Internet Explorer 5.01

The official release of Internet Explorer 5.01 is now available, along with the SP1 service pack update released June 21, 2000. We're testing it now -- IE5 seems quite stable and speedy (86 percent faster than Netscape Navigator 4.5 at accessing cached pages), although the large size of the required files makes it a challenging download for users with slow internet connections. A typical installation uses about 17MB of disk space. Although a minimum installation can take as little as 7.5MB of disk space, the full feature-set requires over 100MB, and installation requires almost that much for "temporary file storage." On one of our test systems, the installer told us it needed 91376K free on drive C to continue a "typical" installation. Obtaining the CD (the miniature one we received is shown here actual size) from Microsoft is a better plan for modem users.
Tip: if you find Microsoft's primary download site bogged down and unable to complete the IE5 setup, try one of the alternate "mirror" sites listed at www.download.com. Note, however, that some alternate download sources "rebrand" IE with their own start pages and, in some cases, customized icons. The browser we received from MSN Canada, for example, had an MSN icon in the upper right corner. TUCOWS has posted instructions for removing the customization features from its version; a user named Manji has set up a Web page devoted to "debranding" IE 5.

Pros: Faster. An improved "Search Assistant" helps find email addresses, web pages and other types of data. The "History" list can now be sorted. (The system automatically disregards the www prefix.) Autocomplete feature types in web addresses and fills in forms. Now allows multiple connection configurations, making it easier for users with multiple Internet service providers to connect. Optional "Web view" of FTP pages. 128-bit version available. (Windows 98 owners can easily obtain it via the "Windows Update" feature.) Even without the update, the standard 40-bit version does include Server Gated Cryptography (SGC) technology, which allows international customers to conduct 128-bit transactions with banks and financial institutions around the world.
Cons: Conflicts with some video drivers. Pressing "Backspace" while text is selected in dialog boxes on some websites causes the browser (e.g., AltaVista) to switch to a different page. Netscape's Navigator 4.51 browser is slightly faster at loading pages with mixed text and graphics. Bizarrely, Microsoft's IE 5 download page is not accessible by the default browser shipped with Windows NT 4.0.

IE5 "synchronizes" the contents of a remote drive
One of the first things we tried was to open another user's desktop (some 2,000 mile away, via TCP/IP!) as an "Active desktop" window, using IE5. In our test, we opened a Mac's Desktop folder on our PC and browsed the text files, Adobe Photoshop and JPEG files, etc. By right-clicking a file (or even a folder) on the remote computer, we were able to place an active desktop object onto our Windows "active desktop," containing the contents of the remote machine's window. Interestingly, even though the files were not named in standard PC conventions (as Mac users seldom do), IE5 correctly recognized them. Double-clicking an Illustrator file yielded the "Save or Open" dialog; by selecting open, we were delighted to see that IE5 opened up the file with our graphics program (we have our system set up to use CorelDraw 8 to open Illustrator files) embedded right inside the IE window! We could then view, save, print and edit the graphics files at will from "inside" our web browser! In another test, we dropped a Mac "SimpleText" file onto our Windows desktop with formatting and fonts intact. Using IE5's Font controls, we could then increase or decrease the font size at will. And, because the file was synchronized with the off-premises machine, if the remote user edited the file, our "Active" copy would be automatically updated!  IE 5.0's new synchronize feature allows you to update an offline site and just download new elements. As well, downloaded pages now automatically download the required graphics. Very cool.

Big Improvements to FTP
There are other dramatic changes as well. When accessing a remote FTP site, for example, the files now look exactly like local files, with the same folders and window layout you would see if they were on your own PC. You can simply drag a folder on to your own desktop (or anywhere else) to download it. Right-clicking a file yields a "Download to..." option. The status bar shows what name you are logged onto the remote FTP site with. And, if you select "Web Page view" while connecting to an FTP site, you see further evidence of how much IE5 improves upon the lame-o FTP functionality of previous Internet Explorer releases. Now, a checkbox to login anonymously appears, along with a place to type an email address, and options to download files in text, binary or auto-detect modes. There's even a "Message of the Day" box.

We're still exploring the new release's Dynamic HTML and XML features, as detailed in a PC Week article on the subject. Drop by Microsoft's IE5 page for an overview and check back here later for more test results...

