Is IE 7 a Firefox Killer?
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Preston Gralla
Sep. 15, 2005 09:17 AM
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The beta appears to have enough new features that it may stop people from flocking to Firefox. A new Quick Tabs feature, for example, will let you better manage tabs, and gives you a thumbnail view of all of your tabs -- something that Firefox doesn't do. Page Zoom will let you zoom in on text and graphics on Web pages.
There's bigger news on the security front. "ActiveX Opt-in," will disable most ActiveX controls by default. You'll have to selective enable those controls you want to work. This is a very big deal and a big surprise. ActiveX is one of the browser's biggest security holes, and one that Microsoft, up until now, has been reluctant to plug. Let's hope this spells the ultimate death knell for ActiveX.
An even bigger IE hole is that the browser is directly tied to the operating system, and so an attack on IE means an attack on Windows itself. Microsoft is taking a halfway measure against this in the next version of IE. In Vista, but not in XP, there will be a "protected mode" that isolates IE from the operating system and other applications, so IE won't be able to write to a file without a user's consent.
Does all this mean that IE will be superior to Firefox? No. But to squash Firefox, it doesn't have to -- it just has to improve its security, and add a few extra features. It looks like IE 7 is on the road to doing that. Given that the beta of Firefox 1.5 doesn't add many big new features, aside from handling auto-updates better, this could mean that IE will start to take back the ground it's lost to the Open Source browser.
Preston Gralla is the author of Windows Vista in a Nutshell, the Windows Vista Pocket Reference, and is the editor of WindowsDevCenter.com. He is also the author of Internet Annoyances, PC Pest Control, Windows XP Power Hound, and Windows XP Hacks, Second Edition, and co-author of Windows XP Cookbook. He has written more than 30 other books.
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Showing messages 1 through 10 of 10.
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IE7??
2005-09-19 06:48:26 rex007can [Reply | View]
I have absolutely no intention of ever going to "Vista". DRM, Anti-Virus protection racket, half assed attempts at security, corporate licensing which will force you to accept renting software and paying forever for a crappy bloaty, unelegant piece of crap that's burned us with flaws and all that at a 77% profit margin to Bill.
So all in all, I'll never get to try Vista so I'll most likely not get to use IE7 either.
And I'm pretty convinced that I'm not going to miss much...
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IE 7 will not replace Firefox.
2005-09-18 00:15:24 Mecha [Reply | View]
Why? Because most people don't want Microsoft looking inside their computer. Last I heard, IE 7 will incorporate an anti-phishing layer that when you go to a website, will send that URL to Microsoft to determine if that site has been tagged as a Phishing sit. With Microsoft admitting to a backdoor in IIS-5 a few years ago, I am not to excited about this crap and all it takes is for that to leak out to Johnny Q. Public and I am sure they will feel much better about installing some other browser. By the way, I got that bit of info right from CNN (who use Firefox as I have found out as well).
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Only the latest windows
2005-09-18 00:00:47 GerardM [Reply | View]
Microsoft choses to include only the people with the latest versions of their OS. People who run an older version will not get the updates.
As Firefox runs on so much more systems, this is the feature that is an IE killer. With FF I have the latest and greatest.
Thanks,
Gerard
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Another M$ Half-@$$ Measure
2005-09-17 22:06:40 azbobcat [Reply | View]
"An even bigger IE hole is that the browser is directly tied to the operating system, and so an attack on IE means an attack on Windows itself. Microsoft is taking a halfway measure against this in the next version of IE. In Vista, but not in XP, there will be a "protected mode" that isolates IE from the operating system and other applications, so IE won't be able to write to a file without a user's consent."
The #1 reason that I REFUSE to use windows it is a pile of JUNK!!! This is just one more example that M$ is trying to take away user choice by tying the browser right into the OS. Should we all stand on our heads and clap that in Vista the browser will run in "protected mode"? Even M$ calls this a "halfway measure" -- more like half-@$$ if they were really truthful about it. Gee and in XPee they won't even have that!! Virus writers, start your coding!!! Once more the public will be inundated by M$ ads telling us that this is "our most secure Operating System" -- remember that pile of drivel we heard at the launch of XPee?? How long did it take for there to be a virus for it? 2 Days?? 3 Days?? Maybe a week??? Regardless of how long it was, it was still a very short time. The sad part is we hear the same ol' market cr@p every time M$ launches a new OS, and they expect the public to run like a bunch of lemings to the sea and buy it. With IE7 it will ONLY run on Windows XPee and Vista -- do you mean I should run out a buy a NEW COMPUTER JUST to run Vista and M$'s Half-@$$ protected browser IE?? I don't think so. And goody: If I'm a virus writer I'll just target Windoze XPee!!!
