October 18, 2006 12:57 PM PDT
Yahoo beats Microsoft to punch with IE update
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Although Microsoft has yet to release the final version of IE 7, its rival has posted a Yahoo-optimized version of the Web browser. The browser is essentially the IE 7 browser with a number of tweaks, such as Yahoo home pages, Yahoo as the default search engine and a Yahoo toolbar.
A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the fact that IE 7 is available from Yahoo before it is available from the software giant. Microsoft has touted Yahoo's work as an example of the way other companies can customize the new browser.
The software maker has said it will make IE 7 available in the coming days for download, with automatic updates slated to go to IE 6 users next month. It has launched several publicly available test versions of the new browser.
Microsoft's first major overhaul of the browser in years, IE 7 adds features such as tabbed browsing, built-in RSS reader and improved printing. The company has included a number of security enhancements as well, including an antiphishing filter.
See more CNET content tagged:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7,
Microsoft Internet Explorer,
Yahoo! Inc.,
Web browser,
Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft no doubt released its production build of IE7 to Yahoo! (and presumably to others, as well) days or weeks ago, then Yahoo! folded in its changes and released its version. Should that alter Microsoft's announced release date? Does that indicate superiority for Yahoo! in some respect? Not that I can see.
The only story here would be if Yahoo! had an agreement with Microsoft not to release its version of IE7 prior to Microsoft's formal release, but did so anyway. Since the article makes no mention of such an agreement, we're left to assume there was none. End of story.
Whether or not it's a win for users is still up in the air. I myself dislike vendor-customized browsers and have choosen to NOT install them. It will be interesting to see what the adoption rate for the customized IE7 browser is among people that use Yahoo frequently.
http://myworld.ebay.com/probizteam
With all its billions of dollars it can't even copy Firefox without making it bloated and slow.
Internet Explorer is another reactive (as opposed to proactive) move by Microsoft brought about solely because another company is threatening part of their monopoly. Is there any doubt that IE7 was a knee jerk reaction to Mozilla's Firefox & Opera's web browsers stealing significant market share?
Because they are constantly in reactive (can you say crisis?) mode these days, the results are very predictable. Microsoft's latest reincarnation of Internet Explorer catches up to Firefox & Opera on some features, falls short on others, and in general offers nothing that the others don't. And let's not forget that Firefox 2 is scheduled for release shortly and that Firefox 3 is already under development.
Here are some random snippets on the web regarding IE7.
IE 7 is an attempt by Microsoft to catch rival browsers as it includes features that have long been seen in competitors such as Firefox and Opera.
Internet Explorer 7 is a solid upgrade, but it's disappointing that after five years, the best Microsoft could do was to mostly catch up to smaller competitors.
IE 7 was Microsoft's one chance to leapfrog ahead of the competition, but the company has only barely caught sight of the current front-runners. For more features and greater security, switch to Mozilla Firefox.
The choice is yours. You can enable Microsoft to keep dumping average software on us, or you can vote with your hard earned mind share. Let me know what you think.
I'm Guessing ©2006
imguessingblog.blogspot.com
It's still kind of a dual embarassment considering that for some strange reason, Yahoo! Mail Beta does not seem to be agreeing with IE7 and it also seems to be a bit lacking in total CSS support (applies to both Microsoft version and Yahoo! version), which might make life difficicult for some Web Designers and Webmasters.
I'll stick with Firefox.
Hours later I desided to download and install the IE7 browser microsoft was offering and had no problems either with Yahoo! Mail Beta nor with Microsoft Music Service.