A little late on this one (released about 36 hours ago), but none-the-less, I haven’t seen any announcements from any of the other O’Reilly bloggers, so I guess I’m not all that late to the game….
IEBlog : Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 (and more) Available
This evening we released IE7 Beta 2 at http://www.microsoft.com/ie. This release is not the preview or the update to the preview, but the real Beta 2 of IE7 for Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows XP 64-bit Edition. Simply: please try it.
We acted on a lot of the feedback and bug reports from the previous public releases. In particular, I feel good about changes we made based on reports from web developers around some CSS behaviors, application compatibility feedback, reliability data (yes, we do analyze the information that comes when you click “Send Error Report”), and user experience feedback. People on the team will post additional details about changes over the next few days.
Once installed, I will run the Acid2 test and provide screen shots as an update to this post.
Update: In respect to the fact that the IE7&RSS teams at MS are working their tail-ends off trying to keep dozens of groups of folks, all with EXTREMELY diverse desires/needs for the upcoming final release of IE7, satisfied with the result I’m going to break the knee caps of my Acid2 test reports for each new beta and beta-preview release between now and the time the final version ships.
Why?
Well, in the case of the April 24th Beta 2 release, not much has changed (in regards to the results of the Acid2 test) since about a month ago when the last preview release made its way into the wilds of the internet, so theirs not much to report.
Beyond this… As mentioned, these guys are working their tail ends off. There are already a TON of HIGHLY qualified folks that MS has been working with directly, many of which have direct affiliations with the Web Standards Project, the group in which developed and now hosts the Acid2 test in the first place. If they were unhappy with the progress MS has been making, then I would be concerned. They’re not, so it doesn’t exactly add any value, and instead undermines the efforts of both the Web Standards project, and the MSIE&RSS teams by posting screen shots of something thats already being handled with complete professionalism by the folks who care about this stuff the most.
As such… I’ll let them worry about handling their business, and I will instead spend my time worrying about my own. If you would like up-to-the-minute updates as to the various issues involved with the development of support for Web Standards as part of IE7, or even furthermore, ALL web browser manufacturers, as well as the specifics of the underlying standards themselves, pay a visit to the front page of the Web Standards project interface… An “All-You-Can-Consume Web Standards Buffet” awaits your arrival.
NOTE: News that is specific the the work this group is doing with Microsoft is available in the Microsoft Task Force section of the same site linked to above.
what is the case to not use firefox in light of this release?
I'm not sure if there is a case... The point of the post is not to suggest you stop using Fx, or Opera, or etc... and instead simply inform that new beta of IE is available. In and of itself, thats the message.
As far as I'm concerned, if Fx puts a smile on your face, then that seems to me like justification to keep on using it.
That said, there are some nice features in IE7, in particular the interaction with the new WebFeed engine (which is not necessarily a part of IE7, although if I'm not mistaken, if its not already on your machine, the IE7 setup process will take care of the installation as part of the setup process) that adds some compelling features. But whether these are compelling enough for you to switch from Fx to IE as your full-time browser is obviously something you would need to decide for yourself.
Does this answer your question, or am I missing something?
Either way, thanks for taking the time to read and comment!