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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: celia on Saturday 11 November 06 20:28 GMT (UK)

Title: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: celia on Saturday 11 November 06 20:28 GMT (UK)
Hi

I have been reading all about I.E 7 it looks good and i like the pages,I am thinking of upgrading,but don't want to mess my computer up.I want to know if it will interfere with anything.Like my I.P, Is anyone using this  if so what is your verdict on it's usage please

Celia
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: downside on Saturday 11 November 06 22:00 GMT (UK)
Hi Celia

Scroppers asked the same question recently:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,191261.0.html

downside
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Michael72. on Saturday 11 November 06 23:41 GMT (UK)

Soooooo? After reading all that.....I still don't know if IE 7 is of any use still.......

I've always been nervous of M$ stuff.....they are STILL bringing out Patches etc., for IE 6??!!...never mind IE7!!....

Personally I have NEVER downloaded a single 'Patch/Critical update' from M$ yet....and I haven't suffered a fate worse than death....I have this mental block with regard D/Ling something that CAN'T be UNINSTALLED!!...

Vista is too frightening to contemplate yet...considering it will shun all outside Anti-Virus programmes but M$s own...and we all know how good M$ AV. etc., soft/hardaware is ??.........


Michael72.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Bill749 on Saturday 11 November 06 23:50 GMT (UK)
Hi Michael

I installed IE7 a few weeks ago and so far have had no problems with it.  Unfortunately I have had a serious crash on my computer in the last couple of days which has left me on this one with good old IE6!

Regards, Bill
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: julianb on Sunday 12 November 06 08:50 GMT (UK)
I've had IE7 for a good month or so now.  It seems to work fine.  Took a few weeks to get used to not having the menu bar, and to using tabbed browsing.

But, I couldn't comment on what happens behind the scenes, eg security vulnerabilities.

I can't get particularly excited about it, and am still considering switching to use Firefox as my main browser.

JULIAN
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: downside on Sunday 12 November 06 11:16 GMT (UK)
Quote
Took a few weeks to get used to not having the menu bar

You can change your screen view to include certain toolbars:

View->Toolbars

downside
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Zeb on Sunday 12 November 06 15:55 GMT (UK)
IE7 has seen a few new features and a bit of a change to the interface. I've heard mixed reviews about it and personally I'm staying clear but thats because I use it at work and I'm not really up for change.

If its not broke then don't try and fix it!
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Chipesch on Sunday 12 November 06 16:52 GMT (UK)
MS always seem to think that different is better. They take away menu bar,  but yes, you can restore it. You than have two tools and two favorites .

Took me 10 mins to find the favorites.

Anyone notice that the "read mail" icon has gone. You can restore (right ick on command and customize)
Why isnt it there by default ? (Firefox have done the same!)

There are quite a few bugs being reported so might be better to hold off a while.

Bob
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Cadoret on Sunday 12 November 06 18:12 GMT (UK)
It's usually best to let everyone else try out new software; I always assume that a new release is actually the final 'beta' version; it's usually techies that download as soon as it's released - especially with Microsoft; they actually 'offered' to let me test some new MS software a few years ago, if I paid them a fee!!

I'm a big Firefox fan (my main browser, with an extension that can read IE pages within Firefox without actually opening IE) and I installed Firefox v2 when it came out. And it didn't work properly...

I'm back with Firefox 1.5 (they just released a 1.5 update btw, I assume that most users still have 1.5), and will wait until v2.1 before trying it again. The same goes for IE - unfortunately having IE installed is a necessity, but I will wait until MS put it in their automatic update downloader; if there are ongoing problems they will probably delay this inclusion.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: PaulaToo on Sunday 12 November 06 20:08 GMT (UK)
Oh please, PLEASE, don't mention IE7 within reading distance of this daft old bird.
Machine going slow, always does that when an update is about to rear it's ugly head.
Ping...Important update.
Right, have that, get things running better again.
A couple of hours later.....................I find I can't connect to the internet........Internet, what internet. No one ever told me about the internet.
Frantic call to server, who ALWAYS comes up with the answer.
'Are you trying to connect to broadband?'
'Um, yes.'
'Oh, it's all in the instructions.'
'No, you don't understand, I downloaded IE7, and now you have disappeared and won't come back!'
'Oh, eh, try closing everything down and start again, that might work.'
Did it! Guess!
Computer had a touch of the vapours, went into a tail spin and I lost patientce.
When I FINALLY convinced it that it should start up again I got rid of the stupid IE7 thing, did a Refresh, and everything was suddenly roses and daffodils again!

