IE7 "Candidate Release"



  • Microsoft has made available for download <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx">IE7 "Candidate Release" 1</a> (So it's not in beta, but kinda is?)  Looks like it now has novel features, such as tabbed browsing and RSS feeds, which have never been implemented in any other browser.

    Take a look at the initial installation screen:

    IE7 install screen 

    Closing all programs before installing?  Understandable.

    It asks you to backup your important data.  The wisdom of occasional backups notwithstanding, MS is warning that installing IE7 might wipe out parts of my hard drive?  Surely a CYA, but not one to inspire confidence.



  • [quote user="Jojosh_the_Pi"]

    Microsoft has made available for download <a
    href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx">IE7
    "Candidate Release" 1</a> (So it's not in beta, but kinda
    is?)  

    [/quote]

    Nope, it's a release candidate.  As in, "we think this is going to be the final thing we ship, but we're doing one last testing release just to be sure".



  • The real WTF is MS asking you to shut off antivirus and anti-spyware for the duration of the installation...because there are no threats on the Internet today.



  • I read e-mailed newsletters from a site called SitePoint, and their latest newsletter mentioned the rumors that when IE7 goes gold (that is, ready for final release), that it will be part of a mandatory security update if you are using Windows XP.  That means that all web designers that thought they would have lots of time as people downloaded IE7 on their own time in drops and drabs are instead going to have a hard real time deadline of late December (or possibly early January, depending on MS's testing success with RC1).  Fun times.  All those IE CSS hacks, just waiting to be broken.  It's going to get ugly out there, people.

     

    Well, except for those of us who use and design for Firefox/Opera/Safari/Lynx/Any Browser and don't cater to IE hackery anyway.

     

    I predict iss-yooos for those sites that are running business AJAXy apps that require IE.  I wonder if the Exchange folks have tested OWA (that's Outlook Web Access, aka webmail) with IE7? 



  • [quote user="batasrki"]The real WTF is MS asking you to shut off antivirus and anti-spyware for the duration of the installation...because there are no threats on the Internet today.
    [/quote]

    I've never heard of anyone managing to use IE to download spyware while they were installing it

    And if you've followed the other instructions, you don't have any other apps open anyway.

     



  • as a webdev myself, i'm actually not all that nervous. Because MS knows IE7 is going to break a lot too :)  they have a few pages that tell you how a few hacks will be interpeted by IE7, and also IE7 will have some sort of backwards compatibilty for "web pages best viewed in IE6!!!!one!1

    mostly i only use min-width/min-height (hardly can be called a hack, IE just doesn't get it) and #blaat > #blaat { non-ie stuff }
    while some designs are impossible to make without resorting to a few "hacks/tweaks", most can be made by valid css/html that IE6 wil eat.

    My experience is that most html/css is created by designers that don't understand the css spec nor the html spec, and just read w3school or some other horrible fluff page. Without actually understanding what the elements are, or why they behave like they do.
     

    And if indeed all hell breaks loose, well that will only mean customers buying a "update" for there site.

     



  • [quote user="sinistral"]I wonder if the Exchange folks have tested OWA (that's Outlook Web Access, aka webmail) with IE7? [/quote]

    I'm not sure who has tested what, but I use OWA with IE7 on Vista RC1 daily with no issues.

    -cw



  • After installing IE7RC1 on top of IE7 Beta 3 I was forced to reinstall Windows when explorer wonked out on me.  Luckily XP is smart enough not to automatic format a drive and ask you instead.



  • [quote user="Carnildo"][quote user="Jojosh_the_Pi"]

    Microsoft has made available for download <a
    href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx">IE7
    "Candidate Release" 1</a> (So it's not in beta, but kinda
    is?)  

    [/quote]

    Nope, it's a release candidate.  As in, "we think this is going to be the final thing we ship, but we're doing one last testing release just to be sure".

    [/quote]

    I guess you missed the whole flap about MS redefining RC with Vista. I'm blessed with an absence of windows, so I don't know if IE7 follows the old or new definition.

     

     



  • [quote user="Carnildo"][quote user="Jojosh_the_Pi"]

    Microsoft has made available for download <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx">IE7 "Candidate Release" 1</a> (So it's not in beta, but kinda is?)  

    [/quote]

    Nope, it's a release candidate.  As in, "we think this is going to be the final thing we ship, but we're doing one last testing release just to be sure".

    [/quote]


    Enough companies have used release candidates as an extended beta.  It makes one doubt that the company believes the RC is a stable version that should be shipped.



  • No, but since you're installing it on Windows, there's always a possibility to contract a virus just by being connected to the Internet, ala Slammer or whatever it was called. And to install IE, you need an open internet connection. The rest you can figure out by yourself ;-)



  • The above post is in reply to merreborn's reply. So much for intuitive forum software



  • [quote user="CodeWhisperer"]

    [quote user="sinistral"]I wonder if the Exchange folks have tested OWA (that's Outlook Web Access, aka webmail) with IE7? [/quote]

    I'm not sure who has tested what, but I use OWA with IE7 on Vista RC1 daily with no issues.

    -cw

    [/quote]

     

    OWA works fine for me with XP SP2 and IE7.

     Not surprising to me, MS may have its problems, but most of their stuff at least integrates with other MS products, most of the time, sort of..

    Oh well, this combo works, so far.

     



  • [quote user="The MAZZTer"]After installing IE7RC1 on top of IE7 Beta 3 I was forced to reinstall Windows
    [/quote]

    IE7 asks that you uninstall previous versions.

     

    IE7 is a lot better than IE6. Supports more CSS etc. Still does not overtake things like FFX and Opera9 fully, but it's shaping up and one needn't be ashamed of it anymore.

    Things that suck:

    - full page zoom, just like in Opera. This concept of zooming the entire page that leaves the original layout intact is [i]self-defeating[/i] . I always enlarge Wiki pages in FFX, so I can read them better. With IE/Opera, the page gets bigger, yes, but it also creates a horizontal scrollbar, killing my ability read comfortably.

    -  Hmmm. That's it, basically. For normal usage, the browsers are now equal. Developers will find that it STILL does not support a few CSS-2 selectors, but I'd need to sit down and do actual tests.


Log in to reply