSS system. Either way, it will make a big difference when it’s officially released, because it will bring this type of browsing to the other 80% of computer users who currently use IE.