[youngian]

Here's how I read that statement: IE6 and IE7 were only the "best IE yet" at release due to how truly awful each previous incarnation was. IE7 is a lousy browser, so calling it the "best IE yet" at the time was like saying that chewing on tinfoil is more fun than chewing on rusty razor blades. It might be an accurate statement, but it doesn't mean you're enjoying that tinfoil. IE8, on the other hand, actually feels like a step (admittedly a smallish step) in the right direction.

Similarly, Windows 7 is actually more _usable_ than previous Windows. Vista was shinier than XP, and had a couple nice features like integrated search, but there's a reason Dell had to start selling machines with XP licenses again.

I think the author intended the statement to be something like this: that Windows 7 and IE8 actually _deserve_ the title of "best ___ yet."