But that was just me, someone else might have just said......'Try that,' and made it work. ::)
All the same, don't mention IE7 anywhere near me!
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Cadoret on Sunday 12 November 06 21:05 GMT (UK)
PaulaToo, you don't sound old, and you're certainly not daft - you fixed the PC yourself didn't you?  :D

It's not you, it's Internet Exploder 7 that's at fault!!!! I have a love/hate relationship with Microtheft - sorry, Microsoft; they've brought (relatively) easy-to-use computing to the masses, but release very buggy operating systems and software, while at the same time stifling or buying ANY competition...  >:(

Don't forget your PC will automatically download & install IE7 at some point -  unless you've switched the facility off... or still have pre-Windows XP PC, in which case... erm... you could be facing more outages at some point in the near future...

It would be interesting to hear Microsoft's response if you mail the details of your IE7 problem to their help desk!
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: PaulaToo on Sunday 12 November 06 21:56 GMT (UK)
You're right there, Cadoret, it would be interesting what Microsoft would say. I'll bet they would give me a couple of pages of instructions that I wouldn't have a hope in a hot place of understanding, and tell me that was all I had to do.
I've got an XP 2000, and it is a machine that has LIVED.  It's been used, and used, and gets cranky from time to time, but I've never known it throw in the sponge like that before.
Let's just say I'm well past pension age, but that experiance added ten years in ten minutes :D
They had the cheek to trot out some more updates a couple of days later. Guess what was top of the list. I found a place that said,'Don't show me this again' so I gave it one.
You know that little smiley Berlin Bob has, the one where the fist comes out of the machine and bops him on the nose......that's the relationship I have with my computer.......nah, love it really 8)
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Tony Payne on Sunday 12 November 06 23:34 GMT (UK)
I have been using Firefox for the last year and I much prefer it to IE6.

Apart from the features, and IE7 now has many of the features that Firefox has had for a while, Firefox doesn't store such a huge amount of items in cache and make it virtually impossible to delete them. 

From a security point of view, the largest percentage increase of new attacks against browsers in the past few months has been against Firefox, since more people are now using it.   On a positive note, most of the holes in Firefox are usually patched within a couple of days, a lower percentage of the holes in MSIE are patched within a couple of weeks.

I would recommend that you download and try Firefox to see if you like it, but it's easy to delete if you don't, and there is nothing to stop you having 2 browsers installed.  The only problem I have found is that Firefox won't allow me to play MSN games, which specifically check for MSIE as the browser, but other than that it works nicely.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: celia on Monday 13 November 06 00:25 GMT (UK)
Hi
I have had a problem getting on here today,just want to thank you for all the input.I will have to think about the new version of I.E. I have changed my setting so they don't  download it.My question hasn't been answered yet though ;D If i do decide on the new version will it interfere in anyway with the setting of My I.P or O.E which works with I.E. If this post arrives at a decent time i might not need a update    Posted 00.20 go

Celia That clock is 3 minits faster that mine ;D
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Cadoret on Monday 13 November 06 00:55 GMT (UK)
Completely agree with Tony. As I said in my earlier post I did try V2 & had problems (probably my PC rather than the software), but unlike IE it uninstalled without any problems, as has all earlier versions in the past.

Unfortunately, you do need to keep up with the IE 'upgrades' to keep your PC secure online - eventually MS stops supporting earlier IE versions, which leaves it open to hacking. But ther's not really any hurry, and so you can leave the download/install until the 2nd or 3rd version of IE7 is released.

Firefox also has an excellent online community, and you can even change the way it looks - with 'Themes' - and acts - with 'Extensions'.

On that note, Tony, have you tried the extension 'IE Tabs' for your gaming? It opens IE in a Firefox tab, and usually tricks the remote site to thinking it is 'seeing' IE - I guess MSN may have sussed this & blocked it though! I rarely use IE now, & usually only see it when it opens automatically for an IE-specific file extension. You can get it at; https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/

The only downside I know of with Firefox is that if you do  LOT of browsing, it can eat up your memory, but if this happens all you need to do is close it down - and if the problem continues shut down Firefox.exe in Windows Task Manager; press Ctr-Alt-Del to access it, and you'll see how much memory Firefox is using.

