Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX

Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 24, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate, worldwide availability of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 for Sun Solaris 2.5 and newer versions of the Solaris UNIX platform. This release joins Internet Explorer 4.0 for the Windows® 95, Windows NT® and Windows 3.1 operating systems and for Macintosh. Internet Explorer now offers corporations, content developers and users worldwide a complete browsing solution and functionality across all major platforms.

“Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX was developed from the ground up specifically for UNIX users,” said Yusuf Mehdi, director of marketing in the applications and Internet client group at Microsoft. “It combines Internet Explorer’s easy, fast and secure browser functionality with native elements of the Motif user interface. Now Solaris customers can finally choose a browser that delivers the best of the Web for UNIX.”

Internet Explorer 4.0 Delivers “The Web the Way You Want It” to UNIX Users

Built for the UNIX platform, Internet Explorer 4.0 delivers an experience that UNIX users will recognize. For example, the familiar UNIX user interface enables users to take immediate advantage of Internet Explorer without having to relearn simple tasks. Users can launch applications quickly from Internet Explorer, providing a fully integrated environment. Internet Explorer 4.0 is also extensible, so users can plug in their favorite Internet applications for e-mail, news or editing and invoke them directly from their browser.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX provides Solaris customers with a number of unique features, including Explorer bars, making it simple for users to find what they need on the Web; Security Zones, keeping users safe; standards-based Dynamic HTML support; and accessibility features, allowing full operation of Internet Explorer solely through the keyboard. Internet Explorer 4.0 includes these key features:

  • New enhancements. Features that have been added since the Platform Preview version include AutoComplete, allowing users to enter Web site addresses faster and avoid typing errors, IEAK support, which enables central deployment, customization and administration of the browser, significant stability, performance and memory improvements, and support for Active Channel
    ™
    content, allowing authors to organize any content in a hierarchical fashion directly inside the browser. Developers can use XML, databinding and scriptlets as components for building Web-based applications. Microsoft NetShow
    ™
    server has been integrated into Internet Explorer, providing an easy, powerful way to stream audio or video content across the Internet and intranets.

  • Best-of-breed browser. Internet Explorer 4.0 makes Web browsing fast, easy and secure. Users can get the information they need faster than ever by taking advantage of unique features such as Explorer bars to locate, browse and manage their favorite Web sites easily. Dynamic HTML offers developers a standard-based way to create exciting, innovative and interactive content, without forcing users to suffer long download times. Enhanced security with Security Zones and Secure sockets support gives users advanced control over content downloaded to their computers. Individual security levels can be set for the Internet, an intranet or even specific sites.

  • Support for Active Channel content. Corporations can now deploy customized enterprise channels in a cross-platform environment, delivering the same Active Channel content to all Internet Explorer 4.0 users throughout their organization. Webcasting support allows corporate administrators to build custom Active Channel content based on new Web pages, or even their existing intranet or Internet-based information, providing it in a hierarchical, organized manner inside the browser.

  • Ability to view a wider array of content. Solaris customers can view the latest, most exciting content on the Web with Internet Explorer 4.0’s broad support for Internet standards, including HTML standards from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) such as core Dynamic HTML, HTML 4.0, Extensible Markup Language (XML), ECMA Script (JScript
    ™
    development software) and channel definition format (CDF) support. Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX also allows users to take advantage of Java with support for JDK 1.1.

Total Solution Now Available for Corporate Customers

The release of the final version of Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX – together with Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh – enables corporations to evaluate and deploy the family of Internet Explorer browsers across their enterprise. By standardizing on one browser across all platforms, organizations can reduce training, development and support costs as well as their total cost of ownership. Using the new Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01 for UNIX, also announced today, corporate administrators can customize, deploy and maintain Internet Explorer 4.0 throughout their organization, ensuring the security and network compatibility of the browsers inside their enterprise.

Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX is being offered on the federal government’s Intelink intranet. Used by over 50,000 government personnel, Intelink is an intranet used primarily by the U.S. intelligence community and U.S. military commands around the world. Intelink supports a wide range of hardware and software platforms, all with the goal of enabling the production and distribution of information, facilitating collaboration and communication between users, and creating a foundation for application development using standards-based Web technologies.

“The Intelink management office promotes open standards for all users,” said Jim Peak, director of the Intelink management office. “The introduction of Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX will widen the choices for a substantial set of Intelink customers and further enhance potential interoperability for all users.”

Landmark Graphics Corp. is a leading supplier of integrated information systems and professional services to the energy industry. Landmark’s customers include 90 percent of the world’s largest oil and gas companies. With headquarters in Houston, Landmark creates software that enables petroleum companies to find, produce, and manage oil and gas reserves more effectively.

“Landmark applauds Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX,” said Bill Curtis, director of computer Science at Landmark Graphics. “Our customers use UNIX, Windows and
Windows NT platforms, so we can now use Internet Explorer 4.0 in enterprise solutions. In addition, Internet Explorer 4.0 on UNIX gives our developers more options for designing applications that span UNIX and Windows NT. Coupled with the recently announced initiative to support COM on UNIX, multiplatform Internet Explorer 4.0 underscores Microsoft’s commitment to providing a robust infrastructure for unifying UNIX technical applications with Windows NT-based business processes.”

Microsoft Extends True Platform Commitment

Microsoft Internet Explorer can now provide customers with a complete browsing experience. The release of Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX completes Microsoft’s goal of making Internet Explorer 4.0 available on the breadth of popular operating systems while delivering true platform support demanded by corporate customers.

Internet Explorer is now capable of running on more than 99.7 percent of all computer desktops in use today. In addition to running on personal computers, Internet Explorer is available on handheld devices, as Pocket Internet Explorer, through the Windows CE operating system. Internet Explorer also reaches more users worldwide than any other major browser, with more than 25 international language versions available.

For developers, Microsoft is firmly committed to providing a unified development platform. Internet Explorer 4.0 provides a single, standards-based set of technologies for authoring Web content and applications across all Internet Explorer 4.0 browsers: Dynamic HTML and ECMA Script (JScript). In addition, Internet Explorer 4.0 provides superior integration and extensibility with existing hardware and software wherever technically possible to offer a fast, easy and integrated browsing experience. Customers will also benefit from the unique optimizations Microsoft has made for each platform to deliver premium performance and functionality. For example, Microsoft has worked very closely with independent software vendors dedicated to the UNIX market, such as Mainsoft Corp., to provide a strong infrastructure on which to build Internet Explorer 4.0.

Pricing and Availability

Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX can be downloaded free of charge from Microsoft’s Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/ (connect-time charges may apply). Internet Explorer 4.0 for UNIX is also available for download from Microsoft’s FTP server at ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/deskapps/ie/unix/sol/. For information on Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, visit the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/download/ .

Additional class libraries, documentation and technologies that are not part of the download are available through the Microsoft Developer Network at ftp://ftp.microsoft.com
/developr/MSDN/UnSup-ed/.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and

personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Active Channel, NetShow and JScript are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

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