Installing IE 7 requires a reboot and takes forever. Plus the download is
giant, and you have to turn off your virus scanner. My installation went
smoothly, but I got the feeling IE was reprogramming my computer’s DNA as
it worked.

The IE 7 installer asks users to temporarily disable their antivirus and
antispyware protection, which doesn’t inspire confidence. Installing IE 7
requires Windows validation, a restart, and a connection to Microsoft
servers, which significantly slows down the process.

IE 7’s installation recommended that we back up important files, close all
programs, and eventually restart, while Firefox asked us only to close the
old Firefox. And Microsoft checked that we were running a valid copy of
Windows XP before we could download IE 7, which felt intrusive (if not
insulting) next to the hands-off Firefox installation. But I’m not crazy
about IE 7 or Firefox creating browser icons by default for my Windows XP
desktop, Start Menu folder, and Quick Launch bar; you’ll have to uncheck
those during installation if you don’t want the shortcuts.

Firefox, on the other hand, is a small download and installs in about 30
seconds, no reboots or gene sequencing required.

Installation of Firefox 2 was much faster and easier, completing in a
minute or two. It scanned my old version for incompatible extensions, then
updated any that were available. Firefox 2 did not include my
custom-created search engines, only those defaulted by Mozilla. Any custom
engines need to be manually moved into the Searchplugins directory.

Firefox was a faster download, plus it migrated every toolbar and all but
one of my dozen bookmarklets from Firefox 1 without a hitch.

The two browsers both look very good. IE 7 is a bit slicker than Firefox,
and it takes more chances with the interface, pushing the standard menu
items off to the side. It may take users a few moments to learn where
everything is, but it is a thoughtful redesign.

Departing from the classic look of version 6 by hiding the menu bar, IE 7
allots more space to the main browser window. The full-screen view is
particularly well designed — tabs and the address bar disappear until you
hover over them, creating a true full-screen window. The tabs are clunkier
than necessary.

Internet Explorer’s status as the browser people love to hate is unlikely
to change anytime soon. IE 7’s drastic redesign is likely to alienate
users initially rather than wow them, even though it’s now easier to find
functions via graphical icons — once you stop looking for the now-gone
drop-down menus of its predecessor. IE 7 thoughtfully offers more
customisation than in the past, such as the ability to add more search
engines to its search field.

Firefox doesn’t have a radical visual refresh, but it does have some new
UI features, such as a "word wheel" in the search bar. Firefox destroys IE
in the extension and plug-in department. There are hundreds of tools for
Firefox to enable all manner of customising. IE has extensions too, but
not like Firefox.

Hovering over a tab in Firefox 2 now highlights it, and each tab has its
own close button, which was previously possible only with add-ons. Most
themes aren’t yet available for Firefox, but one of my favorites,
Littlefox, works OK. Selecting a new theme now prompts Firefox to ask
whether you want to restart the browser to see the effects. Customisation
for Firefox 2 via add-ons is a major bonus.

Firefox’s open-source status and myriad add-ons give it a community edge
over IE 7.

With the latest versions, both browsers treat tabs similarly. You can
close tabs with their own little close boxes and open new tab windows by
clicking in the tab bar (IE 7 makes it more obvious by displaying a tiny,
empty tab). Both highlight the active tab subtly (too subtly for my
taste), and let you drag tabs around and save open tabs. Differences:
Firefox makes it easy to reload all tabs; IE has a thumbnail viewer.

IE 7 includes a New Tab button to the right of your last open tab that
takes up unnecessary screen space. I couldn’t find a way to remove it. IE
7 bunches two Favorites icons, all open tabs, and the standard browser
toolbar in the same row of real estate. A helpful tab preview icon
displays thumbnails of all your open tabs for any window.

Is it my imagination, or does Firefox open a new tab about a millisescond
faster than IE 7 does? At the same time, IE 7’s blank tab can help users
discover tabbed browsing.

One change in Firefox 2 that is a step backward from the last version: If
you open a lot of tabs, Firefox shrinks their size a little and puts
arrows at the left and right of the tab bar so that you can scroll back
and forth. The previous version shrunk tabs a lot, so you could fit many
more into the tab bar. I’m dinging Firefox’s score for that one. IE 7 has
the same problem.

