In its race to catch up with Firefox, the upcoming Internet Explorer 7 will support tabs, the browser developers write on the IEBlog.

Tabs allow users to open a web page inside the current window without losing the webpage they are viewing.

Since Microsoft so far has touted the release as a security upgrade – not as a way to catch up with Firefox – the team instantly jumps into the defensive mode. Tabs aren't a Firefox innovation, they point out on the IEBlog. Excel and Visual Studio have them and Word almost got them. And security is still their first priority.

What they really are saying is that Internet Explorers still won't innovate. Just don't call it catching up.

17 May 2005