REDMOND, Wash., March 18, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate worldwide availability of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5, the eagerly awaited Web browser software that works faster to save users time. Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, introduced Internet Explorer 5 today at a launch event at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., highlighting it as a centerpiece of the company’s Internet innovations in its Windows® operating system. Internet Explorer 5 offers breakthrough improvements in browsing performance, usability and flexibility that will enable users to get more out of the Internet than ever before.
“Internet Explorer 5 sets a new standard in Web browsing performance,”
said Gates.
“Consumers now have fast and simple access to all the Internet has to offer, from information and commerce to communication.”
In debuting Internet Explorer 5, Gates outlined Microsoft’s vision for the Web lifestyle, a lifestyle in which the Internet enhances and expands the way people learn, entertain, collaborate and communicate. As part of this announcement, Microsoft also unveiled the Windows Radio Toolbar, an exciting new feature in Internet Explorer 5 that provides users with easy access to Internet radio stations from around the world. With a single click, consumers can listen to streaming radio content directly in their browser while continuing to simultaneously surf the Web. Microsoft introduced more than 300 radio content providers worldwide offering a wide array of radio content from international news broadcasts to college radio stations, all available to Internet Explorer 5 users.
Gates announced Internet Explorer 5 along with other upcoming enhancements to Windows, such as Internet Connection Sharing, that represent important milestones on the road to full realization of the Web lifestyle for consumers. Internet Connection Sharing will enable multiple users to seamlessly and securely access the Web at the same time via a single shared Internet connection. Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Connection Sharing are at the core of Windows 98 Second Edition, an update to Windows 98 scheduled to be broadly available in the retail and OEM channels in the fall, and that will enable consumers to more easily take advantage of all that the Web has to offer.
Internet Explorer 5 Works Faster to Save Users Time
Microsoft has designed Internet Explorer 5 to save users time, from simplifying and automating common tasks to furthering Microsoft’s lead in providing users with the fastest full-featured browsing experience on the Web today. Internet Explorer 5 is the fastest modern browser for users of Windows. A modern browser is one that supports the ability to view the breadth of Internet content on the Web – HTML 4.0, CSS, Document Object Model, ECMA-262 compliant scripting – as well as delivers a rich, easy-to-use interface. With Internet Explorer 5, users can experience page-rendering performance improvements of up to 60 percent in comparison with Netscape Navigator 4.5 on top sites; average start-up is an average of
39 percent faster with Internet Explorer than with Netscape Navigator 4.5. By additionally incorporating Microsoft IntelliSense® technologies and an open platform for customers and developers, Internet Explorer 5 offers a much simpler, more flexible and faster Web experience.
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Fastest, most reliable browsing experience. From start-up to rendering and interface responsiveness, Internet Explorer 5 offers a faster Web browsing experience. In addition to being an average of 39 percent and up to 60 percent faster than Netscape Navigator 4.5 in startup and rendering pages, respectively, Internet Explorer 5 is over 25 percent faster compared with Internet Explorer 4.01 on key performance benchmarks such as caching, editing, scrolling and hosting Microsoft Office documents.
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Bringing IntelliSense to the Web. Internet Explorer 5 simplifies and automates the most complex browsing tasks so users can spend less time worrying about their browser and more time being productive on the Web. For example, the Search Assistant harnesses the power of different search engines to conduct quick, automatically optimized searches whether for a Web site, company, map, address or more. And the new AutoSearch feature enables users to type in common sense phrases in the address bar rather than URLs and be connected to the appropriate site automatically. In addition, popular browser features throughout the browser, including Adding and Organizing Favorites, AutoComplete and viewing History, have been refined to provide even greater ease of use.
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Maximum flexibility to use the Web the way you want. Internet Explorer 5 adapts to the way that users want to use the Web. It offers a 6.5 MB browser-only install version to which features can be added to over time through Automatic Install and rich mobile browsing functionality including the Windows Synchronization Manager. For example, users can designate the default e-mail application of choice for easy access through the browser, including Web-based e-mail providers such as the MSN
™
Hotmail
™
Web-based e-mail service. Developers can also provide an end-to-end customizable Web experience through use of Internet Explorer 5 Web Accessories, easily downloadable components that add features such as custom explorer bars to the browser.
Internet Explorer 5 in Business
Internet Explorer 5 also offers a premier browsing solution for businesses interested in increasing productivity and reducing cost of ownership. Corporations are already adopting Internet Explorer 5 to take advantage of its unmatched ease of use and stability, powerful deployment and management tools, and its unrivaled support for rich intranet application technologies. Leading corporations in a wide range of industries from pharmaceuticals to finance are building intranet applications based on standards-based technologies supported in Internet Explorer 5 and are customizing and deploying Internet Explorer 5 via the Internet Explorer Administration Kit. Today, Microsoft announced that Vencor Inc. and Wheat First Union have joined the list of companies that have chosen Internet Explorer 5 for their business. Together these companies represent more than 350,000 desktops.
Internet Explorer 5 for Developers
Internet Explorer 5 improves the ease and speed with which developers can create powerful Web-based applications and content because of its support for new technologies like Dynamic HTML Behaviors, as well as its unparalleled support for XML 1.0, XSL, HTML 4.0, CSS 1.0 and 2.0, Document Object Mail, and ECMA-compliant scripting. In addition, the componentized architecture of Internet Explorer enables developers to easily take advantage of portions of the Internet Explorer 5 browsing code to incorporate Web-related functionality like HTML rendering and editing into their own products. Microsoft recently announced that more than 2000 independent software vendors have chosen Internet Explorer to provide premier Internet functionality to their customers.
Availability and Support
Internet Explorer 5 is available immediately for download on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ (connect-time charges may apply). It is being distributed to a broader range of customers than any previous version. In a related announcement today, an unprecedented number of leading portal vendors, Internet service providers and PC manufacturers announced they will be making the browser available to their customers. Microsoft will simultaneously deliver Internet Explorer for the Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT® 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 3.1, Sun Solaris and HP-UX operating systems. Internet Explorer 5 is also available internationally, with more than 26 languages being rolled out over the next several weeks.
Customers downloading Internet Explorer 5 from Microsoft are eligible to receive 90 days of no-charge assistance via online support or by phone. For more information on Microsoft support offerings, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/support/ .
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, IntelliSense, MSN, Hotmail and Windows NT 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.
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