three cents on ie4 8 of october, 1997 by johnmichael patrick monty monteith

Over one million people downloaded Internet Explorer 4.0 over the weekend. And with good reason. This is the first major update to the Windows operating system since 95 was released. In fact, the changes in Internet Explorer 4 are nearly as dramatic to the Windows operating system as my recent upgrade to Macintosh OS 8 was. However, with a Microsoft product, one can always expect a few more speed bumps on the way.

To Bill's credit, this was perhaps the cleanest Microsoft OS I have ever installed. ("Operating system?", you ask. We will come back to that.) Impressive since it is one of the most complex. Before I expound about the changes, let me tell you the road I traveled for installation.

On Friday night I turned my URL (note the fancy Internet lingo) to the Microsoft site and started downloading IE4.0 right before bed. When I woke up in the morning all twenty some megs of software were downloaded. Microsoft made a nice little program which downloads all of the particulars, and then throws them all into a single directory. I then was able to copy that directory off to my laptop and my systems at work.

From there I attempted the installation. All went smoothly, although after installing IE4.0 five times now, I have noted that immediately after install it has never once been able to properly shut down and re-boot the system. It always gets hung in the "waiting to shut down" mode. My guess is that Microsoft knew that this would happen, although a nice note saying "please turn off the computer if it hangs up" would have been nice (the first time I waited for fifteen minutes before giving up). Anyway, it only happens once, so it can be forgiven (see how well Microsoft has trained me?)

The reason why I call IE4.0 an operating system is because, well, it is. At least, it is as much an operating system upgrade as anything in the recent past. It makes major overhauls to the system, some which have been long overdue. Microsoft is no dummy. They know that most Windows 95 users will be unable to pass up the chance to have their operating system upgraded for FREE. Of course, by doing so, you are basically giving Netscape the shaft. But, we all knew that it was just a matter of time before Netscape lost the browser war anyway.

Truth be told, if you are a Windows 95 user, you would be stupid not to upgrade. Internet Explorer 4, despite it's usual Microsoft problems, is one of the best products Microsoft has ever written. The fact that they are giving it away for free is just icing. The additions it adds to the operating system are excellent. All the way from basics, like window movement actually doing full graphic refresh rather than shadows, to the major changes of virtually every window being a configurable html (web) site (even your backdrop can be a web page). These changes will make your Win95/IE4 operating system about the most configurable OS around. In fact, with a little energy you could make the Windows 95 operating system look and act nearly identical to NeXTStep, MacOS or AmigaOS with the amount of configuration abilities now available. (Yes, it would still be Windows underneath, however.)

By making the operating system into, basically, just an over-bloated web browser, Microsoft has attempted to finally put an end in the "ease of use" debate. Essentially, if you can use a web browser, you will be able to use this upgraded version of Windows 95. Of course, whether this really ends the ease of use wars is sure to be a new heated debate.

In addition to the monumental OS changes, IE4 also has some nice Internet additions. The thumbnail picture of what the selected file looks like is a nice addition (although does it really need to make the window THAT much bigger to do it?) The channel system is all right, although I would say a little overkill. The differences between "favorites" (or "bookmarks" for those of you joining us from the other camp) and "channels" are so small, that I hardly see the need for both. However, the subscription ("push") idea is a good one. It is awfully nice to look at my list of sites and know which ones to go visit for new content without having to load each one up. The subscription addition has already saved me significant time, and is worth the time and energy downloading this upgrade by itself.

But, wait, that's not all! You also get a whole bunch of really nice software. One of which, Outlook Express, is far better than the original full blown Outlook that comes with Office 97. The original Outlook was so over-bloated, slow, and stodgy that I eventually just uninstalled it. But Outlook Express is a quick and efficient way to read your mail and newsgroup material. Although, my biggest gripe still remains: It is still nearly impossible to keep my laptop and two desktop systems in-sync with newsgroups, email, and their address books. (Maybe IE5.0?)

You also get FrontPage Express, which is a scaled back version of the commercial product FrontPage. They also include Microsoft Chat and Microsoft NetMeeting, neither of which I have tried out yet. And there is probably some other stuff included which I have not even tried loading.

As you can see, Microsoft went straight for Netscape's jugular with this one. Bill did not attempt to disguise the attempt at destroying any hope that Netscape might win. With this release Netscape is now history as far as the browser war is concerned. It proves nothing except that the richest man in the world can corner any market he damn well pleases. Big surprise.

But, it is time for me to get off the old soap box. Despite the fact that you are required to install this software (you have been properly brainwashed, haven't you?), there are a few problems. If you have any shortcut keys set up for your favorite applications - you can kiss them good-bye after install. Internet Explorer 4.0 effectively erases them. It is quite silly since they are still listed in the properties window, but the operating system no longer recognizes the keys until you replace them. Although a minor nuisance, when you get used to those keys, it is quite aggravating. (Johnmichael all last night: "Damn it. I forgot to fix the calculator shortcut." "Damn it. I didn't fix the Word shortcut.")

Everything takes up more space than it used to because it is in a browser window. I can not comprehend why those buttons need to be so large, or the thumbnails and descriptions need to take up so much space - but they do. This and NeXTStep are the only operating systems I know to require a 17 inch monitor, and recommend a 21 inch.

Lastly, do not be fooled by some of the new choices IE4 will give you. On every computer I did an installation, suddenly new screen resolution preferences appeared. Silly me. I thought maybe I had not noticed these options before. So, for fun and giggles, I decided to try increasing my graphics resolution. DON'T DO IT! Suddenly my monitor did not work. I was fortunate that I just LapLink'd a remote session on my notebook and changed the resolution (thank God for those reliable non-Microsoft products to save the day). However, my guess is that novices will not solve this puzzle quite as easily. (Why is Windows suddenly showing choices that are not valid anyway? I thought this sort of stuff was history with 3.1?)

Despite my gripes, it is a valuable upgrade. Since installing it, I have yet to experience a single application crash ---- zip //dfdf .s….3$$%df…

Just kidding. Knock on the magnetic media of your choice.

There must have been a few bug fixes in there as well. Most importantly, my browser and application downloads have been rock-solid on all my Windows 95 beasts at home and at work. If you have not done so yet, point your browser over to the Borg, um, I mean Microsoft web site, and prepare to have your operating system assimilated. Again.

Oh, and when you give in to the urge of changing your monitor resolution, don't say I didn't warn you.