domainguru
12th August 2006, 10:10 AM
Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/chats/transcripts/06_0810_ez_ie.mspx
Summary:
Dave Massy [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: when will IE 7 be released
A: Hi jelly bean, We are planning an update in the 3rd quarter of this year with final release in the fourth quarter of this calendar year.
Dave Massy [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: does that mean there'll be a Beta 4? or just an update to Beta 3?
A: The next update will be a release candidate prior to the final release.
Dave Massy [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: in several of the past IE Expert chats you stated that there were no plans to distribute IE7 as an automatic update, why the about face?
A: While we are distributing through automatic updates this still requires the consent of the user to install. we have been consistent in our position that it woudl be wrong for my Dad to wake up one mornign and have a new browser with tabs as he woudl get confused. We do believe that prompting users through automatic updates is the correct approach so that users can gain from teh security improvements in IE7.
So looks like release candidate September, then actual launch early December maybe? I doubt we can hope for a final release before that. But at least Msoft staff seem 100% sure IE7 will be released via "automatic update", which is far more important to us than the odd (!) delay.
Summary:
Dave Massy [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: when will IE 7 be released
A: Hi jelly bean, We are planning an update in the 3rd quarter of this year with final release in the fourth quarter of this calendar year.
Dave Massy [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: does that mean there'll be a Beta 4? or just an update to Beta 3?
A: The next update will be a release candidate prior to the final release.
Dave Massy [MSFT] (Moderator):
Q: in several of the past IE Expert chats you stated that there were no plans to distribute IE7 as an automatic update, why the about face?
A: While we are distributing through automatic updates this still requires the consent of the user to install. we have been consistent in our position that it woudl be wrong for my Dad to wake up one mornign and have a new browser with tabs as he woudl get confused. We do believe that prompting users through automatic updates is the correct approach so that users can gain from teh security improvements in IE7.
So looks like release candidate September, then actual launch early December maybe? I doubt we can hope for a final release before that. But at least Msoft staff seem 100% sure IE7 will be released via "automatic update", which is far more important to us than the odd (!) delay.