We haven't seen a new web browser from Microsoft for several years, so you'd expect that Internet Explorer 7 would be chock full of new features. Alas, it's not. The most important new features are the security enhancements that I mentioned earlier (the Phishing Filter and Protected mode). Other than those and a slightly revamped interface, the list of significant new features is disappointingly meager:

• Tabbed browsing Like Firefox, Opera, Safari and quite a few other browsers, Internet Explorer finally has tabbed browsing, in which each open page appears in its own tab within a single Internet Explorer window. Internet Explorer ups the tab ante a bit with a new feature called Quick Tabs that displays a live thumbnail of each tabbed page.

• Support for RSS feeds RSS (Real Simple Syndication) is becoming the preferred method for sites to enable readers to stay up-to-date with changing content. Internet Explorer 7 recognizes when a site has one or more RSS feeds available and enables you to view the feed. You can also subscribe to a feed to have Internet Explorer alert you when new content is available. Subscribed feeds appear in the new Feeds folder, which is part of the Favorites Center, a pane that also includes the Favorites and History folders.

• Delete Browsing History This new feature gives you an easy way to delete the following data related to your past web browsing: temporary Internet files, cookies, history, saved form data, and remembered passwords. You can delete any one of these options, or you can delete all of them with a single click.

• Multiple home pages Internet Explorer 7 enables you to specify up to eight home pages. When you launch Internet Explorer or click the Home button, Internet Explorer loads each home page in its own tab. This is a great new feature if you always open the same few sites at the start of each browsing session.

  Caution

  There's no such thing as a free browsing lunch, of course. The more home pages you have, the longer it will take Internet Explorer to launch.
  

• Manage Add-ons If you've installed an add-on program that adds new features such as a toolbar to Internet Explorer, you can use the new Manage Add-ons dialog box to see all the add-ons. You can also use it to enable or disable an add-on and delete an installed ActiveX control.