Microsoft rolls out developer preview of IE11 on Windows 7

Microsoft is admitting people are sticking with Windows 7 with this announcement. Efforts to force people to upgrade have flopped! And I ask again, where's the Metro killer app that would make people want to go out and buy Windows 8? Its nowhere in sight.

 

After using Windows 8 for a while now, Windows 7 just looks dated and feels sluggish in comparison.

 

This certainly shows Windows 8 as a dead end. If you do like it you can't keep it. Hopefully Windows 8.1 will be likable for anyone already using 8.

 

there are enough 'under the hood' improvements for me to be happy to have jumped on the 40$ upgrade deal for Win 8.

anyway, i tried IE 11 and it is pretty nice.

only problem for me is that there are not too many addons available if you run in Protected mode.

 

Is there a preview for win 8?

 

You crack me up sometimes with your dribbling nonsense. Why on earth would IE11 be W8 only?

 

I can answer that. Because earlier when MS released IE 10 they made it clear that it will be windows 8 only. It was only when windows 8 user base never got going and IE 10 market share was non existent that they finally ported it to windows 7.

MS earlier used a similar strategy to force people to migrate from WinXp to Windows 7.

 

@elapsed,

Why on earth is IE10 not on Vista? IE11?

 

This is a very good question.

 

IE9 was released for Vista and 7, both were in support at the time, XP was not.
IE10 was released for 7 and 8, both were in support at the time, Vista and XP were not.

Windows 7 support will last another thousand years, hence IE11 is available for it. It's quite a logical conclusion.

 

Runs 4 processes in memory. Html5test score is 350 + 9 bonus points.

Edit: after a reboot, only using 2 processes like it did in IE10.

 

Right, so what he said is entirely correct. They're supporting 7 because of support, because people will continue to use it for a long time. It's got nothing to do with the technical side of the projects, it's entirely to do with targeting users. Microsoft knows 7 is where their base is, and people aren't moving to 8 (like he said), so they're supporting it.

Norman's statement is that Microsoft is acknowledging that people aren't upgrading from 7 to 8. It seems like you agree. That's why XP support lasted so long, after all.

 

If Windows 7 is so dated and Windows 8 is such a huge success, Microsoft wouldn't be wasting its time bringing out a new version of Internet Explorer to the Windows 7 platform. You crack me up with your ridiculous statement IE is Windows 8 only! Microsoft is looking at this as a business proposition and let's face it, Windows 8 isn't exactly flying off the shelves!

 

But no body is migrating to Windows 8 and nearly every one hates Metro - so much so Microsoft just had a huge write off on the tablets it specifically developed to run it. People just hate that interface, period. Steve Ballmer is not going to get them to fall in love with it!

 

Windows XP was also the best operating system Microsoft ever produced, period. There's nothing like it even today and millions of computers still run Windows XP for a very good reason.

 

if we can go back to the topic for a moment...

anyway, here are some of the new features:

http://www.ghacks.net/2013/07/25/the-internet-explorer-11-preview-for-windows-7-is-now-available/
----

read post #4

 

No, I don't agree. You must be confused, he didn't mention support lifetimes whatsoever. You see, he is implying that the only reason they are bringing IE11 to 7 is that 8 is unpopular, which is a load of nonsense. They are bringing it to 7 because it is their duty to do so until support for the OS ends.

RE: XP, it was a popular OS, so they had longer support. If Vista was popular are you implying that would somehow shorten XP's lifespan? It wouldn't, nor would it have made them any less likely to bring IE7 & 8 to XP. The same goes for Windows 7 & 8. If Windows 8 was popular, it wouldn't magically influence the fact that IE11 is coming to 7 or make them less likely to do so.

Nonsense, IE10 was always planned for 7, they said this from the very beginning.

Are you delusional or do you have your English confused? It was YOU that was implying that Microsoft would make IE11 Windows 8 only by your "shock" that they are bringing it to 7. In other words, you are under the assumption that IE11 was going to be Windows 8 restricted, and they changed their mind due to Windows 8's popularity. This is utter nonsense, it is purely due to the fact they have to support Windows 7 until the deadline they have put forth.

 

there is one more good reason why XP is still there and not Win7/8 and 8.1 in future...

Min resource requirements, ability to buy new h/w to meet the same..

 

Its really good to see how fast IE became viable option again. IE11 seems to bring lots of perf. improvements compare to its predecessor. Sadly, EME and MSE are restricted to 8.1.

Next thing i want for IE is ABP's support should be official soon

Not sure why it is like that?

So, in 8.1, I could have netflix run on html5...

 

I believe that is a feature introduced in IE11 so it should be possible on 7 also.

 

I don't think so (i might be wrong). In order for Netflix to be run on html5, it should support MSE and EME extenstions, which is only available for 8.1 not 7.


added link.. http://techblog.netflix.com/2013/06/html5-video-in-ie-11-on-windows-81.html

 

They don't have to extend support for Windows 7 - that's my point! Microsoft extended support for XP precisely because Vista sucked. Windows 8 sucks so they're bringing the new IE application to Windows 7 for the same reason. Microsoft has always made one botched OS beginning with the widely detested Millennium and the same is true with 8. At some point Microsoft is going to have to face up to the fact no one wants Metro. They may be a computing monopoly but there are limits to what people will put up with - no matter how much you defend them on here.

 

Maybe you can have a discussion about IE without turning it into an entire Windows 8 and Metro debate? Would it be difficult for you to stop your whining for a moment?

Back on topic, Windows 7 support hasn't been extended. Your entire point is flawed. Your passionate hate for Windows 8 is blinding you.

 

To be fair nothing there says the extensions won't be brought to 7. IE10 also required platform updates to Windows 7 to function.