The first time you launch IE, it automatically copies some shared libraries and fonts to your System Folder. You double-click the self-mounting disk image and drag the Microsoft Internet 5 folder to your hard drive. I’ll examine each of these in turn, but let’s start from the beginning. IE 5 boasts an all-new rendering engine, standard support for 128-bit encryption, a colorful new look, enhanced usability, and new features such as an auctions manager and a scrapbook. Even so, IE 5 contains numerous bugs, and Microsoft apparently did not have time to finish work on the Media Toolbar that its own IE 5 pre-release site touted earlier this month.
But as is often the case with software, development took longer than expected, and Microsoft wisely chose to delay the release until it was finished. After releasing IE 4.0 in January 1998 and IE 4.5 in January 1999, Microsoft was clearly targeting this year’s San Francisco Macworld Expo for the unveiling of its latest browser. Judging by the response, IE 5 was the most hotly anticipated software product so far this year.
More than a year old, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 5 Macintosh Edition. In the last week of March, with the Windows version already
Requirements: Power Macintosh with Mac OS 7.6.1 or later, 8 MB of available RAM, QuickTime 3.0 or later, MRJ 2.1 or later. Price: free or $10 on CD-ROM (including shipping)
