Internet Explorer 7 has gone gold! Microsoft has just made available the (long-rumored) RTM build 5730 of Internet Explorer 7, or else Yahoo! has got its hands on it some other way. According to our sources, Yahoo! has the latest (RTM) version of IE7 up on its website, complete in all its RTM glory – but with all that Yahoo! bloatware bundled along for the ride.
Curious. Microsoft makes available the latest version of its much-anticipated web browser – but only gives it Yahoo!, it’s direct competitor, for bundling with Yahoo! search and services… Just doesn’t seem right to us.
Maybe we’re not reading it the right way, but we don’t like this any more than you do, so we’ve taken the liberty of “depackaging” the bloatware: for our reader that are interested, here’re several download links to the actual Internet Explorer 7 RTM installer without the Yahoo! bloat:
Torrent (please have mercy on our bandwidth!)
Direct Download (only if you really have to!)
At the moment Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11 is only available to users of Windows 2000, XP, MCE, and 2003. It is unclear whether or not it will be made available as a hotfix/update to Windows Vista RC1/RC2; but it is not possible to install this package on Vista — no matter how hard you try. This is the real deal, Internet Explorer 7 RTM is finally here, let the reviews pour forth!