Labs

Internet Explorer 7 lumbered on to the scene in October 2006, with plentiful new features that Microsoft considered innovative, but most of which the competition had enjoyed for some time. Tabbed browsing, RSS feed integration and an integrated search box make Microsoft's latest effort a definite improvement over the stagnant, dated Internet Explorer 6, but its streamlined interface is sometimes less successful, often hampering usability by hiding commands away from their usual

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locations. It's also bulky on screen, especially compared to the svelte default setups of Firefox and Opera, which leaves less space for web pages. Other shortcomings include the ropey Favorites Center, which still makes bookmark management a chore, and support for established web standards which, while improved over version 6, still falls short of that in Opera and Firefox.

However, it's not all bad news, and Internet Explorer 7 is now at least a competent browser, if not a particularly inspiring one. The tabs work well, and the Tab List and Quick Tabs buttons - providing, respectively, drop-down access to open tabs and 'thumbnail' views of the same - are neat usability aids, even if they only work within the current window. And despite being nothing new, the RSS reader is a decent example of its kind, with a highly usable, straightforward interface.

For Internet Explorer 6 users, then, this latest version is a must-have upgrade, but for anyone who's already strayed, Internet Explorer 7 has nothing to tempt them back into the Microsoft fold.