Good Stuff
Okay, so after some time spent using IE7 to test the new home page design, I notice 2 big, BIG improvements to IE that make it better in some respects to Firefox (did I just say that?):
1) Printing - IE7 automatically resizes pages to print correctly. Fantastic! Printing has been one of the biggest struggles for our site over the past 4 years, and this will someday make it a non-issue. For those of you who print pages frequently (I know the branches and Media do), this alone makes it worth upgrading ASAP.
2) Zooming - Many have already heard me say this, but the coolest, most useful browsing "trick" I've come across is using CONTROL+SCROLL-WHEEL to make text bigger or smaller. This works on every browser I have (5 of them!), and is very convenient. The problem is that, if a page has been poorly coded, or if some text is actually images, it won't resize no matter what you do.
IE7 now offers zooming, rather than just text enlargement. That means that when you resize the font, the entire page and everything on it gets larger (Opera's been doing this for years, but who uses Opera, other than KK?) This is a BIG DEAL for developers, since it means that page elements won't shift when text gets resized -- basically it eliminates the need to design with this annoying element shifting in mind.
Here's hoping that Firefox 3 (already in beta!) includes this functionality as well.
Bad Stuff
This page says it best: "IE 7 team went overboard in 'simplifying' the user interface."
In fact, until about 10 seconds ago I couldn't figure out how to get to the "File" menu in IE -- something I use fairly frequently in FF. Turns out that hitting the ALT key shows the File menu, as well and the Edit, View, Favorites, Tools, and Help menus that are usually at the top of every browser. (Of course! Why didn't I think of hitting the ALT key right away?!) As an annoying bonus, once you hit the ALT key, clicking the Minimize Page button at the top right of the screen makes these menus go away rather than minimizing the screen. You have to click it twice to minimize :-(
Well, having made that discovery, the rest of my "Bad Stuff" list is out the window. Overall, just remember that, if you can't find something in IE7, the ALT key is your friend.
-Michael
