REDMOND, Wash., July 15, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate worldwide availability of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2. This new release includes the industry’s premier Internet browser, a complete communication and collaboration solution, and true Web integration. Also unveiled for the first time with this release is the Microsoft Internet Explorer Active Channel
™
technology, supported by more than 250 of the world’s leading content providers, that brings the next generation of Web content directly to users’ desktops.
“With innovative new features including Explorer Bars and Outlook
™
Express, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 users will get the Web information they want more easily and more quickly than ever before,” said Brad Chase, vice president in the applications and Internet client group at Microsoft. “Combined with the exciting new Active Channel content from the more than 250 of the world’s leading consumer and business content providers, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 delivers a whole new way to experience the Web.”
Today’s release of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2 was designed to give both PC enthusiasts and IT managers an opportunity to experience the technology, provide feedback and become familiar with the product early in the development process.
The Web the Way You Want It
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 combines four key components to bring users “The Web the way you want it.” (For a complete feature list, please see the addendum at the end of this news release):
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Webcasting and Active Channels. Preview 2 delivers on Microsoft’s “managed push” solution announced in May for push technology. Microsoft Internet Explorer’s Active Channel support delivers timely, interactive managed content directly to the desktop, and the upcoming Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit version 4.0 gives administrators unprecedented control. In addition, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 allows any Web site to be “webcast” to users’ desktops. Features such as offline caching, multiple push delivery options and full support of the proposed channel definition format (CDF) standard take Microsoft’s push solution to a new level.
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True Web integration. The only Web browser to provide true Web integration, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 will propel user productivity by delivering a single, seamless user interface from which users can access the Web, their hard drive and the corporate intranet or extranet.
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Best-of-breed browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 innovates in key areas, including performance (including the fastest Java
™implementation), ease-of-use features (Explorer Bars and Web Intellisense® technology), safety features (Security Zones and the Content Advisor) and standards support (HTML 4.0, Dynamic HTML and more). These design innovations provide a safer, more productive, personalized Internet experience for users. -
Communication and collaboration. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 offers the complete Internet communication solution for users. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 includes the premier client for Internet-standard mail and news with Outlook Express, enhanced standards-based collaboration via Internet telephony, video conferencing and multipoint application sharing with the award-winning Microsoft NetMeeting
™
conferencing software, streaming multimedia with Microsoft NetShow
™networked multimedia software, and easy Web page authoring with FrontPage® Express (formerly FrontPad).
Preview Users Program Kicks Off at Leading Technology Sites
Top technology Web sites are launching the Microsoft Internet Explorer Preview Users Program, providing download access, exclusive news features, tips and tricks, insights and more. Users can take part by visiting the participating sites including CMP’s TechWeb “Explore With IE4” at (http://www.techweb.com/) , CNET Inc.’s “Preview 2 Test Drive” at (http://www.cnet.com/) , Wired Digital’s “LiveWired” at (http://wired.com/) , and ZDNet’s “BetaZone” at (http://www.zdnet.com/) .
Pricing and Availability
Preview 2 of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 for the Windows® 95 and Windows NT® 4.0 operating system is free (connect-time charges may apply) and available now from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ and from the Microsoft Preview Users Program Web sites. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2 for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 will be available in 13 languages including Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, with Swedish scheduled to be included within 30 days.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 1 for Windows 3.1 is also available now, with Macintosh Preview 1 scheduled by the end of July and UNIX Preview 1 scheduled by the
end of 1997.
Microsoft is also making available Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2 on CD-ROM for the nominal cost (including shipping and handling) of $4.95. Customers can order via the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/ or via phone at (800) 485-2048.
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, Active Channel, Outlook, Intellisense, NetMeeting, NetShow, FrontPage, Windows, Windows NT and Active Desktop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.
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 – FEATURE INFORMATION
Below is a list of some of the core components of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2. For a more complete list of best browser, true Web integration, webcasting and collaboration features included in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2 visit the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web site at httpwww.microsoft.com/ie/ .
Best-of-Breed Browser Features
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Unmatched standards support. With support for standards including HTML 4.0, XML, the W3C Platform for Privacy Preferences, Dynamic HTML, the proposed channel definition format (CDF) and others, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 is the browser built on standards. This standards support provides unprecedented interoperability for corporations and developers.
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Explorer Bars. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 introduces Explorer Bars, an innovation designed to provide the easiest way of viewing sites users have been to before or want to visit again, and to assist users in locating information they’re looking for. The History Bar displays a list of the sites users have visited during previous surfing sessions, enabling them to return with the click of a mouse. The Favorites Bar gives users a convenient way to visit all their favorite Web pages. The Search Bar allows simultaneous viewing of search results and Web sites.
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Security. With Security Zones in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, users and administrators can divide the Web into zones, each with separate security settings specific to the source, protocol, domain name or directory of the Web site they are viewing. Because Preview 2 of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 comes with four predefined Security Zones (local intranet, trusted sites, Internet zone and restricted sites), administrators can customize the number and definitions of the zones to meet their specific needs.
True Web Integration Features
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Active Desktop. The Active Desktop
™
interface lets users place both Windows icons and HTML elements on their computer desktop, offering unprecedented access and customizability for their favorite Web content. By integrating HTML components on the desktop, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 creates new opportunities for users, corporations, computer manufacturers and others. -
Single Explorer. Single Explorer provides access to virtually any document, network, Internet or intranet address from any window with consistent navigation tools, including toolbar buttons and single-click access.
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WebView. WebView allows users and administrators to create and apply custom HTML Web pages as a view on any folder.
Webcasting Features
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Active Channel content. Preview 2 delivers the coolest new channels on the Web via Active Channel technology. Active Channel-based content takes advantage of Dynamic HTML and CDF. Users decide which channels they want, what to download and when, and how they want the content delivered.
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Offline caching. Preview 2 keeps track of users’ favorite sites, notifies them when channels or favorites have been updated, and can even deliver the content of those sites directly to their computer so they can be read offline.
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Multiple delivery options. Active Channel-based content can be delivered in four new ways: in full-screen mode, as a screen saver, on the computer desktop (desktop items such as tickers, or “mini-pages,” available in various sizes and shapes, placed directly on the Active Desktop), and through e-mail via Channel Mail, which delivers full HTML pages directly to the user’s mailbox.
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Managed content. The upcoming Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.0 will offer support for managed webcasting technology by providing corporate IS managers with centralized control over the delivery of webcast content. The Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.0 will allow corporate administrators to set up custom corporate Microsoft Internet Explorer channels and to restrict channels that employees subscribe to, thus limiting bandwidth usage on a corporate network.
Collaboration Features
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NetMeeting . Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Preview 2 includes the final version of NetMeeting 2.0, Microsoft’s complete, real-time conferencing solution. NetMeeting allows users to communicate and collaborate with family, friends and co-workers over the Internet and intranets using Internet telephony, video conferencing, multipoint application sharing, file transfer, chat and whiteboard features.
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Outlook Express. Outlook Express makes e-mail and newsgroups easy to use and easy to manage. It provides even more functionality than its predecessor, Microsoft Internet Mail and News, including HTML mail, advanced Inbox Rules and complete Internet standards support. Outlook Express also provides an easy migration path from other e-mail clients, as well as an upgrade path to the Microsoft Outlook desktop information manager.
