Browser shoot-out: IE 7 v Firefox 2
Published: 31 Oct 2006
Cool new features
Microsoft had five years to dream up a new Internet browser; Mozilla's been updating its popular Firefox browser pretty regularly in the last few years. Which offers the coolest new features?
Rafe:
There are fancy little flourishes in both browsers (IE has page zoom; Firefox has a spelling checker), but the big news in new browser features right now is RSS reading. Both browsers recognise when a page has an RSS feed, and both will parse XML and display a readable page instead of code when they see it.
Score 3
Peter:
RSS feeds: once you've subscribed to a feed via IE 7, it's easy to see, sort, manage and read your subscriptions from a two-panel interface. Firefox's Live Bookmarks do a similar job, but not as neatly. I only wish IE 7 detected available feeds better.
Score 3
Peter:
Neither IE 7 nor Firefox do a terrific job of showing off their new features. Many of IE 7's new features are old tricks for Firefox. At least IE 7's RSS icon gave us a hint about its ability to surface newsfeeds; that icon appears within the Firefox address bar only when you land at a Web site with an RSS feed. But once we subscribed to some feeds, we couldn't find them within IE 7. Firefox, on the other hand, displayed them by default on a toolbar and within its Bookmarks folder.
Score 3
Total: 9
Rafe:
Firefox does a much better job of managing feeds: it will let you subscribe in Firefox's own reader, which awkwardly makes bookmarks of headlines, or in Google, Bloglines, Yahoo or any reader application you have on your PC. IE will subscribe itself only to feeds, and it doesn't display RSS content as reliably as Firefox.
Score 4
Peter:
In Firefox 2, I love the Manage Search Engines dialogue box, but I'd say the Session Saver feature is the biggest improvement. I know that many people who accidentally quit the browser will love it.
Score 3
Elsa:
Firefox's RSS features are even more flexible since (as Rafe mentions) they can let you subscribe with a third-party newsreader. Overall, however, I found the RSS features somewhat clumsy in both browsers and easy for RSS newcomers to overlook. IE 7's easy ability to zoom in on a Web page makes for better browsing if you have vision problems. Ctrl-T does the same trick within Firefox, but most users may not memorise such keyboard shortcuts. Firefox also checks your spelling, which could save you from embarrassing mistakes.
Score 4
Total: 11
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Full Talkback thread
15 comments
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Biased samtheman1k -
Not half modafo 
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A worthy winner David
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FF vs IE7 1000102409
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Stumble Upon Chris Beaumont
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IE has more competition itstheRuss
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Say what? baest
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a samtheman1k
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b samtheman1k -
Standards 1000113162
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Can anyone say Opera? artpoetryfiction
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Opera all the way... 1000239755
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Tab surfing is clearly the way forward. However, m... Dean Cook
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Works with Windows 98se? ciscokid2k1
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Firefox for me. cavalireattitude
