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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: blankmind who wrote (18199)	3/17/1999 5:10:00 PM
From: t2	Respond to of 74651

Th Internet Explorer 5.0 release tomorrow should help the stock up. Remember we discussed that since it is free, it would not effect MSFT's bottom line. Well lets think that one over again!!! seattletimes.com Microsoft hopes to woo big business with new version of Internet Explorer by Jay Greene Seattle Times technology reporter When Microsoft launches the latest version of its Internet Explorer browser tomorrow, Web surfers will see much of what they've come to expect from the product. Browsers have evolved to the point where improvements are largely incremental. And to Internet Explorer users, that's largely what they'll see - a bunch of modest, gee-whiz new features that will improve browsing the Internet, but won't change the experience dramatically. But to Microsoft, the newest browser, Internet Explorer 5.0, is a giant leap forward in its effort to win the software business from large corporate customers. Microsoft will go to great lengths to highlight its "componentized" architecture, which lets developers and corporate customers customize the browser to fit their needs. Browsers, which have been much discussed at the Microsoft antitrust trial now in recess in Washington, D.C., have become must-have software. As such, Microsoft has focused on making Internet Explorer the browser of choice for software developers and large businesses. If corporate customers choose Internet Explorer, a free product, Microsoft figures they'll be more likely to buy Microsoft's server products, such as Windows NT, that power large numbers of computers. "If you want to get all the benefits, you want to be tied into the current generation of NT," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group in Santa Clara, Calif. "It provides a front end to a lot of the back-end technology they want to sell people." Componentized architecture, known as COM, is one of the ways Internet Explorer separates itself from its chief rival, Netscape Communications' Navigator. COM allows corporate customers, for example, to incorporate various Internet Explorer features as they develop intranet sites. Microsoft will likely trot out customers - it has recently highlighted deals with companies such as Eli Lilly and Ernst & Young - to discuss how they've used Internet Explorer's COM architecture to develop their in-house sites. To be sure, the browser has some new features that will stand out for computer users. Perhaps the most striking is an improved version of the AutoComplete feature, which helps users quickly move to Web sites they've previously visited. As users type in Web addresses, a dialog box drops down with matching addresses from the history list. Microsoft also has bumped up the speed of Internet Explorer from previous versions, changing computer code that caused pages to load more slowly. Microsoft product manager Mike Nichols described the browser as "much snappier" and said performance is a "humongous, important issue for customers." Still, those are modest changes that won't grab attention the way Microsoft's introduction of Web channels, for example, did in past releases. "It's easier to use and it's faster," said Kathy Hale, an analyst with Dataquest in San Jose. "IE5 is not a release going after glitzy features and functions." The new browser also will expand its support for extensible markup language, or XML. A key part of Microsoft's recently announced online commerce strategy is developing a computer-language standard, which it dubbed BizTalk, and is based on XML. The idea is to get different kinds of technology, created by various software programmers, to connect to one another. Microsoft is incorporating that standard to the browser. "They would probably be justified in calling this release the XML browser," Hale said. Computer users will be able to download the browser free from Microsoft's Web site or buy a CD-ROM for $6.95. It will be available in 10 languages when it launches, and 16 more shortly thereafter. Copyright © 1999 Seattle Times Company

To: blankmind who wrote (18199)	3/17/1999 6:27:00 PM
From: Andy Thomas	Respond to of 74651

>>I wrote my Congressman & urge every other Freedom Loving American to do the same. Get off MSFT's back.<< Isn't that a contradiction to use "freedom" and "MSFT" together? FWIW Andy