Today (Tuesday, February 15) at RSA, Bill Gates talked about Internet Explorer 7. As the guy responsible for IE, I wanted to say a couple of things about it.

First, some basics: we’re committing to deliver a new version of Internet Explorer for Windows XP customers. Betas of IE7 will be available this summer. This new release will build on the work we did in Windows XP SP2 and (among other things) go further to defend users from phishing as well as deceptive or malicious software.

Why? Because we listened to customers, analysts, and business partners. We heard a clear message: “Yes, XP SP2 makes the situation better. We want more, sooner. We want security on top of the compatibility and extensibility IE gives us, and we want it on XP. Microsoft, show us your commitment.”

I think of today’s announcement as a clear statement back to our customers: “Hey, Microsoft heard you. We’re committing.”

Why are we talking about it today? Because our customers and partners have asked us, with increasing urgency, what our plans are. We want to convey our intentions to our customers and partners clearly and in a timely way.

I’ve gotten questions about the ship date. Yes, we have a date in mind. I’ll talk about the date after we get feedback from customers and partners. We’re going to release a beta and listen, then refresh the beta and listen some more. We’ll ship when the product is ready.

I’ve also gotten questions about support for Windows 2000. Right now, we’re focused on XP SP2. We’re actively listening to our major Windows 2000 customers about what they want and comparing that to the engineering and logistical complexity of that work. That’s all I can say on that topic.

Please know that the IE team is working hard. We’re eager to improve and better secure the web experience for the hundreds of millions of IE users around the world. We delivered on our part of XP SP2. We are actively delivering on our part of a great 64-bit Windows client. We continue to deliver on security updates for customers (across several versions of IE (back to IE 5.01) and Windows). We’re going to deliver on IE7.

Dean, IEBlog


IE 7 speculations

IE 7 will probably ship for XP SP2 customers only. Microsoft is already backing off a bit from its original claim that IE 7 would be marketed as another benefit of using XP SP2. That means that the company could theoretically back-port IE 7 to Windows 2000, too, assuming that enough customers complain. However, it's likely that IE 7 will remain XP SP2-only, if only because a Windows 2000 version of IE 7 would be inherently less secure.

IE 7 will probably include new features. I know for a fact that Microsoft is working on implementing tabbed browsing and other new features in the version of IE 7 that will ship in Longhorn. Will tabbed browsing and other new features ship in the standalone IE 7 that Microsoft plans to release for XP SP2 users? My guess is yes.

IE 7 will probably not include a new Outlook Express version. A few people have asked me whether IE 7 will include a new Outlook Express (OE) version (e.g. OE 7). No, I don't believe so. From what I can tell, OE development has been at a standstill for years, and the overriding concern with IE 7 is about security, not improving the bundled email client.

IE 7 will likely ship this calendar year. You can expect IE 7 to enter beta in May or June and ship by the end of 2005. There will be at least two beta releases, according to the IE Team blog.

The version of IE in Longhorn will be quite different from standalone IE. Don't be fooled into believing that XP SP2 users are going to get Longhorn's version of IE this year. The version of IE in Longhorn will include advanced graphical capabilities, unique new features, and will benefit from the underlying search functionality in Longhorn (the omission of WinFS won't change that). Longhorn IE will be much safer than XP SP2 + IE 7 because of low-level changes to the attack surface in that OS.

Read more here

Nice to see MS waking up to release a new version since they haven't updated it since 2001. Meanwhile faster, more secure browsers like Firefox are gaining more acceptance.

Tabbed browsing is nothing new...certainly won't entice me to switch back.

I.E. 7 will come with little fanfare... but the "average joe" will likely embrace it anyway since it's integrated in the O.S. since they don't know any better.

Maybe average joe is happy with average things

IE is still good for many people. We don't have to blame them for this; they don't care about Firefox, browser competition, M$ monopol and so on. You don't need faster or extremely secure browsers to read the newspapers, check the email or talk to friends on Yahoo.

Firefox needs more than enthusiasm to conquer the browser market. This could happen in the future... 'cause Google is probably developing its own web browser, as Pandia.com says.

(January 31 2005) Google continues to deny it, but the rumor mill is very active. So, is Google going to develop its own Google browser?

The browser as a search tool
Well, it certainly makes sense. The popularity of toolbars and web browser search fields has amply demonstrated that many searchers use these forms when searching the web.

It is after all, much simpler to fill in a form or a search field that is already on your screen than to go to the home page of the relevant search engine and do your search from there.

Moreover, Google is becoming more and more like a portal with a large number of search services.

The Google browser would present all the various search services in an easy accessible way, including web, directory, news and shopping search. All the toolbar features would be included, as would Google's desktop search for searching your own computer.

Such a browser would in essence be the ultimate portal to the web, combining web page display with some of the best search tools.

Text ads bring in money
Even if Google gives away the browser for free (which they are most likely to do), the fact that the browser would direct the searchers to Google's search results pages would give Google ample opportunity to present pay-per-click text ads, bringing in much wanted revenue.

When Gmail finally gets out of beta, Google could also include its online email solution, letting people search their email account directly from the browser.

Microsoft and the Explorer
However, there is one "con". The browser market is totally dominated by Microsoft, as the Internet Explorer browser is included in the Windows operating system.

Others would argue that this exactly why Google should present its own browser, as the Explorer obviously will be used as a gateway to the MSN search engine, Google's competitor.

The fact that Microsoft has neglected to improve its browser, leaning to an increasing number of downloads of alternative browsers like Firefox and Opera, also proves that it is possible to get at least some searchers to start using the new browser.

Furthermore, the Explorer is haunted by security flaws and spyware attacks. The Google brand does not bring up such associations, at least not yet.

Think about it: A download link at the Google home page must be the ultimate advertising space for such a browser.

Gbrowser.com
Pandia believes that the arrival of such a browser is very likely indeed.

Google has registered the domain gbrowser.com. Admittedly, that could be to stop others from doing the same, or just to keep the options open. Nevertheless, the domain name certainly proves that they are thinking about it.

The Motley Fool reported in September that Google had held a Mozilla Development Day on its campus, "where programmers spent the day improving the renamed Netscape browser."

There is more. Recently Ben Goodger and Darin Fisher, two of the men behind the Firefox browser, became employees of Google.

Mozilla Firefox
The Firefox browser is the most popular incarnation of the Mozilla browser, a technology grown out of the once so popular Netscape browser.

Mozilla is a so-called open source project, meaning that Google does not have to pay a lot of money to use this technology as the basis of their own browser.

In Mozilla's own words:

"We offer a full suite of integrated Internet applications including a web browser, e-mail client, address book, web page composer, Internet chat software and calendar application. Our web browser offers innovative and powerful features such as tabbed browsing (which lets you view multiple pages in one window), pop-up blocking and advanced privacy and security controls. "

The browser is already there, and it is better than the Internet Explorer. All Google has to do is to "googlify" it, make the necessary adjustments and add a Google logo.

What this would mean in practice is that Google would conquer a significant portion of the desktop from Microsoft. Given that people spend more and more time on the web, that would be a very important victory indeed.

Moreover, remember that we are not only talking about web search here. The combination of a Gbrowser, Gmail and Google desktop search, means that people could use the browser to search the web, their email and their computer.

In other words: Google would be able to present one unified interface to the PC as well as the internet. This does not make a new operating system, for sure, but it is getting close.