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It seems to me that this could be a sign of what's to come with IE7, since AOL Explorer is "powered by Microsoft Internet Explorer", however it looks way better than any screenshots I've seen of IE7, and has more features.
Might this be a new contender in the browser wars?
Points of interest:
-tabbed browsing and a really slick UI
-thumnail previews launch when you hover over tabs (could get old)
-"tab explorer" creates a thumbnail gallery of all tabs, semi-transparently layered over your workspace.
-security tab includes menu items to do a whois lookup on the current site, highlight all external links, and show full URLs of all links on the page.
-uses the term "footprints" to manage all history/cookies/cache from browsing (will this terminology be adopted?)
-integrated with AIM and all other AOL applications
The browser handled display pretty well, although certain CSS-intensive layout broke despite that it displayed fine in Firefox. It seems to be exactly the same as IE in terms of how it handles web standards -- no news there.
I guess I'm wondering if this has the potential to become to IE what Firefox is to Netscape Navigator -- that is, currently built on top of the same framework, but with the potential to develop as an independent project.
Will we need to start checking our work against AOLE along with IE, FF, Safari, Opera, etc.?
Check it out...I bet you'll be surprised at how much you like this browser considering its MS (blech) + AOL (eeeek)!
Might this be a new contender in the browser wars?No. IE7 isn't even a contender. IE7 is already years behind the others.
Points of interest:Doesn't support all of css2. Doesn't support most of the DOM. Doesn't support xhtml/xml.
certain CSS-intensive layout broke despite that it displayed fine in Firefox.Sheesh.
built on top of the same framework, but with the potential to develop as an independent project.Not unless IE is broken away from Windows, which it will not, or pigs fly.
I bet you'll be surprised at how much you like this browserAre you placing real money?
For the target audience, the fact that it is based upon IE is not a problem. The users will not be web developers, just people who want the sites they use to work and the integrated chat. I think that the AOL Explorer should be able to carve out a niche.
Note: I only run Linux so I am unable to test this.
I downloaded the latest beta-version AIM software today, and it automatically installed and launched the AOL Explorer browser.
It came standard with AOL. Now, our phone lines are crummy here, old and outdated and that accounts for a lot of our poor dialup connection rates. However, DSL isn't available in our little neck of the woods and I currently can not afford cable. We have tried to "rip out" AOL and use other dialup providers such as People PC, Netzero, etc. However, AOL is so integrated into the computer, that the computer itself ran poorly with these other providers. Hence, we are stuck with AOL until we can afford a better alternative.
There's a lot I do not like with AOL and personal can not wait to get away from it. The problems I have with the system is small compared to those who work with CSS, XML, etc (as previously mentioned above), none of which I currently work with (am still a novice when it comes to those scripts/programs/languages).
However, as a webcentric-technophile, I like to keep up with the fast-moving "state of the web". I have the latest version of every major browser installed on my Windows XP computer, and I bounce around them frequently. True, AOL had been losing ground at an alarming rate, but it has been in a process of re-adjusting itself, and has thus become a valuable commodity, as evidenced by the bidding war among Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google. This piques my interest in what AOL is up to, automatically.
I've been impressed with the massive campaign for AOL.com and the Aim.com "I Am" ad campaign. I work in the technology industry, where a suprising number of people use AIM -- why? Because, as techies, they're early adopters. And who started Instant Messaging [as we know it]?
As webmasters, I think that we should be completely on top of the state of the web, especially as it pertains to how the sites we create are being viewed/used/interacted with by the mainstream users who, though often unwittingly, line our pockets at the end of the day.
AOLE may not be a totally new browser, but at the least I think it gives insight into what IE7 will be (something we should all be interested in), and beyond that, it has a lot of featuers that I haven't yet seen, even in cutting-edge browsers. Considering the massive amount of web users that AOL has at its fingertips, combined with their ability to [rudely, without choice] install this browser on so many computers, it may be something worth paying attention to.
And aside from the fact that it inherets IE's blatant disregard for web-standards, it's a pretty slick browser. Again, I say, check it out -- if only to view your sites through the "eyes" of many of your users.
That said, you do realize that like encyclo pointed out this is just another skin for IE that adds some functionality. The base browser is still IE6 so your pages will render the same. So the webmasters out there don't necessarily need to test their sites with this browser as it's not really a new browser at all.
a surprising number of people use AIM -- why? Because, as techies, they're early adopters. And who started Instant Messaging [as we know it]?
AOLE may not be a totally new browser, but at the least I think it gives insight into what IE7 will be (something we should all be interested in), and beyond that, it has a lot of features that I haven't yet seen, even in cutting-edge browsers.
Considering the massive amount of web users that AOL has at its fingertips, combined with their ability to [rudely, without choice] install this browser on so many computers, it may be something worth paying attention to.
Might this be a new contender in the browser wars?No. IE7 isn't even a contender. IE7 is already years behind the others.
Don't be too eager to write it off. I see IE7 being a big hit (primarily with users who haven't heard of Firefox). Microsoft will claim they've come up with loads of innovative features like tabbed browsing and RSS. The average Windows user will just want it.
Incidentally, have they added mouse gestures? No browser without mouse gestures will be used by me except for testing purposes! ;)
The average Windows user will just want it.
The average Windows user will just get it, whether they want it or not. Automatic updates, you know. ;)
The average Windows user will just get it, whether they want it or not. Automatic updates, you know. ;)
Ah yes, much like the Black Death in 14th Century Europe... no need to worry your pretty little head about whether or not you want it; you're getting it. Enjoy.
Intenets: are you usually an MSIE surfer? I've checked out AOLIE and I can definitely see where you're coming from- if you're someone who has never had the joy of using an alternative browser. Otherwise, the only unique characteristics of it are akin to AOL's UI itself: cutesy and gimmicky, and still unwilling to get out of your way.
It will be funny in 6 months though, to hear all the soccer moms talk about how they read some article about using alternative browsers because they're "much more secure", and how that prompted them to start using AOLIE instead of MSIE.
"Oh yeah, I use AOL Explorer... it's sooooo much safer than Microsoft Internet Explorer! TTYL! ROFLMAO!"
I actually primarily use Firefox. I like Opera a lot, but when Gmail and Blogger didn't work properly, I had to give it up (not that the failure of those sites is Opera's fault, neccesarily).
