Microsoft Delivers World's Fastest Modern Browser Available Today
Internet Explorer 5 Saves Users Time by Providing the Fastest, Easiest And Most Flexible Web Experience
Redmond, Wash. - March 18, 1999 - Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate worldwide availability of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5, the eagerly awaited Web browser software that works faster to save users time. Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, introduced Internet Explorer 5 today at a launch event at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., highlighting it as a centerpiece of the company's Internet innovations in its Windows® operating system. Internet Explorer 5 offers breakthrough improvements in browsing performance, usability and flexibility that will enable users to get more out of the Internet than ever before.
"Internet Explorer 5 sets a new standard in Web browsing performance," said Gates. "Consumers now have fast and simple access to all the Internet has to offer, from information and commerce to communication."
In debuting Internet Explorer 5, Gates outlined Microsoft's vision for the Web lifestyle, a lifestyle in which the Internet enhances and expands the way people learn, entertain, collaborate and communicate. As part of this announcement, Microsoft also unveiled the Windows Radio Toolbar, an exciting new feature in Internet Explorer 5 that provides users with easy access to Internet radio stations from around the world. With a single click, consumers can listen to streaming radio content directly in their browser while continuing to simultaneously surf the Web. Microsoft introduced more than 300 radio content providers worldwide offering a wide array of radio content from international news broadcasts to college radio stations, all available to Internet Explorer 5 users.
Gates announced Internet Explorer 5 along with other upcoming enhancements to Windows, such as Internet Connection Sharing, that represent important milestones on the road to full realization of the Web lifestyle for consumers. Internet Connection Sharing will enable multiple users to seamlessly and securely access the Web at the same time via a single shared Internet connection. Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Connection Sharing are at the core of Windows 98 Second Edition, an update to Windows 98 scheduled to be broadly available in the retail and OEM channels in the fall, and that will enable consumers to more easily take advantage of all that the Web has to offer.
Internet Explorer 5 Works Faster to Save Users Time
Microsoft has designed Internet Explorer 5 to save users time, from simplifying and automating common tasks to furthering Microsoft's lead in providing users with the fastest full-featured browsing experience on the Web today. Internet Explorer 5 is the fastest modern browser for users of Windows. A modern browser is one that supports the ability to view the breadth of Internet content on the Web - HTML 4.0, CSS, Document Object Model, ECMA-262 compliant scripting - as well as delivers a rich, easy-to-use interface. With Internet Explorer 5, users can experience page-rendering performance improvements of up to 60 percent in comparison with Netscape Navigator 4.5 on top sites; average start-up is an average of 39 percent faster with Internet Explorer than with Netscape Navigator 4.5. By additionally incorporating Microsoft IntelliSense® technologies and an open platform for customers and developers, Internet Explorer 5 offers a much simpler, more flexible and faster Web experience.
Internet Explorer 5 in Business
Internet Explorer 5 also offers a premier browsing solution for businesses interested in increasing productivity and reducing cost of ownership. Corporations are already adopting Internet Explorer 5 to take advantage of its unmatched ease of use and stability, powerful deployment and management tools, and its unrivaled support for rich intranet application technologies. Leading corporations in a wide range of industries from pharmaceuticals to finance are building intranet applications based on standards-based technologies supported in Internet Explorer 5 and are customizing and deploying Internet Explorer 5 via the Internet Explorer Administration Kit. Today, Microsoft announced that Vencor Inc. and Wheat First Union have joined the list of companies that have chosen Internet Explorer 5 for their business. Together these companies represent more than 350,000 desktops.
Internet Explorer 5 for Developers
Internet Explorer 5 improves the ease and speed with which developers can create powerful Web-based applications and content because of its support for new technologies like Dynamic HTML Behaviors, as well as its unparalleled support for XML 1.0, XSL, HTML 4.0, CSS 1.0 and 2.0, Document Object Mail, and ECMA-compliant scripting. In addition, the componentized architecture of Internet Explorer enables developers to easily take advantage of portions of the Internet Explorer 5 browsing code to incorporate Web-related functionality like HTML rendering and editing into their own products. Microsoft recently announced that more than 2000 independent software vendors have chosen Internet Explorer to provide premier Internet functionality to their customers.
Availability and Support
Internet Explorer 5 is available immediately for download on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ (connect-time charges may apply). It is being distributed to a broader range of customers than any previous version. In a related announcement today, an unprecedented number of leading portal vendors, Internet service providers and PC manufacturers announced they will be making the browser available to their customers. Microsoft will simultaneously deliver Internet Explorer for the Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT® 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 3.1, Sun Solaris and HP-UX operating systems. Internet Explorer 5 is also available internationally, with more than 26 languages being rolled out over the next several weeks.
