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Microsoft Launches the Web Lifestyle With IE4

The new IE4 promises to deliver %dquotthe Web the way you want it,%dquot complete with dynamic graphics and a slick user interface.

By Lisa Moskowitz, PCWorld   

At Microsoft%squots Internet Explorer 4.0 launch party in San Francisco Tuesday night, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates not only introduced the new browser, he also predicted the future of American culture: In the next decade, Americans will adopt a %dquotWeb lifestyle,%dquot going online for most of their information, entertainment, and communication needs.

The idea is that IE4 will increase the number of users connecting to the Web on a daily basis.

%dquotIE4 will move more and more people to think of the Web as part of their everyday lifestyle,%dquot Gates said. %dquotIt will become as mundane as the car or TV culture is today.%dquot

The final version of IE4 includes tight integration with Windows, more than 700 Active Channels that push information directly to the desktop, and advanced security options. One tweak that didn%squott make it into the final version was the single-click default. Beta testers railed against its inclusion, and the developers relegated it to an option and resurrected traditional double-click access as the default.

In addition to hundreds of channel partners, ranging from Nickelodeon to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft announced 20 corporate partners that will use IE4 as the standard browser on more than 300,000 desktops. More than 50 Internet service providers have also agreed to distribute IE4 to their users.

Microsoft will continue to offer IE free of charge as it pursues a 50 percent browser market share. According to a Zona Research survey, IE is now used by 36 percent of businesses, up from 3 percent just 18 months ago. During the same period, Netscape Navigator%squots share of the market has fallen to 62 percent from 70 percent. Netscape charges $59 for a copy of its latest browser, Communicator 4.0.

For a copy of IE4, click the link on your right. Once you install the setup file, you can download one of three versions: Browser Only; Standard, which includes the Outlook Express e-mail application; or Full, which offers NetMeeting, NetShow, Microsoft FrontPage Express, Microsoft Web Publishing Wizard, and Microsoft Chat 2.0.