InformationWeek

January 12, 1998

InternetView: Explorer For Mac Delivers

uardians of the legal system didn't bat an eyelash when Microsoft released Internet Explorer 4.0 for Macintosh last week. And why should they? Unlike IE 4.0 for Windows 95, the Mac version doesn't integrate with Mac OS in a way that might lead to cries of anticompetitive practices. I like that fact because I'm no fan of IE 4.0's Win95 shell integration. I find it confusing and awkward, and it doesn't make me any more productive. Besides that, it makes my desktop look like IBM's OS/2.

What's more interesting about IE 4.0 for the Mac is that it's a nice piece of work. It's fast and lean and offers up most of the same features as the Win95 version, including Outlook Express. In terms of delivering the browser goods across multiple platforms, IE 4.0 for the Mac (as well as the beta version of I E 4.0 for Sun Microsystems' Solaris) shows that Bill Gates is willing to throw major dollars and worker hours at non-Windows platforms in order to crush Netscape -- and he's creating quality products in the process. In contrast, Netscape Communicator 4.0 on the Mac is starting to seem a bit ragged, with Netscape's Netcaster push client still in beta and support for some Dynamic HTML technologies lagging behind Microsoft's.

Still, it's hard to trust Microsoft's long-term commitment to cross-platform development, given its lopsided promotion of Win95 and Windows NT. Take ActiveX, for example. Last summer, Microsoft delivered a plug-in that let Macintosh ActiveX controls execute under IE 3.0 for the Mac, but the company's developer tools and promotion didn't come close to the level of their Windows counterparts. You'll have a hard time finding an ActiveX control for the Macintosh on the Web, including Microsoft's site. There is ActiveX support in IE 4.0 for the Macintosh, however, and at least one prominent ActiveX control is included -- the HTML rendering engine used in Outlook Express.

Interestingly, Microsoft's "Reviewer's Guide," which offers a comparison of IE and Communicator, doesn't even mention ActiveX. But it practically accuses Netscape of creating Communicator for the Macintosh by directly porting the Windows 95 or NT version. Perhaps Microsoft has forgotten about its Office 4.2.1 for Macintosh, which is still shipping. I'm not saying it was directly ported from the Windows 3.1 version, but it sure runs like it. Mac users have been stuck for several years with Office 4.2.1, as Microsoft released the more-capable Office 95 and then Office 97 for Windows platforms. Thankfully, Office 98 for Macintosh should ship soon and will fit nicely beside IE 4.0 as a high-quality piece of the Macintosh desktop.

You can read Jason's Internet Zone column on InformationWeek Online at techweb.cmp.com/iw/author/internet.htm

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