So, IE7 Beta 2 just dropped, and a senior Microsoft executive affirmed that the beta was very solid and alluded to it being consumer ready.
Being brave, yet cautious with beta-ware, I installed it, being a second round beta. I was immediately presented with a modal asking me me if I wanted to enable phishing protection. My answer was a resounding “YES”, but the radio button would not activate. I tried clicking “NO” as well and I had the same issue. Clicking the help link resulted in the same effect: nothing.
I went into Control Panel and managed to increase my security settings to a point that turned on phishing (I'm clever like that) so that I wouldn't be presented with the modal. It worked. Dang I'm smart ;-)
I then poked around the menus, etc. I clicked on Tools -> Internet Options. I was able to reproduce the same behavior. The modal just stays there no matter what you click. The visual mouse-over effects work but clicks are not fired. So I had to kill the application through task manager.
So, aside from some bugginess, I have some general observations.
What's up with the look and feel of this browser? Is it Netscape or Firefox? Opera? Is Microsoft going through and identity crisis? I mean, tabbed browsing is cool, and I don't necessarily hold it against them for innovation through duplication (it is the mantra of technology), but I really think the the classic IE interface is friendly, clean and intuitive. Why change it?
Microsoft has been criticized for being a monolithic middle-aged company recently. While there is surely truth to that, Microsoft must continue to innovate by leading the pack, not following it.Microsoft must work harder than ever to set itself apart, both in the consumer software space and the developer community to compete with services like Google Desktop and Yahoo Widgets. You don't do this by reinventing yourself. You do this by improving on your current business model.
The buggy and overpriced XBOX 360, delays of Windows Vista and little nuisances like these don't do well for Microsoft's image. It's probably time to clean house, from the top down.
Why do I care if IE 7 is buggy? Simple. Microsoft puts food on my table. I want, no need Microsoft to continue to be succesful. I understand that Microsoft could choose to ditch software and go into the ice cream business tomorrow and still have enough cash to build a medium sized country, but never confuse fiscal success with relevance- especially in technology. Example: AOL. AOL will be dead in 10 years, guaranteed. Financially successful? Yes. But relevant today? No.