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Internet Explorer 5 comes packed with features
by Jim Dalrymple, jdalrymple@maccentral.com
March 27, 2000, 10:30 am ET
Microsoft's next generation browser is a completely new program, from the rendering engine to the new features. The most significant new feature of IE 5 is what you can't see -- the engine that drives the browser.
Tasman, the name of the new rendering engine, has been in development for over a year and Microsoft says the enhancements here have led to a 50 percent speed increase in rendering pages. Tasman allows Internet Explorer 5 to provide full support for the published Internet content standards as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium including: HTML 4.0, Cascading Style Sheets 1.0, Document Object Model 1.0 HTML, Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Portable Network Graphics -- something Microsoft says is not available on any other browser.
The Search Assistant allows the user to select a category and Internet Explorer will automatically launch the first specified Internet search and return the results in the Search Assistant window.
Internet Explorer 5 uses "Alexa," a free Web navigation service, to power the Related Links feature. Related Links makes it easy for people to view additional Web sites that are similar to the ones they have already searched for.
An improved Address AutoComplete automatically displays all matching URLs, beginning with the shortest, in alphabetical order. This also works for a search -- type a query or a "?" followed by the query in the Address Bar to automatically start a search on a particular subject. Internet Explorer automatically returns a Web page with the results.
Internet Explorer's tools menu includes Track Auction, Auction Manager, AutoFill Forms, Show Related Links, MSN.COM, MSN Hotmail and Encarta Online, bringing many features together in one convenient place.
The Internet Scrapbook is a great feature for people who access certain pages many times. Internet Scrapbook allows the user to capture a Web page, including graphics, for future reference on your hard drive. A link to the original page is also included in the scrapbook page so you can access it while online.
Online auctions are becoming more popular these days and IE 5 has stayed one step ahead of the competition by including an Auction Manager. The Auction Manager checks the status of bid items at different auction sites and allows users to view the status of their various auctions in an Auctions Favorites folder. This feature also works with Sherlock -- after searching an auction with Sherlock users can track and complete their auction activity with the Auction Manager.
Microsoft has also incorporated support for Apple technologies such as Navigation Services, MRJ, ColorSync and more.
These are just some of the features included in today's release. A complete list of features and more information on both Internet Explorer 5 and Outlook Express 5 are available from Microsoft MacTopia.
One feature that didn't make it in the final release is the Media Toolbar. Microsoft officials explained that they are still working out details of the toolbar and didn't want to holds up the release any longer.
MacCentral first had an in-depth look at Internet Explorer 5 at Macworld San Francisco. You can read our hands on review here.
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