Internet Explorer 7: Beta

Yes, I am a child. I play with gadgets, gizmos and thingies, and often jump on various beta tests, be it for games like Warcraft, or software, like Internet Explorer. I've not USED IE since... hmmm, a bloody long time ago, and there's been a bit of "ooooh, aaaah" at the newer version, so I figured I should take a lookie see. And my first impression?

Microsoft don't have an original thought in their skull.

You can tell by LOOKING at it that they've seen Firefox and Opera and thought "I WANT IT ME ME ME!" and slapped it in there. You've got the built-in Google search top right (which you can add other searches too, like Wikipedia or whatever), the tabbed browsing (one window, multiple pages), the "Easy Manage Favorites" section, the built-in Pop Up Blocker, News Feeds (ie, like my Blog), Add Ons to do various things, even a Page Zoom In/Out function that zooms text and images.

The ONLY thing I've not seen before is the "Phishing Site Filter" which blocks sites that
could be other sites - like those mails you get - "Your Bank Account with us has been hacked, give us your details..." But then, that feature doesn't appeal to me because if the manager of my bank knocked on my door himself with armloads of ID, I would STILL not tell him my PIN, Passwords, or sensitive data.

It's all been done before - all these knobs and whistles and "New Features" are crap I - and a hell of a lot more people - have been using for a long long time. They've taken Firefox and Opera (and likely others, they're just the ones I've used a lot) and picked them apart, taking what they like, and putting it into the great big "We are Microsoft, hear us, er, copy" box, then marked it "All New! Internet Explorer 7! It Rocks, Because We Don't!"

I could prattle on, but seriously, if you like all these features, then click the link to Mozilla Firefox (where it's not Beta and Testing, it's released and has been for a while) or Opera (Which has been around longer than Firefox). All I need to do now is visit some questionable sites and see how much shite is dumped on my hard drive in the form of cookies, spyware and what not, just for laughs. Improved Security? We'll see...