Customers downloading Internet Explorer 5 from Microsoft are eligible to receive 90 days of no-charge assistance via online support or by phone. For more information on Microsoft support offerings, please visit http://support.microsoft.com/support/.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows, IntelliSense, MSN, Hotmail and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft's corporate information pages.
Top Media Providers Worldwide Embrace Internet Explorer 5 Streaming Radio
Windows Radio Toolbar Integrated With Internet Explorer 5 Provides Seamless Access to Most Popular Audio Content on the Internet
REDMOND, Wash. - March 18, 1999 - Microsoft Corp. today announced that Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5 customers now have the easiest access to Internet radio stations from around the world through the new Windows® Radio toolbar. Integrated directly into Internet Explorer 5 browser software and based on the popular Windows Media Technologies, the Windows Radio toolbar provides seamless access to the most popular audio content on the Internet with a single click and allows users to browse the Web while listening to streaming audio within the browser.
More than 300 radio stations worldwide are available today for use with the new Windows Radio toolbar feature. In the United States, users of Internet Explorer 5 in 16 of the 20 largest cities can enjoy a local radio station via the Windows Radio toolbar - with many more local and Internet stations on the way. Some of the premier Internet stations available today online include the BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, House of Blues Internet Radio, LAUNCH.com LaunchCast, National Pubic Radio (NPR), MUSIC CHOICE, MSNBC and ZDTV. More than 100 radio stations are expected to become available in the coming months.
By providing the easiest access to a broad variety of streaming audio technologies, the Windows Radio toolbar will enable new opportunities for streaming audio on the Internet. Web sites can now make streaming content available through the Windows Radio toolbar to a maximum number of users with minimal effort. In addition, the Windows Radio toolbar offers opportunities for traditional broadcasters to move into the Internet radio space by offering a larger market with simpler, more convenient access to their content.
"Being able to listen to your favorite radio station over the Internet, whether your local station, the most popular nationally syndicated shows, or a station on the other side of the world, is a real benefit for our customers and is now simpler than ever," said Yusuf Mehdi, director of Windows marketing at Microsoft. "By offering a breakthrough in the usability of streaming audio, we expect that the Windows Radio toolbar will further accelerate the rapidly growing market for streaming audio on the Internet."
Popular Internet Radio Stations Accessible With Toolbar Today
Leading Internet radio stations have enthusiastically signed on to broadcast via the Windows Radio toolbar. More than 300 stations, with additional stations becoming accessible quickly, are currently available via a single mouse-click. (See addendum with a partial listing of participating stations).
"As a featured station on the Windows Radio toolbar, we look forward to offering our award-winning programming to an even larger audience and expanding service to NPR member stations," said M.J. Bear, director of new media for National Public Radio. "This is the first continuous feed that NPR Online is making available to its Internet users. Key NPR programs such as "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" will be included in the Windows Media stream after their initial on-air broadcast on the West Coast. Users will also be able to listen to NPR hourly news updated in between the program streams."
"We are pleased to offer Internet Explorer users the ability to listen to more than 100 broadcast.com radio stations through the innovative Windows Radio toolbar," said Mark Cuban, chairman and president of broadcast.com. "We will be able to offer our radio station content partners extended distribution of their programming to the large audience of Internet Explorer."
House of Blues is incredibly enthusiastic about this exciting new medium - Internet radio offers a truly worldwide reach to disseminate House of Blues' world-class music experience to people all over the world," said Stephen Felisan, vice president of House of Blues Digital. "The reach, flexibility and technology will enable savvy programmers of rich content, like the House of Blues, to tell a story in an unprecedented way."
"We're excited to debut the Internet streaming of our service along with the launch of the Windows Radio toolbar," said Dave Del Beccaro, president and CEO of MUSIC CHOICE. "Users will find that MUSIC CHOICE is different from radio in that our library is deeper, the channels are meticulously programmed, and it's commercial-free, so the music sounds better."
"We are thrilled to be unveiling LAUNCH.com's LaunchCast with the debut of the Microsoft Radio toolbar," said David Goldberg, CEO, LAUNCH. "We are excited to be providing a great way for consumers to discover new music directly from Internet Explorer 5."
Internet Explorer 5 Available Today
Internet Explorer 5, the world's fastest modern browser for Windows, works faster to save users time. For the first time, Microsoft will simultaneously deliver Internet Explorer for the Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT® 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 3.1, Sun Solaris and HP-UX operating systems. In addition, Internet Explorer is available internationally, with more than 26 languages being rolled out in the next several weeks.
Availability
Internet Explorer 5 is available today for free download (connect-time charges may apply) at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft's corporate information pages.
Windows Radio Toolbar Partners Include:
United States Internet Stations
United States Terrestrial Stations
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International Stations
Argentina
Australia
Belgium
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Brazil
Canada
Czech Republic
Germany
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Greece
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Italy
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Mexico
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Norway
Portugal
Sénégal
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
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Thailand
Turkey
United Kingdom