IE7

I upgraded to Internet Explorer 7 yesterday from the Microsoft Windows Update page. As a semi-professional -- albeit unpaid ;-) -- web surfer I've grown to be pretty picky about my internet preferences. The jury will be out over the next few days on the new version, but I have to say my early impression is a positive one.

Microsoft has done a really nice job of adding tabs within the browser window itself which allows you to toggle between webpages easily. The new Internet Explorer allows you to pick your default search engine (Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft) and puts a search window in the top right hand corner for anytime searching. Also, there is a view called "Quick Tabs" that condenses all your open windows on one page. The view is handy and it also visibly shows you that you may have an attention deficit disorder problem by having tons of webpages open at once. ;-)

My main dislike of the new version is that they have removed the favorite links view from visibly showing up in your browser. So it is no longer possible to bookmark a favorite webpage in the Links section where you can just click on it directly in your browser window. The Links view is still there, but to get to them you have to click on a "Favorites Center" star icon that they have devised. It's a minor thing, but it's one extra step.

All in all this version is supposed to resolve a lot of the security issues with prior versions. So far the changes seem favorable. Happy surfing!

QuickTabs view