New IE7 beta2 (and live mustachioed plumber)

Need a break? Turn to IT Blogwatch, in which the latest IE7 Beta debuts in open beta. Not to mention a live performance from one of the Super Mario Brothers...

Redmond says they're listening to customer requirements. Martin McKeay reports: "I was lucky enough to get an invite to the Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 release party last night ... This version was released for the XP-class operating systems, meaning all XP desktops and Server 2003 ... Microsoft say that this version of IE is for 'the enthusiast', meaning it's not quite ready to put on the average user's machine ... Microsoft continues to work on the security of Internet Explorer ...  They've also shown a definite commitment to supporting IE 7 in the enthusiast community by setting up a free support number ... listening to the conversations users are having about IE7.  The manager I talked to actually reads every single bug report, slightly to the chagrin of his engineers ... Microsoft is making a definite effort to remain king of the browsers with IE7. They're making every effort to give users what they want, from improved security to tabbed browsing to a tighter interface.  I'm not quite willing to switch back from Firefox, but I'm willing to install this version of Internet Explorer on my main computer for testing."

» John Paczkowski thought the phone support means: "Microsoft really is taking the browser war seriously ... available for download, providing the IE faithful the same selection of features and security that Firefox, Opera and Safari have been offering for the past year or so ... This beta of IE 7 notably adds a tabbed interface, support for RSS feeds, and improved standards compliance and security. Nice features all of them, but as I said, nothing to differentiate it from the rivals Microsoft copied (one rival in particular) ... Maybe it will slow the loss of market share to rival browsers, but bring switchers back to IE? I doubt it, not with the endless parade of security issues that continue to plague IE 6. Anyway, Microsoft plans to release the final version of Internet Explorer 7 in the second half of this year."

» TDavid includes some screen shots of his test: "After downloading ...you’ll see the somewhat ominous warning to backup your files and close all other running programs ... Now comes the time where the perspiration begins and you hope that Microsoft has done its homework and your system will reboot successfully. But you are using a non-production system, right? You backed up your files, right? ... gives you a chance to configure ...  automatic phishing ...  customize webpages to your current location ... streamlined toolbar and interface that gives more browser window room ... we learn that there is an 'optimized design' which includes tighter menus ... The search bar has MSN as the default, but by clicking the dropdown menu you can be taken to a page to quickly and easily add Google and other search engines as options. Thanks Microsoft for making this convenient ... Internet Explorer 7 comes with a built-in RSS reader that takes a similar path as Safari, unfortunately there is no slider like Safari where you can view headlines only ... Microsoft offers a handy IE7 checklist for consumers, developers and IT professionals ... FREE phone support. Are you freaking kidding me? ... curious move considering their history with support being an extra get into our back pocket move. Progressive thinking on their part or desperation, readers can decide."

» Longhorn's Brandon LeBlanc: "IE 7's memory usage is still high compared to that used by Firefox 1.5 which disappointments a bit. But it seems to respond quite a bit quicker than the previously released Beta 2 Preview."

» Geek News Central reports: "the very outspoken John Dvorak has come out and essentially called IE7 the multi-billion dollar money pit sucking Microsoft dry dead Albatross of a program. If you look at the all of the money Microsoft has had to pay out because of IE, then he may be on to something ... my employer forces me to use Internet Explorer which gets a bit annoying. Which unless things change I think IE will maintain a significant market share."

» Lorin Olsen ruminates, "Oftentimes, I judge the 'goodness' of software based upon my wife's casual perceptions of look, feel and general usability. And her view of IE7 was simple: 'Go ahead and make it the default browser on our system, honey!' Well, alright then ... the biggest treat was the inclusion of OPML feed imports ... The most encouraging thing about this release is that it is now feature-complete ... IE7 will become the default build for browsers that all Microsoft employees use."

Your humble blogwatcher will be visiting Infosec in London tomorrow (Thursday). If you want to grab a cup of tea, you can ping Richi on +44.7789.200701.

Buffer overflow:

• Ferris Research: It Doesn't Matter That Policy Compliance Tools Aren't Perfect
• Jason Whitman: Jobby - Candidate Search 2.0
• Payton Byrd: More Critical Mac OS X Flaws found.
• Anders Bylund: Broad alliance backing VMware desktop vision
• Hu Yoshida: Virtual Ports and Host Storage Domains
• Bruce Schneier: RFID Cards and Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
• Scott P. Shaffer:  Your Face Is A Bar Code
• Douglas Schweitzer: Hip, Hip, HIPAA for all.
• Alex Scoble: Keep your Windows PC up to date with Microsoft Update
• Alex Scoble: Open source and proprietary source models can't co-exist?
• Jerri Ledford: Google pays users to switch to Firefox
• Angela Gunn: Back in business
• Angela Gunn: Notes from the underground
• Jeff Boles: HP Storageworks 200, what rests in your internals?
• Brian Babineau: As easy as selling Girl Scout Cookies
• Shark Tank: Race condition
• Martin MC Brown: Virtualizing the desktop
• Douglas Schweitzer: Westchester County steps up to the plate

And finally... Mario ... LIVE!

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk. Also contributing to today's post: Judi Dey, our very own Antipodean.