In our information age, few applications are used more than our Web browsers. While there are numerous more-than-capable alternatives out there, chances are most of us use or have recently used Microsoft Internet Explorer, the browser that comes with Windows. But while there have been innovations over the last couple of years in competing browsers, most notably in Opera and Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 6 has for the most part lagged far behind.
To keep pace with the others, Microsoft is working to introduce Internet Explorer version 7, which was recently offered to the public in a pre-release second beta version. In version 7, Microsoft offers new features, but almost all of them are of the "catch-up" variety — new features that can already be found in competing browsers like Firefox and Opera.
But when it's complete, Internet Explorer Version 7 (IE7) should be mostly on par with the others by offering tabbed browsing, an ability to accept RSS feeds and integrated search engines, stronger security, and a streamlined interface. It's important to note that the current beta was released primarily for developers to test their pages and applications for compatibility; as a result, it lacks the polished look and feel one would expect from an official release.
Ask any Firefox user and he or she will probably tell you that in addition to the security of using a non-Microsoft browser, one of the biggest selling points is the tabbed browsing interface. Like Firefox, IE7 offers a tabbed interface that enables you to open numerous Web pages in a single window and view each one by clicking on its respective tab, much as you can switch between worksheets in Microsoft Excel. This feature is particularly handy when comparing prices at different sites, conducting multiple searches, comparing opinions or angles on topics, and more.
Once you have grown accustomed to opening and working with multiple Web pages, it's a convenience that is hard to live without. Microsoft is not only wise to add this feature to IE7, but failing to add it would have been downright ridiculous at this stage of the game. It's that essential.
After launching IE7, your home page appears in the first tabbed window. To view other sites, you simply click a New Tab Button, which opens a new page. Each page effectively acts as another browser. To close a tab, you click an icon that appears to the right of the selected tab. There's also a convenient
Quick Tabs icon that helps you find sites that you want to view or close those you're no longer working with.
