Feature rich but lags like a... (Microsoft Internet Explorer 7)

Member Name: dididave

Product:	Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
Date:	26/01/09 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Finally tabbed browsing, advanced printing features.

Disadvantages: Poor security, does not run properly on all sites, slow!

I absolutely hate Internet Explorer. As with everything Microsoft you are stuck with it if you choose to have a PC running with Windows. Bundled with every copy and version of Windows this web browser was the bane of my life until I discovered the joys of Mozilla Firefox and subsequently Opera. The latest non-beta version of IE is an improvement on previous versions but there are several things about it that still make alternative browsers far more appealing. Remarkably, a lot of people still seem unaware that there are alternatives to Internet Explorer 7 failing to discern the difference between accessing the Internet and browsing it. For me this is the only reason why IE is still a dominant force.

Internet Explorer 7 is at least a sign that Microsoft has started to pay attention to it's competitors. Firefox particularly is rapidly catching up to IE and although it has not made a huge dent in terms of market share as yet, the fervent support this browser gets and the general lambasting Microsoft gets should be enough to sit up and take note. There are some major improvements in IE7 although other browsers should sue as Microsoft cheekily try nd pass off their improvements as new ideas. The introduction of tabbed browsing, something every other browser has had for years is a massive improvement. Finally, I can load up loads of pages with a single click and access each one easily with tabs on the top of the page. "Tab groups" are a nice idea as you can place your favourite sites into logical groups to be accessed altogether at a click. This is particularly handy if you want to compare products on ebay, amazon and play etc.

The interface has been modified so the screen seems a lot bigger than it used to be and most things such as your homepage and favourites are a click away. It is also nice to have a built in searchbar which can search google etc. However, all this has been done before by both firefox and Opera. Despite Microsoft's best efforts. These features are not quite as appealing in a browser that still looks like it has been designed for children. It remains a very garish looking layout and icons have a "look stupid it is the homepage button" appearance.

Strange really as there are some decent advanced features. Printing webpages for example is very easy and has a nice "shrink to fit" feature. This is something very handy for those of us who are fed up of wasting ink on a second page with barely anything on it. Particularly handy for sites such as AA routeplanner were there can be an extra half page of adverts. IE7 also automatically detects RSS feeds which makes it easy to subscribe to sites. Again handy if you want to keep up with the latest news or info from your favourites sites without constantly checking them. Of course, there are also the usual password remember and form autofill options although again I have seen this done better elsewhere.

The above features do make IE7 the best version of Internet Explorer to date in terms of features. It is easy to use and looks smooth when browsing. However, there are so many reasons why this is still not the browser for any right thinking individual. Downloading the bugger for a start! I can download and have any other browser installed in minutes. They will import all my bookmarks and details and I can be off and away. No such luck with Microsoft. As with everything they release it takes a bloody age to download and install IE7. Not to mention the horrendous restarts your have to put up with to make it operational. Then there are the security issues. Despite the "dynamic security protection" Microsoft promises Internet Explorer remains the hackers choice of browser. Basic browsing is fine but the fact remains IE7 is so integrated with your operating system that a trojan or virus is almost inevitable.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about IE7 is that the only reason I ever used it was because there is still the odd site (mainly surverys) that are not compatible with other browsers. It is therefore annoying that IE7 seems to have problems displaying survey pages and errors often occur with feature rich sites such as facebook. I had so many problems I have uninstalled and gone back to IE6. The main advantage of Internet Explorer in general is that some sites still refuse to adapt to modern web browsing so why design a browser that removes this advantage? Add to this the fact that IE7 is still by far the slowest browser available, takes up loads of your processing speed and that add-ons are fewer and less impressive than it's competitors and what you have is a compelling case for not bothering with it.

Do yourself a favour. Get yourself an alternative browser to this ridiculous attempt at catching up to the competition. I recommend Opera 9.5 although many people still love Firefox. I would even recommend Internet Eplorer 6 over this large and clumsy download!

N.B.

Sample speedtest here:

http://lifehacker.com/396048/speed-testing-the-la test-web-browsers

Summary: Still the worst browser available.

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