IE 4.0: Bloatware or Superbrowser

Pros: Requires only 4400K of RAM for full installation. Innovative "tabbed" interface eases access to Favorites, Search, History and Channels features. IE4 can automatically import preferences and settings from Netscape. Supports both 040 and PPC Macs. Free.

Cons: Dynamic HTML not fully supported in the PR1 release. This means that Active Channel content (channel content that takes advantage of both the Channel Definition Format and Dynamic HTML) is not supported in this release. Microsoft says sites that use CDF should work and that future releases will incorporate support for Active Channels.

If you have ever surfed the web, chances are good you've used a browser by Netscape or Microsoft. Now, both companies have updated and enhanced their products. But are the new features must-have additions... or just more code bloat for functions you'll never need? In this article, we'll look at the all-important usability factor of the new browsers and see how they compare... and how they fare when compared against older releases.

The good news for Mac users is that Microsoft has made IE4 for Mac feel like an extension of the Mac user interface, much as it has made IE4 for Windows feel like an extension of that platform's personality. On the Mac, IE4 sports a row of vertical tabs, labeled Channels, Favorites, History and Search. By passing the mouse over one of the tabs (no click needed!), it pops out like a drawer, and the contents are revealed. In the case of the Favorites "drawer," for example, you'll find your Netscape bookmarks, with Finder-like trangles showing the folder hierarchy. It's an attractive interface that, on our 100MHz PowerBook 5300, was remarkably fast.

As fans of IE3 already know, IE is generally superior to Netscape in terms of downloading files. Cached files retain their actual names, and a "Download Manager" window helps track (and restart) downloads. An interesting and innovative feature is the tiny "gas gauge" on the icon of a currently-downloading file that shows the download's progress.

An "autocomplete" feature automatically completes URLs for you as you type; you can disable this feature if you find it annoying to have your browser constantly second-guessing your moves.

A Subscriptions feature allows IE4 to automatically access pages and retrieve new information on a scheduled basis. It's very easy to subscribe: just go to the page you want, and choose Subscribe from the Favorites menu. You can customize the frequency of updates if you wish. An "Offline" mode allows easy browsing of cached files when not connected to the net -- ideal for dial-up users.

Indeed, ease of use seems to be the watchword for this product. Its new features and interface changes are primarily of this nature, and the lack of code bloat evidenced by the program's scanty 4400K RAM requirement is a remarkable achievement from the company who brought Mac users MS Office 6.0.

Internet Explorer 4.0 for Mac lacks several features of the 32-bit Windows versions, notably the Channels features and full-screen "kiosk" modes. IE 4 ships with no predefined channels, although it can access CDF pages created for the Windows version.

The program provides support for email address maintenance via Internet Config, a program that allows compliant programs to access settings previously stored. Alternatively, it can import your Netscape settings. In this case, Netscape bookmarks are also automatically converted. For those who don't want to learn IE4's interface, a preferences setting delivers a Netscape-compatible too

We've received several letters from readers who took issue with our Sept. '97 "IE4 vs. Netscape" article's conclusion that Internet Explorer 4.0 is a more advanced web browser than Netscape's Communicator 4.02. One reader went so far as to call it "I.E. The monster from the 'Gates' of hell!" :-)

Some people find the "Active Desktop" feature of IE4 annoying and/or slow. Fortunately, you can opt to not install this feature at all, or turn off the OS integration features of IE4 at any time, so that it does not change your machine's personality. This is easily accomplished using the Add/Remove Programs Remove Web Integrated Desktop" command in the Remove Internet Explorer 4.0" entry in this control panel.

You can also disable the Active Desktop by merely clicking the right mouse button on the desktop and deselecting "view as Web page." Alternatively, you can turn off Web View or the single-click icon-launching options via the Options commands in the View menu of any window.

• If you prefer Netscape, you're in the majority -- at least for now. Industry sources say Netscape's share of the browser market has dwindled to approximately 64%.

Here are three of our favorite features of Internet Explorer 4.0: when you open up a new browser window, it retains the history of the previous one. In other words, the new window's back button still functions -- something Netscape's browser doesn't do. Also, text copied to the clipboard from IE doesn't have the annoying carriage returns that Netscape's browser adds. Our favorite new feature, though is the Thumbnail view option available from the Properties page. It allows HTML, GIF, JPEG and other standard file types to be viewed in all their glory direct from your Explorer directories. Interestingly, MS Picture It 2.0 adds additional file formats (TGA, etc.) to this functionality when it is installed.

BrowserWatch points out that web page authors can use Netscape 4.0 to display animated GIFs in web page backgrounds (not that we recommend this!). What they did not mention is that Internet Explorer 4.0 also has this potentially annoying ability. Some examples we've created are here.

Easter Egg in Internet Explorer 4.0! Select About Internet Explorer from the Help menu. Now, with the CTRL and Shift keys held down, drag the blue "e" icon all the way to the left, then, all the way to the right, dipping it down so that it passes over the black text below. It should slide aside to reveal a button labeled "unlock." Click it. Then, with CTRL and Shift held down again, drag the blue "e" over the now-quaking earth. Voilà! (Be patient while viewing the list of names and info -- the list of "features that didn't make the product" is a scream.)

Programming Features
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has released a working draft of the specification for HTML 4.0. The new spec improves multimedia, style sheets and printing facilities of the language, currently standardized at version 3.2. Microsoft supports  HTML 4.0 in its Internet Explorer 4.0; the second preview release of the Mac version of the browser will also support Dynamic HTML. Info on IE4 is at www.barkers.org/ie/

Conclusion
After testing the official release of Internet Explorer 4.0, the verdict is mixed: one of our editors finds his machine feels "bogged down" after installing it and laments the increased boot time; the other loves the stability and quick page browsing. Several new features have been added since the Platform Preview, too. Check out the "Enable Thumbnail view" option available in the Properties window. FTP access and JavaScript support is still less robust than that of Netscape's browser, though.

How to Get IE4
Gotta love those conversion rates. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, due to be shipped Sept. 30, will be available on CD-ROM for those who don't want to download a multi-magabyte file. The cost for the CD-ROM: US$5 or $13 Canadian. It can be ordered or freely downloaded at www.microsoft.com/ie