I hate to tell you this but I just visited that link using Firefox 1.5.0.4 and was transferred to the Microsoft home page, at http://www.microsoft.com/. I compared the link in IE 6 and it displays the new preview page properly. Your 404 must have been because the redirect code was not firmed up yet.

Works fine for me. Firefox 1.5.0.4 on the Mac.

seeing the same. firefox is redirected to the regular page while ie is getting the "new" page. improved? dunno. the tabs in the lower left are a lot more laggy in the preview (or ie?) than in firefox on the regular page.

is anyone surprised, though? half their site never did work with firefox. this is just more of the same. going back to sleep now. ;)

I used IE tab for firefox to view the preview page and it loaded fine i wasnt redirected to microsoft's home page like i was when i didnt use the extension. But for PC firefox users i would suggest getting IE tab here https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/

I tested the site using both ie and firefox and both loaded the same page with the same bells and whistles with no errors.

I could see Microsoft doing something like this, but the company I work for requires us to use Firefox, it's pre-loaded on the desktop, and IE is "hidden". You can't even get through our firewall/proxy with IE. So in this case, we wouldn't be able to see any new stuff at Microsoft, if thats how they want it.. fine.

I installed that bloated piece of crap called I.E. 7 beta. It was absolutely the slowest experience I've had on the internet since my dial up days. And yes, I tried to visit the firefox homepage and got that message as well. Typical Microsuck products for the win!

My result just now on Ffx 1.5.0.4 was different, different from their reports, different from the current M$IE 6.0 display, and from your initial report. There is as you indicated, additional content seen on the IE 6 display. No 404 for Ffx at present, it does look very good, but use of M$IE adds, at upper right outside the Ffx-displaed content, just under the little Search slot a new pull-down labelled, "Microsoft Site Guide" with ten (10) line items available when pulled down (included are those you cited); changes the Search slot adding another roll-up/down button above the slot; adds an ad link for Windows Mobile; and also adds a motto at top next to the Microsoft logo saying, "Your potential, our passion. TM"
Maybe M$ saw your complaint and fixed it to work better than the offending 404. It is at least better than that was.

What's the problem here? If I load a browser that takes advantage of new embedded code which may be in the preview page, I am allowed to view it. If not I am successfully redirected to the primary default webpage for the company. No one is truly disadvantged is accessing the Microsoft site. If MS wants is embed non-standard code in a preview site, they are entirely within their rights to do so.

It didn't work for me. I'm using Firefox 1.5.0.4
it takes me back to the basic MS homepage.

it looks a lot different in IE7 beta 3.

If you open up the new microsoft.com link in Firefox or Opera it redirects you to just "microsoft.com", the old/current page, not the preview. Just tried it. The preview has some AJAX-like interface changes, but obviously Microsoft has developed it for IE specifically. Bad Microsoft; back to its old tricks of steering the Web to its browser.

I'm getting the new Microsoft page with no problem using Firefox 1.5.0.4. It does NOT redirect me back to the old site. I see the same page as when I use I.E.

They may be redirecting users if/when they're spotting problems with the page for Firefox. It's probably just lack of testing more than anything else.

I'm using Firefox 1.5.0.4, but I couldn't get to the preview site. Clicking on the link stalled Firefox for a while (about a minute or so) and once it's back, I'm at the old/current page. I installed IE7 (Beta) and I can see the different look of the preview site compared to the current site. I think it's a "deliberate targetting" of Firefox users ;)

They're sending an HTTP 301 "Moved Permanently" to non-ie hosts. This is an intentional configuration. You don't just get a web server that discriminates like this out of the box.

btw, using MSTab is NOT a fix. This still uses ie to render and reopens your firefox to all the regular vulnerabilities that ie has. It was a well-intentioned idea, but it is wrong. Using something like the user agent switcher would be better because at least you're using the good parts of firefox and just *telling* people that you're a crappy user agent without actually changing anything.

Hello Europe, can you see what's happening here *again*?