Should I install IE7, or should I stick with Firefox and Thunderbird, which I am led to believe are pretty safe? Mike Mitchell
Yes, you should install Internet Explorer 7, because parts of the IE code are used by other programs, even if you don't use it for browsing. It is more secure than IE6 and offers big improvements in many other areas, such as tabbed browsing, bookmarks, printing and the handling of CSS (web style sheets) and RSS (web feeds). Do not give up on Firefox, but IE7 is a more competitive offering and better in some areas. And don't give up on the Thunderbird email program: IE7 does not include a new version of Outlook Express.
From other queries, the main problem with IE7 seems to be the missing menu bar with File, Edit, View etc. You can restore this by going to the Tools icon on the far right, clicking the drop-down arrow and ticking Menu Bar. Another key feature is the ability to load a number of sites at once. You can do this by loading a selection of sites, then clicking the new Star+ icon on the left and selecting Add Tab Group to Favorites from the drop-down menu.
A drawback is that IE7's user interface elements have not been implemented as command bars, so you can't just grab their handles and move them about, as you can in IE6 and other programs such as Microsoft Office.
Microsoft is delivering IE7 via Windows Update, so anyone running XP SP2 should already have installed it, or will have it soon. But it does not work on earlier versions of Windows. If you have tried to upgrade to SP2 and failed, I recommend installing Maxthon (www.maxthon.com) as well as Firefox. If you are one of the small minority still running Windows 95/98/Me or Windows 2000, consider yourself abandoned.
Original post time: 2006-11-23 12:12:41