PS regarding your specific query, Celia, I think you've done the right thing by delaying the install until you've had more feedback about known problems. But if you haven't already done so, switch the update notification back on, then you can decide which updates to install on a case-by-case basis. When you do install IE7, it *shouldn't* (!) affect your settings, but there is no guarantee; if you're really worried, create a System Restore Point, and do a full System Backup before you install IE7.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Cadoret on Monday 13 November 06 01:41 GMT (UK)
Sorry for yet another post, but if you want to delay installing IE7 and don't want to switch off Automatic Updates for Windows XP, Microsoft have release a 'Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 7'. This will stop automatic download of IE7 but allow all other automatic downloads, and will not stop you downloading IE7 manually when you wish to install it.

You will need to have Windows XP Service Pack 2 already installed (you should have this installed in any case, as MS have stopped supporting Service Pack 1), and can download it at; http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=4516A6F7-5D44-482B-9DBD-869B4A90159C&displaylang=en

But remember, you will soon need to install it as an upgrade to IE6 to keep your PC secure, and so you should periodically check the Microsoft Update site regarding the advisability of installing IE7; at some point in the near future it would be inadvisable to keep using IE6.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Tony Payne on Monday 13 November 06 02:46 GMT (UK)
Hi Cadoret,

No I haven't tried opening an IE tab under Firefox.  Might be an idea.  Thanks.

There is all the hype about insecurity in IE, but there is nothing to stop you downloading IE7 to be sure you are up to date on the updates, and then to use another browser (ie: Firefox etc).

I count myself lucky to have multiple computers, so I can use one as a guinea pig to test the water first.  If I don't like what I find after installing something I can go back.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: PaulaToo on Monday 01 January 07 22:28 GMT (UK)
Nice and quiet today, everyone zonked out after New Years Eve, so I took the bull by the horns and installed I E 7 for the second time!

First time was a disaster and the computer went into sulk that only uninstall could save me from. Even then I had to do a system restore before it would forgive me.

So with some trepidation I pressed the button and set the wheels in motion.
Brilliant.
Went like a dream.
No problems....well, not yet....there isn't.

Funny, but it looks entirely different to when I tried it way back months ago. Have they changed it?
Have no problems using it hardly any difference to what I had before.  Wish the icons were a bit bigger, but hey, I can live with that.

Right pleased I am.

Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: celia on Monday 01 January 07 23:07 GMT (UK)
Hi everyone
I decided not to download version 7 till whoever :) has finished fiddling with it :)then when they have i will let it in ;D

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Celia
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: PaulaToo on Monday 01 January 07 23:34 GMT (UK)
A sound plan, celia.
More or less what i thought.
My computer wasn't having any when I first tried it, but that was months ago.
Nice and quiet today so I thought to give it a try. It seems better already, well, at least the computer is still working :D
So it looks as though the longer you wait, the better it will get.
Cheers
Paula
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Bee on Tuesday 02 January 07 00:09 GMT (UK)
I don't know why some people have had prblems with it, I downloaded IE7, well actually I think it automatically downloaded itself a couple of weeks ago,  and have had no problems whatsoever with it.

As a complete technophobe I would have been the first to ask questions if there had been a problem :D

Bee
 :)
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: carol80 on Tuesday 02 January 07 00:21 GMT (UK)
As a Computer Dummie i downloaded it and have no problems.
I use firefox for family History sites and IE for everything else.
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Boomerang on Tuesday 02 January 07 01:00 GMT (UK)
Hi all

Hope you all had a great New Year.... :)

I downloaded IE7 about 3 months ago now and I have not had any problems so far. It is set out a little differently than IE6 (I find it's more like Firefox)but I soon got used to it. In fact I was using Firefox up until I downloaded IE7, but I now use IE7 as my default browser.

However I have kept Firefox loaded should I wish to use it again in the future. My parents and a few of my friends have also recently upgraded to IE7 and thus far had no issues. So far so good!

Regards ... Steve
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Bill749 on Tuesday 02 January 07 18:46 GMT (UK)
Quote
Wish the icons were a bit bigger, but hey, I can live with that.

Right click the mouse over the toolbar and select "Use Large Icons".

You can also modify the way the interface looks, to make it more like the older versions - for example, removing tabbed windows.

Regards, Bill
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: PaulaToo on Tuesday 02 January 07 19:03 GMT (UK)
Billy, you little beauty, you've saved my weary eyeballs!
Thanks for that. Marvelous! :D
Title: Re: Is I.E. 7 any good
Post by: Tony Payne on Wednesday 03 January 07 01:30 GMT (UK)
IE7 may be ok, but watch out for Media Player 11.
It doesn't recognise my MP3 Player - seems to be a common problem apparently, and it has a lot of bigs according to the MS Newsgroups...