ShareThisBy JAMES DERK
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Call it the week of the dueling browsers.
It was the week I got to download the finished versions of both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.
One was huge and one was small (you can guess which was which there.) One installed quickly and one took a while. One needed a reboot and one didn't.
So I have two shiny new icons on my Windows XP desktop now. Readers of this space know I am a Firefox fan from way back so the latest version is just an upgrade for me.
More interesting to me is the latest version of IE, which has been five years in the making. The biggest improvement is tabbed browsing, which has been a feature in Firefox and Opera for some time. It is a welcome addition to IE.
Another welcome addition is clearer type. My screen is now noticeably clearer and brighter to my aging eyes. For that reason alone I am finding myself turning more and more to IE over Firefox just because the browser's type is so clear.
IE 7 has a built-in "phishing" filter that should help alert you if you are visiting a known scam site.
For example, if you get one of those silly fake PayPal e-mails and actually click on it, the filter should alert you that the site is not really PayPal. (It won't be 100 percent but it should help stop at least the more obvious and older ones.)
On the nerd front, IE 7 has significant improvements on the security front, including controls to allow for users to "opt-in" for Active X controls, which previously were downloaded automatically from some Web sites without user consent. There are some other pretty cool toys, including color coding sites that have undergone identity verification and more protection of personal privacy.
I have had less time to play with Firefox because it was just released but it also includes built-in phishing (man, I hate new spellings) protection and better security as well. I probably will grow to like it but at first glance it is not visually as pretty as IE.
Both browsers handle RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds with ease, I am told, but I cannot vouch for that personally because RSS is something I neither have time nor energy to get involved in at this phase in my life. (Who has time to read about anything other than Eva Longoria and Tony Parker?)
Both browsers installed pretty easily. IE 7 installed a small program then spent the next 15 minutes grinding away making updates and such. Then asked for a reboot. It then suggested I check for Windows Updates, which I did. None was found.
Firefox on the other hand was a single 5.5 MB download. It installed over my existing Firefox and life was good. Bookmarks and such were intact.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: For those who have written and asked when my book will be done and published, the answer is "now." You can see the details at my new book site at www.derk.com
James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim(at)cyberdads.com
