Internet Explorer 4 Light Years Beyond IE 3.0 Forrest Stroud
Light Years Beyond IE 3.0
The core Web browser has long been Netscape's strongest point and the most difficult one for Internet Explorer to overcome. While the 3.0 release of Internet Explorer covered ground that was earlier lost to Navigator by adding support for Frames, Java, Plug-in modules, HTML Cascading Style Sheets, and ActiveX controls; enhanced security (including PCT technology); a Java Just-In-Time compiler; and tons of additional new features, it's the features introduced in the 4.0 release that are drawing the most attention.
These are also the features that Microsoft is hoping will finally take the client to a level above and beyond its closest competitor. And although the 3.0 release underwent a massive interface change in order to improve the app's overall appearance and to make the client feel more like your desktop portal to the Internet, the consummation of this theme has had to wait until the release of IE 4.0. Will an entirely revamped interface and a slew of revolutionary new features be enough to surmount Netscape? The final verdict may still be a couple months away, but IE 4.0 has definitely made a strong case for itself already.
