Hacks are Headaches
Microsoft is to release and additional version of IE before the release of Longhorn. My first reaction was; "Doomsday is coming sooner that expected."
The real problem is not supporting a new version of Internet Explorer but in the many "web standard" web pages that are already in existence. Which hacks have we used? Will they crumble at the sight of IE7? It's not like we haven't been told to be sensible.
The new release will mainly be a security and marketing fix. Don't expect the full implementation of CSS 2.1 or full XHTML compliance. So with a bit of luck the selectors hacks may hold... maybe. I do think they'll have a string of bug fixes. So boxmodel hacks may fail. The thus many "web standard" layouts will break.
There is another possible scenario. Nobody said that they'd upgrade from IE6 to IE7. This may be an entirely different build. A pre-Longhorn build may actually be possible. They must have built something in the way web browsing for Longhorn. They may actually have enough of a core engine (ala Gecko) from the internal Longhorn browser to shoehorn into a standalone version. This could mean that a full CSS2.1 spec is already in place. The downside would be a complete set of new bugs. Business and marketing goals don't always play nice with programming goals and required timelines. Something has gotta give.
So boys and gals, either way we're gonna end up with a whole new gambit of hacks to play with next year. You didn't actually think that the new Microsoft web browser would free us from the browser hell we're living with now?
Additional: After reading all the articles banging around the net and msdn's own blog site I can gather that a new rendering core will be proven to be wishfull thinking on my part. IE will be a another security upgrade and marketing ploy. But on the other hand they must be doing more than just a mere security overhaul. I mean it will take all the spin in the world to get customers to see IE 7 as 'new and improved' rather than just 'improved'. Companies want their moneys worth for those upgrade licences. It seems to me that all we'll be getting is an IE 6 that is a bit safer, faster, more stable and more sleeker looking. One thing they may do is add Tabbed browsing. Most customers see this as the difference between Firefox and IE. And due to sloppy / narrow minded xhtml found on most sites some users, for example, can't access their online banking solution via Firefox. So in the end there will be no major appeal for customers to switch web client, they'll just 'improve' the one they have. Yes, all that atrocious client-side coding by site builders may actually help Microsoft crush the opposition. All I can say is... run little fox, run!