Microsoft calls on consumers to test IE 7

Microsoft wants you to put Internet Explorer 7 through its paces. And if you have any problems, just call the company.

The software giant is planning Monday night to release an updated test version of IE 7 for Windows XP and is hoping to convince the masses to try out the still-in-the-works software. To help spur downloads of IE 7 Beta 2, the company is offering free telephone support for customers in North America, Germany and Japan.

“Our goal is to encourage everyone to try the product,” Dean Hachamovitch, Internet Explorer general manager, said in a telephone interview. “We think that free phone support is a good way to encourage a lot of people who might otherwise shy away from trying beta software.”

A prior test version, released in January, had been publicly available, but Microsoft was only encouraging developers to use it. An even earlier beta, last July, was not released publicly and was made available only to select testers.

The company is planning a third beta for later this year, before releasing a final version of Internet Explorer 7 to Windows XP users in the second half of this year. Microsoft is also building IE 7 into Windows Vista, with several test versions of that software also having been issued.

Full article: ZDNet