Like the version of IE that Microsoft shipped in XP SP2, IE 7.0 will consist, mostly, of security-oriented features. Obvious of these is the security infrastructure which requires
Will only be included in the Windows Vista version of IE 7. The new features we're going to see in IE 7 were originally going to be available only as part of IE 7 was originally scheduled only for inclusion in Windows Vista (codenamed Here's what we know about IE 7 right now: Unusually tight-lipped about IE 7's feature-set, preferring to divulge details over a long period of time. There are there are a lot of questions about IE 7, mostly because Gates' initial comments were so vague, and Microsoft representatives have been Then, the company released IE 7 Beta 1 to a small group of beta testers and included a different version of IE 7 Beta 1 in Windows Vista Beta 1 ( see my review). First, the company revealed that IE 7 will include integrated RSS functionality (see Since then, Microsoft has made a number of other announcements related to IE 7. "Of course, as well, we'll include these capabilities in the next release of Windows scheduled for 2006, which is our Longhorn release." " Gates then noted that IE 7 would only be made available to users of XP SP2, and not to those still using earlier Windows versions like Windows 2000 or 9x. "We will be able to put this into beta by early in the summer. "What we've decided to do is a new version of Internet Explorer, this is IE 7, and it adds a new level of security," he said. Here's what Gates said about this major IE update, which will be called Internet Explorer 7. Previously, MSN had used this functionality to good effect with its MSN Toolbar Suite ( see my review). In a discussion with Gary Schare, the Director of Windows Product Management at Microsoft at the time, I was told that the company was examining whether it could add features to IE 6 in XP SP2 via its component add-on capabilities. (Today: Those numbers are much, much higher.) Second, Microsoft began discussing the possibility that it would at least provide minor updates to IE before
First, the open source Mozilla Firefox Web browser, released in November 2004, was proving to be enormously popular with tech-savvy Web users, and its garnered over 25 million downloads in 100 days, grabbing about 5 percent of the Web browser market. Until that speech, Microsoft representatives were adamant that the security enhancements they had added to the version of IE in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2, see my review) would be it untilīefore the Gates speech, there were indications, however, that Microsoft was reevaluating its stance on IE.
On February 15, 2005, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates publicly revealed during his RSA Conference 2005 keynote address that his company would denounce its previous plans and ship a separate major update to Internet Explorer (IE) before