Firefox adds a new Close Tab button to each open tab but didn’t add
thumbnail previews (a feature that can be added via Firefox extension). It
would be nice to incorporate more features from Tab Mix Plus, such as the
ability to customise how Ctrl-Tab switches tabs.

Firefox’s tiny drop-down menu next to its tabs is a convenient shortcut
for finding recently viewed pages, and its layout offers more room for
tabs — although once we had a dozen tabs open, we were forced to scroll
awkwardly to view the thirteenth tab and beyond. Luckily, though, if
Firefox crashes, you can restore those tabs, which IE 7 can’t do.

There are fancy little flourishes in both browsers (IE has page zoom;
Firefox has a spelling checker), but the big news in new browser features
right now is RSS reading. Both browsers recognise when a page has an RSS
feed, and both will parse XML and display a readable page instead of code
when they see it.

RSS feeds: Once you’ve subscribed to a feed via IE 7, it’s easy to see,
sort, manage, and read your subscriptions from a two-panel interface.
Firefox’s Live Bookmarks do a similar job, but not as neatly. I only wish
IE 7 detected available feeds better.

Neither IE 7 nor Firefox do a terrific job of showing off their new
features. Many of IE 7’s new features are old tricks for Firefox. At least
IE 7’s RSS icon gave us a hint about its ability to surface newsfeeds;
that icon appears within the Firefox address bar only when you land at a
Web site with an RSS feed. But once we subscribed to some feeds, we
couldn’t find them within IE 7. Firefox, on the other hand, displayed them
by default on a toolbar and within its Bookmarks folder.

Firefox does a much better job of managing feeds: It will let you
subscribe in Firefox’s own reader, which awkwardly makes bookmarks of
headlines, or in Google, Bloglines, Yahoo, or any reader application you
have on your PC. IE will subscribe itself only to feeds, and it doesn’t
display RSS content as reliably as Firefox.

In Firefox 2, I love the Manage Search Engines dialog, but I’d say the
Session Saver feature is the biggest improvement. I know that many people
who accidentally quit the browser will love it.

Firefox’s RSS features are even more flexible since (as Rafe mentions)
they can let you subscribe with a third-party newsreader. Overall,
however, I found the RSS features somewhat clumsy in both browsers and
easy for RSS newbies to overlook. IE 7’s easy ability to zoom in on a Web
page makes for better browsing if you have vision problems. Ctrl-T does
the same trick within Firefox, but most users may not memorise such
keyboard shortcuts. Firefox also checks your spelling, which could save
you from embarrassing yourself in a hasty e-mail or blog post.

I have to defer to security gurus in this category. Historically I’ve been
impressed with how seamless installing security patches to Firefox has
been. As far as privacy, both products now let you quickly erase tracks
from your browser, which is good.

A phishing filter within IE 7 checks the Web pages you visit using
heuristics and a whitelist of legitimate sites. IE 7 lets you clean out
your history, temporary files, and Web cookies with one button, but it’s
not easy to delete specific files in those groups. Another nice
browsing-security touch is the "Web page privacy policy" feature. The past
history of exploitable security holes in IE is a factor to consider.

At least during setup, IE 7 appears to care about security by giving you
the choice to install a phishing filter. Firefox doesn’t make its security
offerings obvious during setup. Both browsers allow you to clear cookie
crumbs that show the sites you’ve seen, but we found such features tricky
to find within IE 7’s new interface.

Firefox makes it a one-click operation, though, which is much better. On
the other hand, it’s far too easy to reveal all your stored passwords in
Firefox. You can put (another) password in front of this feature, but most
people won’t, leaving their passwords easily visible to anybody who gets
on to their PC.

Also adding antiphishing measures, Firefox 2 offers a choice to check
sites from a preexisting blacklist or via Google. Firefox 2 also offers
more customisation than IE 7, letting you specify which warning messages
you’ll receive and allowing you to view all your cookies in a list.

Firefox’s stronger reputation for security and Mozilla’s practice of
addressing vulnerabilities soon after they’re discovered precedes its
latest update.