Review: Internet Explorer 7 RC1

If you're looking for major changes or significant new features in the just-released RC1 version of Internet Explorer 7, you'll be disappointed. (For a thorough examination of the the IE7 beta, check out our review "IE7 For XP Beta 2: Has Firefox Met Its Match?") But plenty of work has gone on under the hood, and you'll find this a more solid, faster, less buggy release than the previous one. It features better RSS support, a much-improved installation routine, and a number of important tweaks that make it work more effectively with Web sites.

First, a word of explanation: If you're not familiar with the somewhat arcane language of software releases, you need to know that, in the parlance of Microsoft, RC1 means "Release Candidate 1." The term "beta" means that the software may still need significant work, while "Release Candidate" means that the software is nearly ready for prime time. In fact, an RC1 candidate often becomes an official release, although sometimes there may be an RC2 or RC3 version. In this case, Microsoft has said that it expects that RC1 will become the officially released software, but that could change if problems are uncovered.

A Real Install
The most obvious change in this new version may be the most welcome, and comes the moment you start the installation routine. Unlike earlier versions of IE7, RC1 doesn't make you uninstall the previous edition of the browser before installing this one. There's a more streamlined routine built right in that uninstalls the old version, reboots your PC, then begins the new installation. In addition, you don't need to worry about porting over your preferences from the previous version; the installation routine takes care of that for you.

Another nice installation touch: It will ferret out any add-ons known to have compatibility or stability problems, and warn you so that you can temporarily disable them, or else get newer versions that are more stable. (Yes, just like Firefox does with its extensions.)

Better RSS And CSS Support
One of IE7's most significant improvements over IE6 is its very usable built-in RSS support and reader. But in earlier versions of IE7, that support was buggy. (For details, check out Microsoft's official IEBlog.) The names of the bugs tell a colorful story -- they include the Peekaboo Bug in which (in certain circumstances) Web content mysteriously disappears and then appears again; the Guillotine Bug, in which the bottom part of "floated" elements of a page are chopped off when certain links are hovered over; Border Chaos, in which borders around boxes don't render properly (or disappear entirely); and many more.

Microsoft has fixed these and other errors, and says it has tried to make sure that IE7's RSS support complies with W3C specifications. It has also, according to the company, worked to improve IE7's support for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). But that support remains somewhat controversial, because IE7 still does not fully support the newest CSS specifications, a somewhat surprising oversight. Microsoft claims that future IE versions will improve CSS support.

Faster And Fitter
Overall, the browser just feels faster. Sites seem to load more quickly, and there's better overall responsiveness. For example, when I clicked the Favorites button, the Favorites list seemed to drop down more quickly.

This improved responsiveness, though, caused at least one minor problem. When I pressed Alt-Tab to switch to another window, and then returned to IE7, I found that the old, IE6-style menu (File, Edit, View, etc.) had suddenly appeared -- and then disappeared as soon as I clicked on the browser. Why? Because although IE7 did away with the old menus, it lets you bring them back to life by pressing the Alt button. That's nice -- but this new revision of IE7 sometimes interprets an Alt-Tab as being the same thing as pressing the Alt key, bringing back the menu when you don't want it.

Better news is that a variety of bugs have been squashed. In previous versions of IE7, for example, you couldn't unlock the toolbar; in this version you can, so that you can now customize the Toolbar. More important is that this version of IE7 supports some interactive Web sites that earlier versions didn't. For example, the previous version of IE7 didn't work with the Web content management application used by TechWeb -- Web pages could not be previewed, and then could not be posted. This version of IE7 worked with the content management tool without a hitch.

A promised security feature has been fully implemented in this version of IE7 as well: Any window launched by IE, including pop-ups, now includes an Address Bar and a URL. This fixes a security hole, because pop-ups normally include no URL, so you had no way of knowing whether they originated from a legitimate site, or a scammer or spyware purveyor. With this version of IE7, the URL is now in plain sight.

Other Changes

Microsoft says that it has improved the "fit and finish" of IE7, but in truth, it's tough to find much of a difference in the interface between this and previous versions. One minor change is that the Add to Favorites button has been redesigned to be a plus sign superimposed over a star. (Previously, it had only been a plus sign.) In addition, there is now support for French and Spanish versions.The bottom line? There are plenty of subtle changes in RC1, and overall the browser now seems ready for prime time. If you've held off upgrading, now may be the time to make your move, because this version seems solid enough to be the real thing.