REDMOND, Wash., March 18, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Internet Explorer 5 has garnered unprecedented industry support from leading portal sites, Internet service providers (ISPs) and PC manufacturers. These vendors are taking advantage of the release of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5 to enhance their offerings and provide their customers with a dramatically faster, easier and more integrated online experience. Together, the more than 140 leading companies that have chosen to offer Internet Explorer 5 to their users make Internet Explorer 5 far more broadly available at launch than any previous version of the Microsoft browsing technologies.
“With Internet Explorer 5, vendors have the opportunity to provide the premier browsing experience for their customers, including the ability to integrate their unique services directly within the browser,” said Yusuf Mehdi, director of Windows® marketing at Microsoft.
“We’re thrilled that so many leading vendors have chosen to make Internet Explorer 5-based offerings broadly available today. This is a great indicator of the benefits that Windows and Internet Explorer’s open platform architecture offers partners.”
Portal sites creating customized versions of Internet Explorer 5 for their users include AltaVista Search Service, Excite Inc., Lycos Inc., InfoSeek Corp.’s Go Network, the MSN
™
network of Internet services, Snap and Yahoo! Inc. These sites represent seven of the most frequently visited sites on the Web, according to Media Metrix, a leader in the field of Internet and digital media measurement services. Leading Internet service providers throughout the world making Internet Explorer 5 available to users at launch include AT & T WorldNet Service, BellSouth.net Inc., BT Internet, Cable and Wireless USA, Concentric Network Corp., Demon, EarthLink Network Inc., France Telecom Oleane, Freeserve, IBM Corp., MCI WorldCom Internet, MediaLinx Interactive, MindSpring Enterprises Inc., MSN Internet Access, OzEmail, Prodigy Communications Corp. and RCN Corp.’s RCN.com. In total, Internet service providers representing approximately 20 million Internet users have chosen to make Internet Explorer 5 available at launch.
Leading Portals Select Internet Explorer 5 to Provide Immersive Web Experience
With Internet Explorer 5, Web sites can customize the browser to create a unique synergy with their Web service and provide customers with a more integrated experience. Internet
Explorer 5 along with the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5 enables companies to fully customize the browser for their users, from branding the user interface to adding new features and functionality via Internet Explorer Web Accessories. Web Accessories are enhancements to the open Internet Explorer platform that enable companies to develop customized buttons, menu items and Explorer Bars for the browser.
For example, AltaVista has taken advantage of the enhanced flexibility in Internet Explorer 5 to add a variety of features to its customized version of the browser. Now customers can quickly translate foreign language Web sites using Babel Fish, a tool that provides instant translation of Web pages between a variety of languages directly from Internet Explorer. In addition, the customized Internet Explorer from AltaVista includes the AltaVista Tracker, a personalized window in the browser. This window is a Web Accessory that is updated regularly, enabling users to stay apprised of personalized news, weather, sports and stock information from AltaVista without disrupting their browsing activities.
“Internet Explorer 5 allows us to provide our customers with a richer Web service,”
said Celia Francis, director of marketing, AltaVista.
“We’re able to easily mold the browser to take advantage of our specific content and are excited to be offering our customers this customized Web experience starting today.”
Internet Service Providers and PC Manufacturers Distribute Internet Explorer 5
With Internet Explorer 5, Internet service providers and PC manufacturers can offer their customers the browser that works faster to save them time. In addition to exciting performance improvements, Internet Explorer 5 brings Microsoft IntelliSense® technologies to the Web for the first time to provide unmatched levels of simplicity, automation and flexibility.
More than 130 Internet service providers worldwide have chosen to offer their users Internet Explorer 5 at launch. These ISPs represent the full spectrum of service providers, from multimillion-user services to smaller regional ISPs and CD producers that serve thousands of the smallest ISPs. Leading CD producers offering Internet Explorer 5 today to ISPs include FinePoint, Internet Training Corp., Multimedia Labs, OneDisc.com, PlanetDirect and TUCOWS.
BellSouth.net is one example of the leading ISPs that have selected Internet Explorer 5 for their service.
“Internet Explorer 5 offers breakthroughs in ease of use, in functionality, and in reliability,”
said Ray Smets, president of BellSouth.net Inc.
“These are the same attributes that have made the BellSouth.net service one of the fastest growing Internet services in the Southeast. It made perfect sense for us to update our service with Internet Explorer 5.”
Additionally, Internet Explorer 5 is available today for PC makers to preinstall on their computers. More than 200,000 PC makers ship Internet Explorer and many are excited about the new benefits Internet Explorer 5 brings to their customers.
“Internet Explorer 5 offers substantial ease of use and functionality benefits for consumers who have made regular Internet access a part of their daily lives, and Compaq is excited about offering it with the Presario family,”
said Tom Mitchell, vice president and general manager, consumer desktop division at Compaq Computer Corp.
“Microsoft has succeeded in creating an easy-to-use, faster and more flexible browser that will dramatically improve our users’ overall Web experience.”
Pricing and Availability
The final version of Internet Explorer 5 is available immediately for free download (connect-time charges may apply) at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ and http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ . The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 5 (IEAK 5) is also available today for free download (connect-time charges may apply) from http://ieak.microsoft.com/ .
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, 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, MSN and IntelliSense 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.
Addendum
Following is a partial list of additional worldwide Internet service providers choosing to take advantage of Internet Explorer 5 and the enhanced features and functionality it offers by providing versions of the browser for download at launch.
@Home, ABB Computer Solutions, Acropolis Net (Eurobalkan Net S.A.), Altech Communications, Batelco, BT Internet, Cable & Wireless Optus, Compulink Network S.A., Cyberia, DADAnet, Demon, Easynet, EasyStreet, FastNet, First Net, FLASHNET spa telecomunicazioni, FORTHnet S.A., Fox Communications, France Telecom Oleane, FreeiNet, Freeserve, Global Internet, Global One, Gulfnet International/KEMS, Hamilton-Wentworth CommunityNet, Hellas On Line, High Speed Access, ID Internet Direct, Imaginet Internet Access, Inconet, Info-Internet B.F. Inc., InReach, MediaLinx Interactive, an ISP member of the BCE family, Irenyx Data Group Inc., ISDNet, ISP Channel, ITALIA ON LINE, JPS, Juno On-line Services Inc., Lara Internet Service Provider, Link Egypt, LOG ON Internet Solutions, Long Island Internet HeadQuarters, MicroAge Computer Centres, Mlink Internet Inc., Netcom UK, Netcom Canada, Oricom Internet Inc., OTEnet SA Internet Provider, OzEmail, Pathway Communications, Planet Direct, Primus Telecommunications Australia, PSN, Rocky Mountain Internet, SISNA, South West Bruce Internet Ltd., SPARKnet S.A.,TELECOM ITALIA NET, Telepac, Servi
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es SA, Themail, Thrunet Co. Ltd., Time Warner Inc., TotalNet, Transport Logic, United Interactive Technologies, UUNET Deutschland GmbH, Virgin Net and Web America Networks.
