Microsoft close to IE7 release

The beta version of the Windows XP will soon see improvements in performance, stability, security, and application compatibility as Microsoft has announced the availability of Release Candidate 1 (RC1) for the release of Internet Explorer 7.

IE 6 users are already being advised by some experts to switch to the new Web Browser now.

Under-the-hood performance gains of the browser should be palpable although users familiar with the most recent beta of IE 7 might not see many visible changes. The major differences between IE7 RC1 and the previous beta releases are in improved performance and the ability to install it automatically without the need to manually uninstall previous versions. Some additional language options are also included.

Some other enhancements includes improved ActiveX controls and several security improvements. The browser will also bring along the much awaited introduction of tabbed browsing, and an integrated RSS feed reader.

“Users should definitely see a difference in performance,” said Margaret Cobb, group product manager for IE. “We've done a lot of work on performance, fit and finish, and site rendering [since beta 3].”

A second release candidate will probably not be required as Microsoft maintains that RC 1 is almost the finished product but if it does not receive positive response, another update would not be ruled out. Web developers, technology enthusiasts, and IT pros are being encouraged to use the release to carry out testing before IE7 is finally made available.

IE 7 is currently made available only in English and can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx. It is soon to be followed by its release in Arabic, Finnish, French, German, Japanese and Spanish in September.

Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott says, “It’s a required update for the users who installed IE 7 Beta 3 or earlier. As for IE 6 users, I think it's both safe and prudent to migrate to IE 7 now. However, I don't think there's enough there to sway Firefox users quite yet.”