Microsoft Releases IE 7 Beta to Public

By Digital Trends Staff January 31, 2006

Microsoft has released a beta version of their Internet Explorer web browser to the public today. The beta version has been available for awhile now, but only to select groups Microsoft has chosen.Now with the software launching into the mainstream, Microsoft has a chance to get a feel for what must still be worked on and fine-tuned.

You’ll need Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed to run it, but once installed, you’ll find that IE 7 has a lot of changes made. Microsoft had promised to focus more on security while developingthe next version of Internet Explorer and they’ve delivered. IE 7 gives you the ability to easily clear out your history and cookies as well as other personal information you may want cleared ourquickly and in a secure fashion. Another huge feature for Internet Explorer (but not most other browsers) is the ability to use tabbed-browsing, a highly requested feature that IE has neverhad.

Other features IE 7 includes are AJAX-support, RSS support, and many other small features designed to improve security and stability with Microsoft’s browser. Microsoft wants people downloading thebrowser to keep in mind that it is still in beta and the final version, which is expected to ship with Windows Vista, will be much more stable and improved upon.

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