Richard Lennox

I have finally taken the plunge and downloaded IE7 on my home machine.  Working on a site, with IE6 up until the last release has meant that I have not had the time to do this sort of stuff and missed the beta completely. 

I hate the new user interface. My first reaction to it was I don't want those buttons here, I want them over there where I am used to seeing them, and using them.  But I can't and no amount of searching has found a solution to my needs.  Maybe it is just an initial reaction to the change but I do not understand the reasoning behind it, it seems to break the mold of browser interfaces.  Maybe I am wrong and Microsoft interviewed and did fully user studies on what worked best for users but I feel that it is change for changes sake. 

As a well rounded computer and software user I could adapt to it if I had to, but I think of the people I know who would be strongly affected by the change.  Those without the Internet savvy of those of us who use it day in day out.  I can think of several people who will not like it because it is not what they are used to, and I know exactly who will get the calls when they get stuck looking for the buttons. 

I would like to think that Microsoft would listen to the calls to allow me to change the layout of the toolbars.  I would like to think that most application software that relies on toolbars in this way would allow me to change the position and placing of buttons so I can use it in a way that feels right for me and not for the guy that decided this was "better".