Internet Explorer 7 Update
Almost a year ago, we released Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP. Since then, IE7 is well on its way to becoming the most used browser in the world, and we've seen lots of evidence that IE7 makes it safer and easier to accomplish everyday tasks online.
Context & Ripple Effects
Internet Explorer 7's first year has been a repair job as much as a launch: the browser shipped in late 2006 into reports that IE 7 bugs abounded, and by January 2007 Microsoft could claim 100 million installs while InformationWeek noted the browser was still losing share overall.
This IEBlog post closes out that year with an update for Windows XP, and the syndicated pickup pattern shows what changed under the hood: Download Squad flags that IE7 can now be downloaded without WGA validation, while eWEEK ties it to critical security fixes on tap for Windows and Outlook. Removing the genuine-Windows gate is the substantive move — it converts the update from a maintenance release into a distribution widening.
First-order effects
- Dropping the WGA validation requirement lets users on unvalidated or pirated Windows XP installs pull IE7 directly, expanding the install base beyond what the gated download reached.
- XP users get the bundled critical security fixes immediately, addressing the vulnerability surface that dogged the browser since its bug-heavy 2006 debut.
Second-order effects
- A wider, ungated IE7 footprint raises pressure on Firefox and Opera, who now compete against a refreshed default browser being pushed through Windows' own update channel rather than won download-by-download.
- Enterprises deploying IE7 lose the validation-check step in their rollout scripts, lowering the cost of standardizing on it across managed fleets.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft keeps routing browser updates through Windows Update machinery instead of optional standalone downloads, browser versioning drifts toward OS-managed infrastructure — a structure that makes the browser less a product users choose and more a component Windows maintains.
The trend: Browser distribution is shifting from opt-in downloads toward OS-managed update channels, with Microsoft using the Windows install base — gates removed — as the delivery mechanism for IE7 adoption.