Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Introduction Michael Hayman
Prepare to be accelerated into blazingly fast Web access, surfable networks, Active Desktops, customizable folder views, and just about anything else you could imagine -- all by simply using the power of HTML, ActiveX, Java, and many other Web standards that you've become so accustomed to. Internet Explorer 4.0 gives you all this, and more -- including Smart Favorites, which monitor your favorite Web sites to check updates; Subscriptions which download entire Web pages for off-line viewing; and everything from drag-and-drop Start Menus to custom taskbar toolbars. You know how it takes a while for Internet Explorer 3.x to start -- or worse yet, Netscape Navigator? The time it takes from clicking on "The Internet" to when loading the default start page amounts to a total of about three seconds.
Running the Active Setup Wizard
Right out front, IE 4.0 shows innovation that will change the way people distribute software over the Internet. The only part of IE 4.0 you ever need to manually download is the setup program, called the "Active Setup Wizard". Before downloading the 400 KB self-extracting EXE here, you need to decide which basic package to install. The Browser Only package (15 MB) contains the Internet Explorer 4.0 browser and multimedia components. The Standard package (23 MB) includes the Internet Explorer 4.0 browser, multimedia components, Microsoft Outlook Express (the new e-mail and news client that replaces Internet Mail) and Microsoft Wallet (a new security feature). If you want endure a full 25 MB worth of downloading, you can get the Full package, which includes the Internet Explorer 4.0 browser, multimedia components, Microsoft Outlook Express, NetMeeting (Microsoft's popular conferencing tool), FrontPage Express (a great, new Web authoring tool that many prefer over big brother FrontPage) , NetShow (an Internet broadcasting player), and DirectShow (a comprehensive media player, previously called ActiveMovie).
You need to download and run the Active Setup Wizard with whichever package you decide to install . When you start the ASW, it asks which package to install, where it should install Internet Explorer on your computer, and the download location (such as Microsoft, ConXion, Digex, etc.). Once that information is entered, it will start the download process in the background. The files it downloads are separated into small chunks, so that if the server times out or goes down, you don't have to start the entire download over again.
If a failure does occur, restart Active Setup again. It will automatically figure out that it hasn't completed the installation, prompt you to choose another download location and pick up where it left off, even from a different server!
After the download is finished, you're asked to restart the computer. After the reboot, but before the desktop and taskbar appears, ASW displays a dialog box in the top-left corner of the screen entitled "Internet Explorer 4.0 Setup" (and below that the list of components). It asks a few simple questions while processing, but the process is generally quick and easy. Once finished, IE reboots once more. Upon loading Windows, you have a brand new interface.
