IE 7 goes public

Microsoft has pushed Internet Explorer 7 into public beta testing. The release is intended for developers and IT professionals and marks the first time the browser has been available for general download. 

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview testers will need Windows XP Service Pack 2 loaded to run IE 7 and take advantage of anti-spyware and anti-phishing controls, RSS support, tabbed browsing with thumbnail previews, a toolbar search box, shrink-to-fit printing, and a Delete Browsing History feature.

Although the download does not require an MSDN subscription, several early reviews suggest that caution should be taken, however, as the beta has several bugs. Others noted that the feature set is effectively a catch-up with tools other browsers have added in the last couple of years.

Separately, Google has released a new beta version of the Google Toolbar. Version 4.0 is aimed at businesses and consumers and lets web pages be searched without leaving the toolbar and bookmarks be saved to a Google account so they can be used from any connected computer. The enterprise version allows administrators to lock down features. The beta will initially only be available for Internet Explorer.