Microsoft’s new version of Internet Explorer is surrounded by just as much controversy as anticipation. Many people, including myself, are interested in the new browser. But others are pushing for a massive boycott of the new browser because it lacks full support for internet standards.

The major focus of Internet Explorer is security. This sounds like a direct response to Firefox, which is rapidly gaining market share because of its focus on security and internet standards. That sounds good, but if Microsoft were to adhere only to web standards and abandon everything that isn’t standard, it would cause the exact same incompatibilities with websites as Firefox experiences today. Microsoft is not ready to do that.

One major plus to Internet Explorer 7.0 will be the addition of tabbed browsing. Tabbed browsing allows users to open multiple websites in the same window and toggle between them using tabs. This approach is far better than the current Internet Explorer way, which is to open a separate window, creating an additional window on the task bar.

There will be two different versions of Internet Explorer available. The first one that will be released is for Windows XP within the next 6 months. Another version will be released in Windows Vista near the end of 2006. They will look visually similar, with the Windows Vista version being a little bit more fancy looking. It will look better because of the new graphic engine in Windows Vista.

Microsoft seems to have bowed to pressure to release another browser before Windows Vista is launched because of Firefox’s rapid increase in market share. Firefox currently holds about 11% market share in North America. Most of the other percentage points go to Internet Explorer, but there are a few others such as Opera.

I will update this article as soon as Microsoft commits to a launch date.

Related Links:
• microsoft.com/windows/ie/
• winsupersite.com