Microsoft delivers stunning blow to Netscape with IE 3.0
by Daniel Will-Harris
(5/30/96)
To say that Internet Explorer 3.0 is just a new browser is like saying that the Web is just some text and graphics. After two tepid releases, Microsoft now has a white-hot Navigator-killer on its hands. Yet IE 3.0's success all hinges on the acceptance of its new component architecture, based on Microsoft's ActiveX.
Don't drag your copy of Navigator to the trash just yet: the first beta of IE 3.0 lacks the promised support for Java and for Netscape plug-ins. Of course, we can't conceive of Microsoft shipping the final version without these components (the product is scheduled to be out of beta this fall). And in every other aspect, IE 3.0 for Windows 95 matches all of Navigator 3.0's newest features. IE 3.0 also surpasses Navigator 3.0 in many ways. New features, ActiveX, innovative multimedia extensions, and an awesome collaboration tool will make the Web more attractive, easier to read, and more useful when you want to work on it with your colleagues.
IE 3.0's new look is cleaner, more elegant, and more practical than other browsers. Sliding toolbars save screen space. Buttons change from monochrome to color when you roll the mouse over them. IE 3.0 even gives you quick access to documents on your hard drive.
But again, the real story with IE 3.0 is what you don't see. IE 3.0's ActiveX technology is the real highlight of the browser and gives a glimpse of where Microsoft's vision of software is headed.
IE 3.0 breaks apart the whole notion of a browser as a single large program. Instead, IE 3.0 acts as a container for various objects (small programs or chunks of data). These objects each perform specific tasks: one displays HTML, another handles ActiveX interactivity and multimedia, and anyone who can write programs can add more ActiveX controls. These controls aren't just plug-ins that sit outside a main program. They can integrate and work with the other objects on your hard drive to add entirely new features that glide seamlessly between the browser and the rest of the operating system. For example, you'll be able to edit a Word document right inside IE 3.0.
The ActiveX portion of IE 3.0 is extremely cool news for people and businesses who run Windows 95, but it's bad news for the Mac camp. Most ActiveX components are based on common software components in Windows programs, known as Dynamic Link Libraries or DLLs. DLLs lack a native equivalent on the Mac OS, although some work-arounds exist. Microsoft will probably give OpenDoc the nod. Indeed, IE 3.0 has the feel of an OpenDoc container, such as Apple's CyberDog.
One look at IE 3.0 and it's clear that Microsoft is almost there. IE 3.0 is one hot piece of software. Once it adds support for Netscape plug-ins and Java applets, it will be a must-have for anybody who runs Windows 95. |
