Community poll forum: Do you use Internet Explorer 7?

I installed IE7 on the basis that IE6 was slow, clumsy and unstable. I was using Firefox most of the time but was prepared to give Microsoft a chance. I shouldn't have bothered. Yes it is faster and more (but not totally) stable. Apart from that I loath it.
Most particularly defaulting to an icon only view. Like many people (as I have discovered when computer training) I do not like icons in isolation - in fact, I can't even understand most of them. Although options allow the restore of a menu I still find the thing looks 'orrible! (And I won't mention how long it took me to find out how to do that).
Better than IE 6? Just about. Better than Firefox? Not by a million miles. Someone commented on another thread about IE7 forcing non-compliant websites off the web. Probably MS's dream but I sincerely hope not - especially as I have had IE7 fall over on totally WWC compliant sites. I would rather see IE7 forced out by non-compliant websites which nevertheless have good content - that is the really important factor.
Finally, we come to resources. A quick check shows IE7 68478kb, Firefox 28304kb, and Mozilla 27588kb. Yet more bloatware it would seem.
So, for me, no, I won't roll back to IE7 but mainly because I use IE as little as possible anyway.

Hi Michael
This is most unfair - you made me open IE7 so I could see how I did it! You can't expect me to remember at my age!
Anyway, at the extreme right hand end of probably the bottom row of whatever crud IE 7 has inserted in the space at the top you will find a drop down entitled "Tools". This includes a check option for "Menu Bar". Hey presto!

Or you can press Alt key for temporary call-up duty.

For Office 2007, it's totally different. I have it, I know. I like the new interface but if you're not good with finding things out, I suggest you stick with Office 2003.

I've been using ie7 since day 1 of the beta release, I also have Foxfire and Opera, now I use only ie7. To get the menu bar back in ie7 just press the 'alt' key. I am also using the Vista beta, I will install the final the day it's released.

Well I seem to be in the main stream finally. Regarding the "New IE7" that MS raved about ..... for me it just does not work. Oh it worked on my computer, the first time I installed it !! Now that's almost a first
for sure. But as to me using it as my default browser,? Noin a million years. FireFox has it beat in EVERY respect. The stupid look of IE7 is enough to put you off without even using, or trying to use it. No, for me at least, it's FireFox all the way and ThunderBird also all the way.
Sorry Bill G but NO THANKS. I have IE6 installed and it will stay there gathering dust. I very occasionally use IE6 for a second or two then back to FF

"I installed IE7 on the basis that IE6 was slow, clumsy and unstable." For a minute I thought you might be referring to Adobe Reader. I am using IE7 and really appreciate its advantages. Have had no conflict myself, though I hear others having problems. I also have downloaded some of the extensions and so far they are behaving as advertised.

I agree that IE 7 still has a long way to go. I reverted to IE6 as I found 7 too slow and it clashed with my HP camera software.

I do have a question regarding Firefox, I find it very flashy. Here when the selected site is open the page seems to flash probably when the page is refreshed but it is very annoying. Is there a way around this and to speed it up. I use a 56K dial modem to access the net on my Win XP SP2 workstation

I use Windows XP Sp2 with an LCD Monitor. My home page has these areas on the screen that change every few minutes to advertise another services etc they have on offer.Each time the cotent of the block changes the block and the surrounding area flash/flicker

