NOTE: This doesn't appear to be a BETA version of IE 7.0, but the actual final release. It should be free from Microsoft.
Having upgraded, my first impressions are: What did Microsoft do to the toolbar? Now the HOME, STOP, REFRESH, PRINT, HISTORY, and additonal graphical command icons are small! How small are the IE 7 command icons? They're as small as the emoticons on Armorama! Geez, there's all this dead "bar" space in the middle. Gone are the FILE, TOOLS, HELP, FAVORITES, and other textual drop-down commands on the top. (I wonder if Windows Vista will be like this). Worst off, I can't move any of the toolbars around...they're fixed with the icons crowding the right and left sides and the middle free of info or commands. I wonder who came up with this simplified GUI. It's going to take some getting used too because its so simple and minimalistic. The locations of the icons and drop-down menus associated with them have moved (all except the BACK and FORWARD buttons...and remember, you can't move them back to how they were in IE 6.0).
The toolbar structure from Top to Bottom:
* URL window: (BACK, FORWARD, URL window, Search Engine Window)
* Internet Security Commands (if you have any Anti-Virus or Firewall Protection software)
* IE 7 icon commands (Favorites icon, Add to Favorites icon, Window tab (Modelgeek here), Home icon, Update website icon, Print icon, Page icon, Tools icon).
* Bottom of window status bar: Phishing filter, Options icon, Zoom icon
The good news is that everything looks much clearer. The text, type, graphics, and colors are vivid and vibrant...much more friendly to the eyes than IE 6.0. It's a feature Microsoft calls "ClearType" and IMO works pretty well. Whereas IE 6.0 looked like inkjet text where one can see the tiny dots of the letters on the screen, IE 7.0 looks more like laser-printed text.
The zoom factor on bottom right is nice. One can zoom the browser window from 50 to 400%. And the phishing scanner is a nice feature to ensure you're on the official webpage and not some phony. Turning on phishing filter does slow down webpage download time somewhat. I also found that webpages fit the confines of the screen a lot better...no more scrolling left and right.
The javascript commands are streamlined now. The laughing, rocking, shooting, swearing, waving, sunny, and other moving emoticons are really moving smoothly and fast now! :-)
So in summary, I say IE 7.0 is a mixed bag. The actual window content looks great. I don't have to lean forward and squint anymore at 100% zoom factor to read some content. But the IE 7.0 interface is so small, I have to lean forward to see and read the commands. I don't like the tiny icons IE 7 gives and prefer the larger icons in IE 6.0.
SIDENOTE: The reason why I upgraded to IE 7.0 is simple: The newer the browser, the more security features one gets. Just like the newer the car, the more safety features that come standard. Microsoft has a habit of only upgrading and supporting its newest software versions, so IMO, it pays to stay state-of-the-art. And besdies, IE 7 is free
. If you're happy with IE 6.0, then I see no real need to upgrade to IE 7 because with IE 7, the GUI gets condensed. If you have a hard time reading from IE 6 and would like the ZOOM feature, or additional search engines (Yahoo, Lycos, Google, AOL, etc) and the latest security and upgrade features, then upgrading to IE 7 may be worthwhile).
