Microsoft Delivers Internet Explorer Administration Kit for Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.51, UNIX and Macintosh Platforms

Microsoft Delivers Internet Explorer Administration Kit for Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.51, UNIX and Macintosh Platforms

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 24, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced two powerful tools to ease deployment and enhance the management of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 with the free availability of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a for the Windows® 3.1 and Windows NT® 3.51 operating systems as well as UNIX and Macintosh platforms. The Internet Explorer Administration Kit provides a simple way for administrators to customize, deploy and maintain Internet Explorer across multiple computer platforms from a central location.

Since the introduction of Internet Explorer 4.0 last fall, the Internet Explorer Administration Kit for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 has already been licensed by more than 15,000 organizations and more than 15,000 partners including Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers, and software and hardware vendors.

Microsoft also announced the release of the Internet Explorer Resource Kit, a tool that provides network administrators, support professionals and ISPs with an exclusive collection of complete technical information and planning documents to give customers all the resources they need for a successful deployment of Internet Explorer throughout their organization.

“The Internet Explorer Administration Kit and the Internet Explorer Resource Kit provide powerful, cost-effective, cross-platform management capabilities for corporate customers and ISPs,” said Yusuf Mehdi, director of marketing in the applications and Internet client group at Microsoft. “With the release of these important tools, we expect to see a new wave of Internet Explorer deployments for customers who have large investments in Windows 3.1, Macintosh or UNIX.”

ITT Defense & Electronics, a leader in the design, manufacture and support of high-technology electronic systems, used the Internet Explorer Administration Kit to deploy Internet Explorer to 6,000 employees who use Windows 95- and Windows NT-based notebook and desktop computers. The company, a wholly owned company of ITT Industries, chose Internet Explorer 4.0 for its ease of use as a browser and its better integration with ITT’s operating system environment.

“We decided to standardize on Microsoft Internet Explorer because of its full integration with the operating system, and the Internet Explorer Administration Kit made this task simple and cost-effective,” said Victor N. Rios, vice president of information technology and CIO, ITT Defense & Electronics. “We were pleased Internet Explorer 4.0 was so easy to deploy because it affords users a seamless user interface, which translates into higher productivity, since there is not a constant switch between different ways of doing things.”

Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a Now Available Across Multiple Platforms

The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a makes it easy to customize, deploy and manage Internet Explorer 4.01 across platforms from a single location:

  • Complete customization. The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a makes it easy for customers to create their own version of Internet Explorer. With the Internet Explorer Administration Kit Setup Wizard, a step-by-step configuration tool, administrators can customize and lock down the settings for proxy servers, Security Zones, the Active Desktop
    ™
    interface, Active Channel
    ™
    content, Outlook
    ™
    Express or virtually any other feature of the browser and its components.

  • Easy deployment. The Internet Explorer Administration Kit gives customers a wide set of deployment options for the Microsoft Systems Management Server, e-mail, Web sites, floppy disks or CD-ROM. In addition, the Internet Explorer Administration Kit Setup Wizard allows administrators to include other components, such as their own applications, with the customized installation package so all can be deployed simultaneously along with Internet Explorer 4.01.

  • Centralized management . The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a includes several features that make it easy for IS managers to administer every aspect of Internet Explorer from a central location. While the Internet Explorer Administration Kit Setup Wizard allows administrators to customize and lock down all key browser settings in advance, once Internet Explorer has been deployed throughout their organization, the Internet Explorer Administration Kit Profile Manager enables them to easily change users’ browser and desktop settings from a single, central location.

  • Free. Not only does the Internet Explorer Administration Kit provide these powerful capabilities, it is available free of charge (connect-time charges may apply). A competitive solution with less functionality has an estimated retail price of $119,995 for an organization with 6,000 desktops.

In conjunction with the cross-platform release of the Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a, Microsoft has made available Internet Explorer 4.01 for the Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.51 platforms – an update that has been specifically developed for compatibility with the Internet Explorer Administration Kit.

More Organizations Say Internet Explorer Administration Kit Easy to Customize, Deploy

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, which will require all of its students to have computers by this fall, chose the Internet Explorer Administration Kit after examining several other deployment options, including Netscape’s Mission Control and a package the university developed in-house.

“The Internet Explorer Administration Kit was the best choice of all the customization packages we evaluated; it offers us many customization features and enables us to make our customizations once and then deploy them to all of the platforms we require – Windows 95, Windows NT and Macintosh,” said Chris Wiehe, programmer/analyst at Virginia Tech. “The bottom line is that Internet Explorer 4.0 does exactly what we need in terms of customization and setting up dial-up networking connections for our users.”

Netcom, an ISP based in San Jose, Calif., deploys to its customers Internet Explorer 4.0 using the Internet Explorer Administration Kit. Netcom chose the Internet Explorer Administration Kit because of its flexibility and customization options.

“Netcom’s mission is to offer choices and flexibility to our individual and business customers so that they can maximize the benefits of the Internet,” said Mike Kallet, senior vice president, products, technology and business development at Netcom. “The Internet Explorer Administration Kit enabled us to customize Internet Explorer to our customers’ needs in easy-to-install packages with all settings and options preconfigured to work seamlessly with the Netcom network.”

Internet Explorer Resource Kit Delivers Complete Technical Information

A comprehensive resource for customers, the Internet Explorer 4.0 Resource Kit includes detailed information designed to make it easy for administrators to deploy and support customized versions of Internet Explorer. The Resource Kit comes with a CD-ROM containing Internet Explorer, the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, the Internet Client Software Development Kit (SDK), and valuable utilities, accessory programs and sample code.

The Resource Kit covers a wide array of important topics to administrators:

  • Architecture and configuration. Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, NetMeeting
    ™
    conferencing software, NetShow
    ™server, FrontPage® Express, Active Desktop, security and accessibility

  • Authoring. Dynamic HTML, webcasting with channel definition format (CDF), ActiveX® technologies, Java, ECMA Script and scriptlets

  • Deployment. Planning migration, deployment with the Internet Explorer Administration Kit, using the Profile Manager, software updates, sizing, scaling and traffic management

  • Support. Trouble-shooting, frequently asked questions and the Internet Explorer Administration Kit Master Checklist

Pricing and Availability

The Internet Explorer Administration Kit 4.01a for Windows 95, Windows NT,
Windows 3.1, Macintosh and UNIX is immediately available from the Microsoft Web site at http://ieak.microsoft.com/ . Internet Explorer 4.01 for Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.51 can be downloaded free of charge from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ (connect-time charges may apply).

The Internet Explorer Resource Kit (ISBN 1-57231-842-2) is now available from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/corp/ as well as from bookstores, software retailers and directly from Microsoft Press at (800) MSPRESS (677-7377). In Canada, call
(800) 268-2222. The suggested retail price is U.S. $49.99 ($71.99 in Canada). Shipping and handling charges apply for direct orders.

Microsoft Press is the publishing division of Microsoft Corp. and the leading source of up-to-date information about Microsoft products and related technologies. Millions of users rely on a complete line of world-class Microsoft Press® computer books and multimedia training and reference tools. Titles ranging from self-paced tutorials for first-time computer users to advanced technical references and programming guides for computer professionals are distributed to book and software retailers worldwide. Consumers in the United States can order directly from the publisher at (800) MSPRESS. For information about other Microsoft Press products, visit http://mspress.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 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 Desktop, Active Channel, Outlook, NetMeeting, NetShow, FrontPage, ActiveX and Microsoft Press 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. For information on the growing use of Microsoft Internet Explorer in corporate environments, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/ie/corp/ .

Related Posts