Microsoft IE7 vs Mozilla Firefox 2.0

The latest Web browser from Microsoft has been available for just over a week, while a new version of Firefox for the Web 2.0 age was released just yesterday. Available in Firefox for ages, Internet Explorer 7.0 (IE7) now includes anti-phishing technology to prevent fraud, as well as a built-in search engine manager - and about time! But has Microsoft’s complacency allowed Firefox to gain too much - although deserved - market share (around 11 per cent)?

You may be surprised to learn that there’s quite a contrast between the release of Firefox 2.0 and IE7. Firefox 2.0 is, to the regular Firefox user, not a huge jump as there are few new outstanding features. The reason for that is simple - it already had all the core goodies that real world users like such as tabbed browsing. IE7 is still playing catch-up from the back of the field and is thus more visibly changed. For Microsoft, IE7 represents a key piece of software in its critically important ‘Live’ initiative to deliver Windows, Office, and other products as services over the Web. The browser is the gateway to the Web, and therefore the window to Live services.

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