IE 11 available for download [for Win 7 SP1 users]

I did that...

CNET review http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57611241-92/befriending-a-cutesy-anime-kid-ie-11-cozies-up-to-windows-7/ 

PC Mag review  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2426837,00.asp - "The new browser version speeds up Web browsing while reducing CPU usage to save batteries on mobile PCs. It also adds a raft of new standards support, most surprisingly for WebGL, the 3D graphics API that Microsoft resisted adding for several versions".

ZDNet comments  http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-releases-to-the-web-ie11-for-windows-7-7000022751/ - "IE11 on Windows 7 includes support for WebGL. It will natively decode JPG images in real-time on the GPU so that pages load faster, use less memory and help improve battery life and support HTML5 link prefetching and pre-rendering...  It [also] incorporates... changes to the "Chakra" JavaScript engine, including changes to garbage collection and just-in-time (JIT) compilation..."

Thanks BB :emotion-1: .   I did that... but neglected to document it in this thread.

Yes, on one system earlier today.   I think it "feels" faster... but I haven't tried to quantify that.   Looks basically the same as IE10... except that the cursor sometimes seems strange on some pages... not sure what's up with that.  

We'll see what happens... my plan is to wait for automatic updates to handle my other systems.

If you download manually, read the small print and uncheck any pre-checked defaults such as these if you don't want them:

 * I would also like Bing and MSN defaults 

Well, I manually downloaded IE 11 to my most expendable system (a Win 7 Pro/sp1 32 bit netbook) and did not see any small print. As far as I can tell, Bing and MSN were not installed. I did have to re-start my system 3 times to get it working properly.

IE 11 works. I can't say it is any faster. Improvements must all be under the hood.

Bugbatter, No I did not think to try it Compatibility View.

I checked Windows Update and was surprised to find an Update for IE10 which I already had. I went to the site listed above and manually downloaded Internet Explorer11- 64 bit. My ISP is Comcast (xFinity) and I discovered that my xFinity home page would not load. I received a message that said I needed a browser update for Internet Explorer. I had to uninstall Internet Explorer 11 and revert back to version 10 to use my xFinity homepage.  Does anyone know if this Internet Explorer 11for Windows 7 is a Beta version?   I will wait until Internet Explorer 11 is offered as a Windows Update for my other Window 7 Computers. 

It wasn't specified as a beta. Did you try Compatibility View for your homepage?

I was surprised to read that one of the moderators at SpywareHammer had a few problems after installing IE11.

http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php/topic,14919.msg139684.html#msg139684

Blog from Microsoft offers a lot of details about what IE 11 offers:   http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2013/11/07/ie11-for-windows-7-globally-available-for-consumers-and-businesses.aspx

[Keep in mind this is written from Microsoft's perspective...]

Annie,

This is definitely classified as a "final" (i.e., NON-Beta) release.

[At present, I have it only on one of my systems.]

I am taking a break for a few days from computers/technology, however I will try to download IE 11 on another Windows 7 system when I return.  Thanks for the reply. 

Curiosity got the better of me... so I decided to try out IE11 on a second Win7 system (this time 32 bits).  

Before doing so, I tried benchmarking performance of the old IE10, to be able to make a comparison.  

Using the IE Test Drive site , I obtained the following results:

IE 11 was 9.5% faster than IE 10 on the Popcorn test drive demo 

There was no significant difference between IE 11 and IE 10 on EtchMark test --- in fact, IE 11 ran just a tad slower here.

But most disturbingly, IE 11 ran TWICE AS SLOW as IE 10 on the Chalkboard test http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Performance/Chalkboard/ 

[The system has an ATI Radeon HD 4550 Display Adapter.]

Yes, the improvements are way under the hood & so is some of the pre-XP dated code that comes along for the ride.

I've used IE11, but it's not my default browser, nor will it ever be. Us Windows 8 users (8.1 has IE11) has already has several updates/patches that were critical ones , to prevent remote code execution.

If anyone who runs clean up apps such as CCleaner has noticed, there's "IE5" files in the ones to be cleaned, this predates Windows 2000. Also, their "Do Not Track" option is dependent on the other end, NOT the user who selects to use it. The recipient can accept or deny the user's non-tracking request at their discretion. However, that's the same with all browsers, I bring it up because MS touted it as a great new feature.

My point being, yes IE11 is faster, it should be, it's newer, but it's enhanced security mode protection actually locks out what few 3rd party addons (such as Adblock Plus for IE) that we can use to help secure the browser & prevent ads.

IE has been on a decline for years & unlike the mid-90's "browser wars" period, MS doesn't have the cash to stamp out the main competition (Google Chrome & Mozilla Firefox). They did succeed in getting Netscape out of business, a project that Mozilla took over.

Those who are fans of or loyal to IE will have a faster browser, but not necessarily a more secure one.

Cat