In my Internet Explorer 7.0 Beta 2 review, I examine the changes that have occurred in IE 7 since the first two public previews! In January, Microsoft released the Public Preview version of Internet Explorer (IE) 7.0 Beta 2, a pre-release version of its next Web browser. The Public Preview was described as feature complete from an end user standpoint, Microsoft says. In March, that product was updated with a refresh build that was described as feature complete for Web developers; the idea was that developers and Web site operators should use that build to test their sites in anticipation of the final IE 7 release, due in late 2006.

Flash forward to this week and Microsoft has shipped IE 7.0 Beta 2. This version isn't hugely different from the previous two pre-release versions, but the product has been fine-tuned quite a bit and is now quite close to the final version we'll see later. In fact, Microsoft is so sure of IE 7.0 Beta 2 that they're actually going to provide free phone support for this version: They want people to use this beta broadly and make sure everything is working properly before the final release. With that in mind, let's quickly examine what features you can expect in IE 7.0, note the changes in Beta 2, and discuss some of the other unique things that are going on around this release.

Paul Thurrott Windows SuperSite