Microsoft Ships Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh, Bringing Ease of Use, Performance and Excitement to the Macintosh Platform

Microsoft Ships Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh, Bringing Ease of Use, Performance and Excitement to the Macintosh Platform

REDMOND, Wash. – April 23, 1996 – Microsoft Corp. today released its Microsoft® Internet Explorer version 2.0 for the Apple® Macintosh®
operating system. The best Internet client for the Macintosh, Microsoft Internet Explorer is fully compatible with Macintosh and Internet standards, offers the most responsive Internet performance for the Mac
™
platform and supports a broad range of new interactive multimedia technologies for a more exciting Internet experience.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for the Macintosh is available now at no charge for downloading over the Internet.

“Microsoft Internet Explorer brings together the best of the World Wide Web and the best of the Macintosh to make the potential of the Internet available to millions of Macintosh users,”
said Brad Chase, general manager of the Internet platform and tools division at Microsoft.
“It enables a level of Internet performance and excitement that hasn’t been possible on the Macintosh until now. Delivering Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for the Mac is part of our commitment to be the leading software supplier for the Macintosh and to provide the cross-platform intranet support needed by corporate customers.”

“Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh is a great browser for the Macintosh platform,”
said Joe Dunn, vice president of product management at Macromedia Inc.
“It is fast, easy to use and full featured. We’ve worked closely with Microsoft to help ensure that Microsoft Internet Explorer takes full advantage of Macromedia Shockwave in order to provide users of Microsoft Internet Explorer a rich multimedia Internet experience.”

“Microsoft Internet Explorer is one of the most exciting pieces of software ever to hit the Web,”
said David Segal, president of Verso, a high-end Web-site design firm in San Francisco.
“As a Macintosh shop, we’re impressed by the robustness, clear interface, speed and extra capabilities built into this browser. I particularly love the ability to set margins to zero – thank you Microsoft! As far as we’re concerned, Microsoft Internet Explorer is gaining ground the fastest.”

Best Mac Internet Client Supports Full Macintosh Integration, Ease of Use

This client is smoothly integrated with the Macintosh interface to give Mac users a familiar environment, with the ease-of-use options offered by Microsoft Internet Explorer. For example, the Microsoft Internet Explorer client for the Mac comes complete with an online help system based on hypertext markup language (HTML), a toolbar-based search button for quick access to searches by Yahoo, Lycos, Infoseek and other online engines, and a customizable favorites menu. Setup is also made easy with Microsoft Internet Explorer’s Open Transport and MacTCP supportThese features make Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 easy for both novice and experienced Internet users.

High-Speed Performance for the Macintosh, Full Internet Compatibility

Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh provides high-speed Web performance on the Macintosh, based on enhanced thread support, progressive rendering, HTTP Keep-Alive support, and a placeholder mode that loads text before slow-loading graphics.

For example, the browser supports Apple’s Thread Manager and progressive rendering, which increases responsiveness of the user interface to even the most complex Web pages. HTTP Keep-Alive support allows Microsoft Internet Explorer to open and download many items over the same HTTP connection, further improving performance. Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 also has the smallest memory footprint of any commercial Macintosh Internet client, requiring fewer system resources. In addition, full integration with Apple’s System 7.0.1 operating system means Microsoft Internet Explorer takes full advantage of the Macintosh user interface and underlying architecture and Apple’s Thread Manager and Drag Manager. Microsoft Internet Explorer supports both 680×0 and Power Macintosh®
systems.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh is fully compatible with a broad range of Internet standards, including HTML 2.0 and 3.0 tags, NTTP news reading with inline graphics, HTTP-Cookies, FTP and Gopher protocols, and SMTP for sending e-mail. In addition, it is the first version of Microsoft Internet Explorer on any platform to support Netscape
™
plug-ins.

The software is also compatible with cross-platform versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, making it ideal for corporate intranets in mixed computing environments. That compatibility includes support for Internet Shortcuts and Bookmarks, popular features on the Windows®
operating system-based versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer and common user-interface components for reduced user training.

Supports Exciting Internet Extensions

Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh gives Mac users access to an Internet alive with new sights, sounds and animation, including scrolling marquees, background sounds, and video and 3-D virtual-reality environments. With Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0, Mac users fully experience the more than 7,000 Internet sites enhanced for Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Internet Explorer’s multimedia support includes QuickTime®
and AVI digital video formats, and AU, AIFF, MIDI and .WAV audio formats for transparent cross-platform playback. It also supports VRML via QuickDraw
™
3D.

Internet Explorer enables Macintosh users to create their own customized Web home pages by accessing the customizable features of the home page for MSN
™
, The Microsoft Network. Users can get instant updates on their favorite stocks, link to favorite pages, add cartoons, see news in fields of their special interests, and add other customized features.

Availability and System Requirements

The new Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh is available to download from the Internet at no charge (other than the cost of connect time, if any) at Microsoft’s Web site, http://www.microsoft.com/ie/.

System requirements for Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for the Mac include a Macintosh or Power Macintosh running System 7.0.1 or higher; Apple OpenTransport or MacTCP Manager;
8 MB of RAM; 2 to 4 MB of hard disk space; and a modem (14.4 bps or faster is recommended for optimum performance).

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 and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Apple, Macintosh, Power Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks and Mac and QuickDraw are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.

Netscape in a trademark of Netscape Communications Corp.

The Microsoft Network is operated by Microsoft Corp. on behalf of Microsoft Network LLC.

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