Without much general media fanfare, Microsoft is finally releasing version 7 of its Internet Explorer (IE) Web browsing program. Pardon me if I’m less than excited.
After grinding competitor Netscape into dust during the infamous “browser wars” of the late 1990s, Microsoft’s decisions to give IE away for free and to tightly integrate it into the Windows operating system have made IE the dominant browser of the decade. Most computer users don’t even know that any other browsers exist. However, by resting on it’s laurels and simply issuing patches for the ridiculously buggy IE6, Microsoft has seen market share slip away to superior browser products such as Opera and Mozilla Firefox. It’s been five years since Microsoft has made any major changes to Internet Explorer.
In reality, Microsoft isn’t so much “releasing” IE7 as it is shoving it down the throats of computer users worldwide by making it a “high-priority” security update distributed by Windows’ Automatic Update feature. Originally scheduled to be part of its usual monthly release of patches, which falls this month on November 14, Microsoft instead chose to jump the gun and push out IE7 on — you guessed it — Halloween.
Even though the new browser allegedly fixes over 1,000 bugs and security flaws, I’m advising my clients to avoid installing IE7 for as long as possible, or, better yet, not to install it at all. Microsoft truly has a lousy track record of prematurely releasing buggy, unstable software. This may sound like groundless Microsoft-bashing, but these are the facts. End users of Microsoft products have for years been turned into hapless guinea pigs, conned into acting as unpaid software testers until Microsoft gets around to patching enough of the holes to end up with a tolerable product. You name a Microsoft product, and that’s been its history. As long as Windows Update continues to function using IE6 (the only remaining legitimate use for Internet Explorer), there is no reason to install IE7.
Interestingly enough, it seems that Microsoft has, for the first time ever with any product, anticipated that many patch-weary customers will have well-justified apprehension about installing such a major piece of software. As such, they’ve made it easier for users to “opt out” of installing IE7, and have even issued the “Internet Explorer 7 Blocker Toolkit” for use by administrators of large computer networks. This will allow company network staff to test IE7 for compatibility, security and stability issues on a limited basis before rolling it out to everyone in the organization. I, for one, remember the worldwide havoc that was generated in 2004 when millions of computers failed to properly function after the installation of the not-yet-ready-for-primetime Service Pack 2 for Windows XP.
While IE7 is definitely an improvement over IE6, that’s like saying that a Yugo with a 1.3-liter engine is better than a Yugo with a 1.1-liter engine. It’s still a Yugo. With superior alternatives available, such as the new Firefox 2, I say, “Internet Explorer 7? Why?”