At best there will be a minor uptake of IE7 -- no one is going to run out and buy an expensive new computer JUST to run a new version of Windoze (and IE7), and those who don't upgrade their computers have heard the same ol' M$ promise of greater security... and every time it turns out to be just another a lie. My bet is that IE7 will be compromised within 2 weeks of launch... if not BEFORE its launch.
The ONLY way I -- and probably many other people -- will ever consider using Windoze again is when Bill Gates and ol' Monkey Boy deside to make Windoze a MODULAR system so the USER -- not M$ -- determines what components they want in their OS.
Vista is DEAD before it even launches and by extention IE7: It requires a major hardware upgrade, there are too many versions of it, it costs too much money, it is still geared to a 32 bit environment when everyone else is moving to a 64 bit environment, it is a half-@$$ OS created by a bunch of half-@$$ people who ONLY care about their bottom line and not the user, etc. As to IE... it will ONLY run on Windoze (Thank GOD for small favors!!).
Oh BTW it seems M$ is not beneath STEALING Open Source software to run in their PROPRIETARY OS (M$ would not call it stealing since it was licensed under the BSD license, but many people would call it just that: stealing: they lifted and incorporated it into their proprietary OS. It will be interesting to see if M$ releases their modifications back to the comunity or will they release the changes back to the community hoping the community will debug their sloppy code.)
All things considered Firefox does not have much to worry about: It runs on MANY DIFFERENT platforms -- including Windoze, LINUX, Unix, etc. And the changes in IE7 are so small they can be incorporated into Firefox without much of a problem. Stick a fork into Vista (and IE7 ) the're done.
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IE7 Certainly Not a "Firefox Killer"
2005-09-17 21:08:21 delmas19 [Reply | View]
As a Windows-only offering, IE7 will in many cases be totally shut out of the marketplace.
Because it's not available for Linux, our entire organization will never even try it out.
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Check in with Scott Berkun
2005-09-16 11:09:37 joelnatividad1 [Reply | View]
He was the UI Designer for IE version 1 thru 5 and he just switched to Firefox (http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/?p=115) .
And yet again, I'm still flummoxed that even by your own admission, IE7 won't be superior to FF, yet you're still cheering for IE.
A real "Technology Expert" should be able to pick the right "best-of-breed" solution for the customer.
Otherwise, you're no better than a car salesman.
If Scott can do it, why can't you?
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Availability
2005-09-15 12:08:52 Villa [Reply | View]
It's important to note that even if IE7 does deliver a more stable and feature-rich solution, it will only be available to Windows XP and Windows Vista users.
Windows XP may be the most populat OS out there, but it's not the only one. A large percentage of web users have Win2k or older, Linux, Mac, etc. IE7 is not available to any of those groups.
Another important point to consider is the fact that current Firefox users are not likely to switch back. Firefox has shown that it is way above IE in reliability and improvement. Microsoft is only reacting to pressure. You can have an OK browser with IE7, but Firefox will soon be much better.
I may sound like a zealot, but I am very interested in seeing what IE7 has to offer. I hope they improve the interface I saw on some previous screenshots. That was not very usable.
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Re:
2005-09-15 11:13:13 aristotle [Reply | View]
Page thumbnails are possible in with the<canvas>support in Firefox 1.5. I expect there will be an extension to do those soon after release.
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He states that IE does not have to be significantly better to be a Firefox killer, implying that IE's inclusion in the OS to much of a switching-cost hurdle for users if Firefox isnt *incredibly* better.
However, the same applies to the inverse. Why would Firefox users switch to IE if IE is not significantly better? They won't. Especially if they already have a bad taste in their mouth about IE.
I think at best IE 7 only has a chance of slowing Firefox's adoption.