The Linux Extremist

One advantage of having a Windows PC at work, and believe me, I’ve been struggling to think of something, is that I can constantly remind myself how lucky I am to not be using it at home.

The only other benefit I can think is that I can also use my Windows PC to see what Microsoft is going to try to foist on the public next. Out of morbid curiosity, I’ve just tried out their latest version of Internet Explorer 7, Beta 3. When the project is complete, this is the browser that supposedly will put Microsoft back on the map after a lengthy period of stagnation.

I had problems getting out of the starting gate. Obviously, I went to Microsoft using Firefox in order to download it. However in order to get the file, one has to go through the whole Windows Genuine Advantage nightmare. First, I had to download the “WGAPlugin” tool, which when I double clicked on it to install, it didn’t work. Undeterred, I tried the second download for a “Genuine Check” programme. This worked, and I got a code which I then entered into the Microsoft site, and it finally let me through.

After downloading it, the install procedure of IE 7 then initiated yet another check that I was using a genuine version of Windows. I was wondering how many times the system was going to check that I was using the genuine article - I felt like shouting down the broadband pipe, “Hello, hello, yes, Microsoft, I’m using a valid copy of your junk OS!”

Once the install completed, I had to reboot; one of the things that is most frustrating about Internet Explorer (and as a Linux user this seems insane to me), is the dependency of the entire OS on this one piece of software. As it’s a Beta, I was taking a risk. Still, I rebooted, and fortunately I’ve seen no ill-effects so far.

Launching IE7 was relatively painless but irritating: Microsoft simply refuses to leave you alone. At first, I was redirected to a page where I was told I could modify a variety of settings, including changing my locale from the United Kingdom to the USA. As I am in the United Kingdom, changing this option was not at the forefront of my mind. When I began to browse, IE7 told me about what wonderful anti-phishing tools it was giving me as well. It occured to me that this was the most egotistical browser I’d ever encountered.

The good news for those who insist on using this software is that it does have some features which bring it into the modern era. Tabbed browsing is a feature of IE7. Hold your applause, as it is not entirely straightforward. IE7 tries to make things “simple” by using somewhat anonymous icons to communicate what each function does. Tabbed browing is an excellent example of how this be confusing. On Firefox, one invokes a new tab by simply going to File > New Tab. On IE7, there is this very indistinct motif -

To invoke a new tab, one has to click the grey button on the right of the active tab, in this case, the BBC News page. Yes, there is a message when you roll over it, but it was not particularly intuitive, and neither are any of the other controls on this browser.

As for speed, I did not see any particular performance advantage over Firefox. If anything, IE7 is a shade slower than a tweaked Firefox on Windows, and definitely slower than Firefox on Linux. That said, it is better than IE6, but then again, most things are.

There are some differences in the rendering of fonts. IE7 renders fonts more smoothly than its predecessor, which is somewhat easier on the eyes. Again, this does not indicate any particular advantage over Firefox.

Overall, IE7 is an improvement, not a revelation. It means that Microsoft is still in the browser business, but not leading the pack, and that’s only for Windows, since they don’t make their browser for Linux or Macintosh. It will be interesting to see what vulnerabilities will inevitably spring up in this browser; for the moment however, it’s moved Explorer out of the realms of being a bad joke to merely a questionable choice.

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