The FTP functions of IE5 have been greatly improved over those of v4.0 or earlier releases. For example, where IE4 would complain that "The server returned extended information" in cases where a password was required, IE5 provides a dialog to enter the password. As well, when a URL of, say, a password-protected directory was copied to an IE4 user's desktop as an Active Desktop item, the operation would fail with a "not supported" error. IE 5 can do all this, and more -- and its "Web Page View" mode even allows you to upload or download folders or files by simply dragging them.

Another new part if IE5 is a dramatically revamped Media Player, with enhanced video, audio and NetShow multimedia capabilities. Search Google for additional info on Liquid Motion.

At the Internet Explorer launch, March 18th, 1999, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates made a surprise announcement of Windows 98 SE, a second edition of the company's Windows 98 operating system due this fall that will include the new browser and a host of other bug-fixes and feature updates, many of which had been previously expected to show up this spring in a Service Pack release. Some observers questioned whether this was little more than a ploy to divert attention away from the company's slipping schedules for its next-generation Windows 2000 release.

Internet Explorer 5 ships with one of its new features turned off by default, a move Microsoft admits is in response to users' security concerns. A so-called IntelliSense "autocomplete" feature, when enabled, can automatically fill in passwords and  other previously entered user data into web forms. Another new feature, a radio bar accessible by right-clicking the IE icon in the upper-right corner of the browser window, was not part of the recent beta release of IE5. With it, users can listen to music or newscasts from a wide variety of sources. However, one feature from the IE5 beta did not make the final version: a "junk mail" filter planned for inclusion in Outlook Express 5 had to be removed after a California-based electronic greeting card company obtained an injunction against the software giant, alleging that the feature barred users from being able to access its product. Internet Explorer 5, which our early tests show is noticeably faster than IE4, is available for free download from www.microsoft.com.

Microsoft says it plans to ship a Mac version of IE 5 in the summer. Until then, versions are available for Intel compatible systems running 16- and 32-bit Windows, Windows NT systems running on DEC Alpha processors and Unix systems running Solaris or HP-UX.

Glitch Alerts: Microsoft strongly recommends uninstalling IE5 before upgrading a Windows 95 system to Windows 98. They aren't kidding. As well, the Internet Explorer release notes state that if you have installed Internet Explorer 5 and then upgrade a Diamond video driver that you download from Diamond’s Web site, your computer may not restart. We've also seen more than one case in which an installation of FrontPage stopped working after the upgrade. Reinstalling the app fixed the problem.

As noted above, we were surprised to note that Windows NT 4.0 users with the version of Internet Explorer installed from the original CDs of that product can, as of Nov. 1999, neither access the Microsoft IE 5.01 download page nor successfully download the "web based installer" for IE 5.01 from any of the many mirror sites, due to an apparent glitch in Microsoft's web-based IE download code. The installation will work, however, if you download Netscape (there's justice for ya!) or obtain the IE 5.0x CD. Microsoft's IE 5.01 download page is accessible once you've updated the Windows NT 4.0 browser to almost any other browser other than the one it ships with.

Hidden Goodies
There are a couple of Easter Eggs hidden inside Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 5 browser. The first can be found by performing the following steps:

1. Open a New Notepad.
2. Type in the following:<!-- introducing the Trident team -->
3. Save As "test.htm" close Notepad, and Double Click on the Icon.

The second is well worth discovering, particularly if you know the code name for Netscape's popular web browser.

Start IE 5.

1. Click on "Tools" then "Internet Options"
2. In the "General Tab" Click "Languages"
3. Click on "Add"  In the "User Defined" type in "ie-ee" (no parenthesis)
4. Choose "Ok".
5. Highlight your New Entry, and Choose "Move Up" (move to the top of the list)
6. Click "Ok"
7. Next Click the "Search" Icon on your Toolbar
8. Next Click "Customize" in "Search" Screen and smile!

For Further Reading:

• (June 21, 2000) Internet Explorer 5.01 SP1 Released

External Links:

• Microsoft Press Release: Internet Explorer 5 (Mar. 18th, 1999)
• PC Week: IE 5.0
• MSNBC: IE5 torpedoes Diamond video driver upgrades
• Ars-Technica.com: Mad TUCOWS Disease (Mar. 24th, 1999)
• The Register: IE 5 security hole lets snoopers scoop your clipboard
• Interactive Week: Internet Explorer 5 Can Lock Out Win 2000 Users
• Troubleshooting Browsing Error Messages in Microsoft Internet Explorer
• http://support.microsoft.com/support/ie/ie5/topics/browse/iebrowseemts.asp