IE 7’s Tabs Lite

It is not a shock to hear that Internet Explorer 7 will have a tabbed interface.  The question that one can ask is whether this addition is a part of further development in the interests of really improving Internet Explorer or more of a reaction to the massive popularity of browsers such as Firefox that do feature a tabbed interface?

Microsoft has warned users of the anticipated beta version of Internet Explorer 7 that the tabs won’t be anything to write home about.  This has given rise to some speculation about Microsoft’s true motivations:

But the reversal is not good enough for at least one Firefox developer.
The open-source browser’s release manager and quality assurance lead,
Asa Dotzler, posted a response on his own blog to the IE 7 update.

"I suspect that this announcement could be translated to ‘we decided
late in the game that we needed tabs and they’re nowhere near done, so
don’t flame us when you see them,’" Dotzler wrote.

The Firefox developer contended that Microsoft’s motivation in adding
the tabbed browsing feature was more related to preserving its software
monopoly than providing services to its users.

Interesting!

(via CNET News.com)