Windows Internet Explorer 7.0 in the SLN environment

Microsoft has released Windows Internet Explorer 7.0 and we need to know how this substantial rebuild of IE functions within SLN. Microsoft has begun (as of November 1st 2006) pushing IE7 as a "High Priority" update too valid users of Microsoft Windows XPSP2 using the Microsoft/Windows Update feature. When the update is pushed, users are presented with an installation dialog and can select to "Install", "Don't Install", or "Ask me later". Microsoft has also released an IE7 blocker toolkit which is a script that, once run, creates a registry setting that disallows the automatic installation of IE7. The blocker toolkit, however, does not prevent the manual installation of IE7, and is too unwieldy for most of the userbase we deal with. We do not recommend that students use the blocker toolkit.

Overview of Windows Internet Explorer 7.0

The Wikipedia has an excellent overview of the changes to Internet Explorer with the release of Version 7.0. This article can be seen here. Additionally, see Microsoft's Internet Explorer Technology Overview document, which goes into further depth regarding the changes made to this version of the browser.

A sample of the changes to this version of IE includes:

Inclusion of tabbed browsing
Inclusion of spoofing/phishing protection
ActiveX opt-in, which allows greater control of the installation and management of ActiveX controls
Improvements to CSS, DOM, and HTML standards support
Changes to how IE handles Javascript (for instance, Javascript is no longer allowed on blank -- about:blank -- pages)
"No add-ons" mode -- ability to start IE7 without any installed ActiveX controls or add-ons -- basically "Safe Mode" for the browser

The "Trident" rendering engine that is the core of IE has also undergone thorough revamping and, for example, .PNG alpha channel support has been added; many other changes to this engine are one of the main reasons for this Confluence page.

The Need for Testing

SLN Technology staff needs to evaluate the operation of Windows Internet Explorer 7.0 within our environment, given many of the above-noted changes. IE7 can basically be considered a complete rewrite of the Internet Explorer browser (including an entirely new IE development team being created at Microsoft), and because SLN has been developed to run (primarily) against IE6, we cannot and should not assume that all of our processes will function normally under the new platform. This is especially important from the administrative side of SLN -- ACs need to be sure that course information that is entered using IE7 actually gets processed correctly, and actions actions taken against student accounts from the web interface can have a legal significance, and so must be thoroughly tested. Students, of course, will be the primary userbase for IE7, and so concerns regarding the presentation of SLN sites and the functioning of various course processes (such as uploading files and submitting assignments) is an area of concern.

We must be certain that this new browser is as usable for SLN students, faculty, and administrative staff as IE6 has been, and we need to make sure that this testing is both thorough and timely, as Microsoft has already begun pushing the update.