I would agree with you on the part of IE6 being clumsy and unstable but to call it slow is calling all other browsers super-slow or something like that (either that or you had your computed infected). Saying you were prepared to give Microsoft a chance and then bash IE 7 like you do is one of the most incoherent things I've read recently, since any unbiased person agrees that IE 7 is at least a good browser. I shouldn't bother either with correcting biased opinions of people like you, but anyway. Yes, you're right, it is faster (slightly) and more stable (not totally - as no browser is - but much more than IE 6). Apart from that it has many other pros (like security, just to name one) and yet you loath it (why am I not surprised that you do?).
What is the problem of defaulting to a icon only view, are you blind or have mental problems to recognize symbols or are you too dumb to change the settings? Interesting you say that many people don't like icons in isolation because that is the absolute first time I hear anyone criticising that - in fact, it's not Microsoft's fault that you are too dumb to understand what the icons mean (I do and I'm sure most people do too). Again, I disagree with you when you say things look horrible without the meny but, once again too, you can set it to be visible all the time (as I did, for reasons other than looks) so you're argument is ridiculous when you have the option to put it like you like. (and I won't mention either how dumb you have to be to take more than 15 seconds to find out how to do that or to look in the help file how to do it)
Better than IE6? Definitely, much better. Better than Firefox? Absolutely. And on one hand you say you hope it's not true that IE7 is forcing non-compliant websites off the web (leaving any human being with a brain to conclude you don't think it's important for a website to be compliant). On the other hand, you say that would be Microsoft's dream and criticise IE7 for not being totally WWC compliant (so being compliant is just important if/when a Microsoft's product fails the complaince test, did I get it right?) - for your information Firefox is not WWC compliant either. So if you think non-compliant websites have good content and that is the really important factor, why is it so important for IE7 to be totally WWC compliant, could you please decide yourself once and for all and start making sense?
Finally, resources, yes. Your numbers are very interesting given a quick check on my P4 3.06GHz with 1.3 GB RAM shows IE7 38652kb and that number almost never passes the 100000kb mark, while I recall when I used Firefox 2 for a short period of time when it was released some months ago it would quickly raise to the 200000kb (yes, 200000kb) mark after about 15 minutes of use, something my friends (who use Firefox 2) confirm happens to them too. Yet more ignorance regarding Microsoft products, it would seem too.
So, for starters, I think it's a little hard to "roll back to IE7", as you say, but for me no hyped Firefox thank you, because, I will keep using IE 7 mainly because (unlike Firefox 2) renders every page I visit perfectly, doesn't use 200MB of my RAM after just 15 minutes and, last but not least, *is secure*.

I installed it and had nothing but trouble...couldn't get anything to work right so it didn't take me long to take that thing out.

Hmm, interesting. My school found a way to stop the download from happening, somehow.

May I suggest this to you and other non-IE users: just have it on your PC to have things work correctly, and for Windows Update; for daily browsing use Firefox or whatever you feel like. Firefox has the option to turn it to the default browser so it shouldn't hurt you too bad.

As the title of my post suggests, I have very recently upgraded to IE7 and as I was going out after, didnt restart but instead just closed down when the update was finished. Since restarting the computer it appears to start but then only shows my desktop picture and the mouse pointer, no task bar or start button, nothing else on the screen at all! I have tried restarting it several times with the same result. I have an HP Pavillion a210a, running XP, but do not have an XP cd as it was not provided by the large company where I bought the computer at the time of purchase, however I do have the 8 backup discs that I was required to create. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE HELP!

No, I do not like IE7, to commence with I find it difficult to copy and paste now, which was a breeze with IE6. Trying hard to perservere with IE7, but will probably changeover to another outfit.

I might be missing something really simple but I couldnt find all the old buttons I used to have, how do you read email, I was unable to check my mail so I reverted back, twice now I have installed and uninstalled - I was very unimpressed

I use hotmail and when I changed from IE6 to IE7, I said the same thing, "how do I get into my mail"?.
As I wanted to get into my mail 'now' and not wait until I had got used to the new layout of IE7, I first did this.....

1)...typed in 'Hotmail.com' in my search bar...opened up the signing in page...then added that page to my favourites. So next time I wanted to sign in to my mail account, I just followed the link from my favourites.

Next, I then set about finding out how the new layout works and found how to add a 'mail' link to my tool bar...like this...

2)...left click on 'Tools'...left click on 'Toolbar'...left click on 'Customize'...in the left handside, highlight 'Mail' and left click on 'Add'...you will now have an 'envelope' icon on your task bar to access your default mail account.

Malc.