Bye bye Firefox?

Well… I just wrote a post about how IE 7 had finally caught up with firefox. It's stable , fast (except for the tab creation part) and is having a dedicated add on site. Having been using it for the past week and not encountering any problem and almost enjoying it. Unfortunately, it seems there are still compatibility issues with some sites as the post i just published was actually … blank! Where did the text go in the process? Is this a security "feature"? no idea…Thank god it was only a few lines or i would have just.

It may have its fair share of problems (memory leak and processor misuse) but at least for the sake of compatibility, don't ditch firefox just yet…

IE 7 Beta 2 quick Overview

That's it , Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 is out. I have been running the beta 2 preview and as far as i can see, the beta 2 is noticably faster, especially the tab creation/switching. Other than that, there are not major improvements but more some minor changes as you can see below

IE 7 installer now asks you to verify your copy of windows
Important… Get the latest security updates fo IE
A classic. Still have to restart your PC. Still a pain
mmm nice you can see all your tabs with this quick view. As i usually have 20 to 30 tabs open , let's see how handy it can by in the coming days.
The search box is now appearing at the top right of the screen instead of in the middle. Well thanks it's better. Now the most important feature still missing is the "search as you type" search seen in Firefox. Just hope we have it for the final version

It's actually starting to look pretty nice for this much needed version of IE 7. This release is already very usable and fast and is definitely worth upgrading now, just for the sake of having tabs.

IE 7 search feature is still lacking compared to its firefox counterpart though but to make up for that , you will have a fairly decent integrated RSS reader which will be a good introduction to RSS for the million of users who will be using IE 7 with XP and Vista. However, i feel that i have a better experience/efficiency with Firefox's "search as you type" feature and extensions for the moment so i will have to keep going with Firefox as my primary browser for a while.

Technorati tags : IE 7 microsoft

Microsoft and Trust

Reobert Scole has a very nice post regarding microsoft trust and how to improve microsoft image and inspire its employees. I do think that the "trust" issue for microsoft online ("live") services is overstatedJust look at the crowd (of "seconf life" generation people) following every development of live messenger on the live messenger blog and to a lesser extent the same happening on the live mail blog. I don't think there is more of a trust issue with any of microsoft services than with google or yahoo services.Actually I would personnaly feel more confortable with microsoft handling my data than google and i think most people wouldn't care and go for the best service/package anyway.The trust issue is more with Microsoft as a whole, the company, than with any of it's particular product or services.Actually , speaking of products, how many can a consumer really buy? Windows, office, xbox… that's about it. Microsoft is a plateform company and most of its other products are targetted at companies or developers which makes it a bit of a stretch to compare it with Apple.But still, to come back to the trust issue, i think it breaks down on the following:

1. You can't trust Windows : it is insecure by default and you need anti spyware, anti virus , anti anything to keep it more or less working. On top of that, it "feels" insecure as you need to reboot it with every update. Looks like the problem is deep inside.

2. microsoft only works (well is compatible with) with microsoft.

3. lame desinformation campaigns against linux and/or opensource software. Why do you even think of spending money on that? Nice to see Bill Hilf lab bringing a bit of pragmatism there thoughfor the last 2 , the average non techy users don't care/know but the influencers (and most of the second life generation is going to be) will

Soo how to try to cure those sources:

1. Make vista unbreakable. Sell Win XP PCs with SP2 installed and fully patched

2. Give people choice. Accept that people can use other stuff than microsoft but this doens't mean they don't want to buy microsoft products.For example Why have the (great by the way) .net framework only run on windows while it could run on all OS.Windows can still be the best of breed platform to run .net apps offering the most features ut why not let it run on other OSes?A lot of companies would actually choose the windows solution over the linux solution but would just like to have the choice. Just by giving the choice, more people will trust microsoft and their investment in microsoft technology.So for the companies who run linux, you can still sell them visual studio instead of having no sale at all. If windows solution is so much better (and it will be) at running .net , people will choose windows, because the want it : more trust

3. Quit doing that, it's useless

Finally, kepp all the great people working at microsoft and keep them blogging (Scott Guthrie (one of the best), mini , the windows mobile team , Charlie Owen etc.. (long list of many other excellent ones))

Technorati Tags : micrososft

Everything you want to know about windows Vista

… except may be the release date

At last some decent piece of information regarding the upcoming Microsoft windows Vista. This 313 pages document released by Miscrosoft introduces most of the features we have already heard about (Aero interface, sidebar, gadgets, integrated search…) with ome nice screenshots and explanation

Download Here : Windows Vista Product Guide Beta 2.pdf (right click and choose save as)

Technorati tags : windows vista microsoft