It's finally here!

Oct 19, 2006 06:30 GMT  ·  By

Yes, you've read right. The final version of Internet Explorer 7 is available for download. IE7 was introduced to the market some 20 months ago as a concept presented by Bill Gates. It has seen the release of no less then five beta variants and a release candidate version at a global level. Dean Hachamovitch, Microsoft General Manager is the one that presented the news of the final build of IE7 to the world: "I want to thank everyone who provided feedback as we developed and fine-tuned Internet Explorer 7. With each release, your feedback helped us make IE7 better. Your contributions, ideas, and direct comments were crucial in helping us prioritize and focus our work. I can't imagine delivering this product without the tremendous cooperation we enjoyed from so many of you as well as developers and partners."

Microsoft also informed that, in addition to the Redmond Company's IE7 release, partners such as Yahoo, Weather.com and USA TODAY will make available their own customized versions of the browser, including personalized toolbars, additional search engines, favorites, and RSS feeds designed to tailor fit their content. Of course that you can, as we have accustomed you, download Internet Explorer 7 right here on Softpedia via this link, bearing in mind that the build supports Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP 64-bit Edition and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. Alternatively, Microsoft will push the browser as a high-priority update via Microsoft's Automatic Updates service in November.

"The Phishing Filter and the architectural work in IE7 around networking and ActiveX opt-in will help keep users more secure. IE7 also delivers a much easier browsing experience with features like tabbed browsing (especially with QuickTabs), shrink-to-fit printing, an easily customizable search box, and a new design that leaves more screen real estate for the web site you're viewing. IE7's CSS improvements are incredibly important for developers as many of you have made quite clear. I also think IE7's RSS experience and platform are important, powerful, and innovative," added Hachamovitch.

Softpedia has tested Internet Explorer 7 and guarantees that the browser is 100% Free.