Bits from Bill
Facebook Recommends IE7
I may have mentioned once or twice that I’m not always the first to upgrade to new versions. When something works for me I’m happy and will continue using it until I have a good reason to upgrade. I still haven’t upgraded to Internet Explorer 7 and haven’t had a good reason to switch. Most of the time I use Firefox but I do occasionally use IE especially on my tablet PC which has some problems with Firefox.
I was surprised when I went to Facebook today and saw that they were encouraging me to upgrade to IE7.
Of course, they’re not just promoting Microsoft's Internet Explorer. They also provided links to Firefox and Opera.
According to my Blog reader stats 46% of my readers are using IE7. Only 16% are still on IE6. I guess it might be time to upgrade. I haven’t heard any horror stories from IE7 users lately. What do you think? Click on “Comments” below and let me know.
posted by Unknown | 1:18 PM
12 Comments:
Using IE 7 for some time now and absolutely no problems.
I see Facebook sponsoring IE7 carrying no more weight than should they push Google Toolbar like so many sources do now. If I wanted Google Toolbar I'd install it, but now days it is a constant hassle to keep it from being installed! What has Google Toolbar to do with Java, or Flash, or Acrobat Reader, or countless other places it piggybacks on? Similarly, in what way, exactly, does Facebook "work better for you" with IE7? Document it and I wouldn't be so skeptical. I just see this as another advertising partnership, although I am not sure what Microsoft has to gain from people installing IE7.
I disable the automatic upgrade to IE7 on the computers in our entire corporation, and on all of the computers I work on for friends and family. Out of hundreds, only two or three people have expressed any opinion of wanting to keep IE7. Out of hundreds, many have already switched to Firefox themselves, and I do recommend Firefox to those who aren't afraid to juggle back and forth between IE and Firefox when they find a site that doesn't work in one or the other.
Out of dozens, I've only found two or three installations of IE7 to not be causing problems (as in removing IE7 and returning to IE6 fixes things that IE7 "breaks").
IE7 is one of the major deal breakers for Vista for me. I have pulled up the exact same web site on an out-of-the-box Vista machine and then in Firefox installed on that machine, and found vast differences in speed. I'm referring to common sites that ought to work well in IE7, like clicking the gadgets sidebar and clicking to get more gadgets, only to watch for literally 15-20 seconds before the pages appear, while Firefox pulls them up instantly on the same machine.
On your own machine, feel free to use what you like, but in a corporate environment and on machines I have to support, IE6 and for some people Firefox + IE6 is my choice for one reason; lack of problems.
Has IE7 gotten better recently? I couldn't say because I flat refuse to allow it to exist on my machines. It proved itself long ago to cause problems, and again in Vista it proved itself a problem. I'll keep an eye on the comments here and anything Bill has to say on the subject, but for me it's gone way past once bitten, twice shy...
I'm not sure if it is all about the Microsoft bashing but that's what I think. I've been using IE 7 right from the get go when it was out of beta and I've never turned back. Just surf good sites without crap like porn and you'll be fine. I find that Firefox is awkward and the only good usage for it is on older machines that can't support IE7.
I've been using IE7 since it came out and find it works fine. Firefox works great as well and is touted as being safer.
Regarding IE6 - I've had 43,878 visitors to my website today and a shocking 42.81% are still using IE6! Time to upgrade folks and discover the beauty of tabbed browsing.
I am an independent IT guy in The OC. I have done many, many upgrades from IE6 to IE7 since IE7 was originally released. Both home and business clients alike. At the very beginning when first released, there were a few reported problems. But I can assure you now, with IE7 having been out and updated by Microsoft with patches, I have encountered zero problems or complaints for a long time. I think it is absolutely safe now for everyone to upgrade to IE7. And if one doesn't like the default of Tabbed Browsing, one can easily turn off Tabbed Browsing.
Love WinPatrol, Bill!
I stay with what works and I'm always cautious toward MS products as they tend to be buggy. I stayed with IE6 until recently. Been using IE7 for about 3 months without any noticeable problems. Tabs are a nuisance, so I disabled this feature. I like to keep all my stuff updated to ward off the bad stuff being thrown at our computers.
I updated to IE7 almost as soon as it became available and not in beta.
I like the Tabs and usually have three or more sites open like Calendar of Updates, hpHOSTS forum and MalwareBytes
I only upgraded to IE7 a month or two ago. I have had minimal problems. My biggest complaint is that the Refresh button (which I use often) was moved to the right of the address field, instead of toward the left next to the forward and back buttons. I am having a heck of a time getting used to that.
I primarily use Opera. For most of my surfing, it's faster than Firefox. I like creating my own searches in opera (I can search for a Company's SEC filings just by typing, for example, "sec microsoft" into the address bar).
But when I can't find the stupid plugin or when the site has annoying java-like menus (the saudi arabian stock exchange website comes to mind, tadawul), I have to use IE 7 as the backup.
I haven't had any problems from a functionality standpoint (IE 7 always seems to work okay), just from a personal workflow standpoint, the redesign is klunky for what I do. The documentation and help files, when you finally find them, aren't terribly helpful. Also, after beating into my brains since at least 1993 how to use the upper left toolbar, I find its disappearance disconcerting and disorienting.
My verdict: use it when you absolutely have to.
I've been using IE7 since it was in Beta and I love it. Before switching to IE I was a Maxthon user and had only a couple of problems with it during a year of use. I had a much less happy experience with Mozilla--in the days before Firefox--such that I steered clear of Firefox later on. I'm now using Vista on both my desktop and laptop and thoroughly enjoy it--and IE7.
Not sure if this ever occurred to you... IE6 is outdated and does not support modern web standards. The web is trying to move past a browser that was released before 9/11. Its like a cassette tape now... Sure it still works... but a CD is WAY better.
So the reason Facebook is trying to encourage upgrading is so they can offer modern web apps (like their new chat tool) that simply are not possible in the relic browser that is IE6. Move on. Please.
Heres to you Mr ancient browser user.
The people posting here who see some evil conspiracy behind being asked to upgrade to IE7 are completely out to lunch. IE7 fixes a large list of things that are broken in IE6.
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