Internet Explorer for Mac

Internet Explorer for Mac, a.k.a. Internet Explorer:mac or Internet Explorer Macintosh Edition, is a proprietary but free-of-charge web browser developed by Microsoft for the Apple Macintosh platform. Initial versions were developed from the same code base as Internet Explorer for Windows, however later versions diverged, particularly with the release of version 5 which included the Tasman (layout engine) rendering engine.

As a result of the five-year agreement between Apple Computer and Microsoft in 1997, it was the default browser on Mac OS before it was replaced by Apple s own Safari (web browser) web browser. Internet Explorer remains available for the Mac OS, although no major updates have been released since March 27, 2000 aside from bug fixes and updates to take advantage of new features in Mac OS X.

On June 13 2003, Microsoft announced that it was ceasing further development of Internet Explorer for Mac. The browser is not included in default installation of Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger which was released on April 29, 2005.

=History=

The first version of Internet Explorer for the Macintosh operating system was a beta version of Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh , released on January 23 1996 as a free download from Microsoft s website. This first version was based on the Mosaic (web browser) web browser licensed from Spyglass. Available for both Motorola 68000 and PowerPC based Macs running System 7 (Macintosh) or later, it supported the embedding of a number of multimedia formats into web pages, including AVI and QuickTime formatted video and AIFF and WAV formatted audio. The final version was released three months later on April 23. Version 2.1 released in August of the same year, was mostly aimed at fixed bugs and improving stability, but also added a few features such as support for the NPAPI (the first version of Internet Explorer on any platform to do so) and support for QuickTime.

On November 5 1996 Microsoft announced the release of a beta version of Internet Explorer version 3.0 for Macintosh . This release added support for HTML version 3.2, Cascading Style Sheets, Java applets and Component Object Model controls. The final version, made available on January 8, 1997, also added support for the Secure Sockets Layer and NTLM security protocols and the Platform for Internet Content Selection and Recreational Software Advisory Council internet rating systems that can be used to control access to websites based on content ratings. A problem with an operating system extension used in the Mac OS called CFM68K Runtime Enabler, lead to a delay in the release of the version 3.0 for Macs based on the 68k line of processors. Four months later on May 14, Microsoft released version 3.01 which included a version for 68k-based machines. This version also included features from the Windows version of Internet Explorer 4.0 such as AutoComplete and Monitoring Favorites that notified users when sites in their Favorites list have been updated. It also included support for JavaScript and introduced a Download Manager and a HTTP cookie Manager.

At the 1997 Macworld Conference & Expo in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 6, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates announced a partnership between Microsoft and Apple. Amongst other things, Apple agreed to bundle Internet Explorer with future versions of the Mac OS and make it the default browser instead of Netscape Navigator.

Five months later on January 6 1998, at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, California, Microsoft announced the release of the final version of Internet Explorer version 4.0 for Macintosh . Version 4 included support for offline browsing, Dynamic HTML, a new faster Java virtual machine and Security Zones that allow users or administrators to limit access to certain types of web content depending on which zone (for example Intranet or Internet) the content was coming from. The most publicized feature of Internet Explorer 4.0 was support for Microsoft s Active Channel technology, which was intended to deliver regularly updated content that users could personally tailor to their interests. However Active Channel failed to reach a wide audience.

At the same event, Apple announced the release of Mac OS 8. This was the first version of the Macintosh operating system to bundle Internet Explorer as its default browser per the agreement with Microsoft; however, version 4.0 was not ready in time to be included so version 3.01 was bundled on the CDs.

At the following year s San Francisco Macworld Expo on January 9 1999, Microsoft announced the release of Internet Explorer 4.5 Macintosh Edition . This new version, which dropped 68K processor support, introduced Form AutoFill, Print Preview, the Page Holder pane which let a user hold a page of links on one side of the screen that opened pages in the right hand and support for Mac OS technology like Sherlock (software).

Again a year later on January 5, 2000, Microsoft announced a new version of Internet Explorer at the San Francisco Macworld Expo, Internet Explorer 5 Macintosh Edition which was released two months later on March 27, 2000. Version 5 introduced a new rendering engine called Tasman that was designed to be more compliant with World Wide Web Consortium standards such as HTML 4.0, CSS Level 1, Document Object Model, and ECMAScript. It also introduced a number of features that were later added to other browsers such as complete support for the PNG image standard (which previous versions did not support at all), Document Type Declaration switching, Text Zoom and XML source view. It also included an Auction Manager for tracking auctions in sites like EBay and an Internet Scrapbook to allow users to quickly and easily store and organize web content (for example an image or a piece of selected text). The initial release was just for Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9, however two months after that release on May 15 a Mac OS X Public Preview version was released, bundled with the Mac OS X Public Beta that was handed out to developers at the 2000 Worldwide Developers Conference. The release of Mac OS X v10.0 on March 24 2001 included another Public Preview Mac OS X version of IE, and the release of Mac OS X v10.1 on September 25 2001 included the final version of IE 5.1 for Mac OS X.

After the release of a version of IE 5.1 for Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9 on December 18 2001, development work on the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer then slowed. On June 17 2002 Microsoft announced the release of version 5.2 (the first Mac OS X-only release) which included a few performance and security fixes and support for Mac OS X features likes Quartz (graphics layer) text smoothing.

Finally, on June 13, 2003, PC Pro reported that Macintosh Business Unit general manager Roz Ho had confirmed that aside from updates to fix security problems, there would be no new versions of Internet Explorer from Microsoft. Three days later on June 16, Microsoft released the final version for Mac OS X, version 5.2.3 and a month later on July 11, they released the final version for Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9, version 5.1.7.

=Features=

==Distinguishing features==

These are features found in Internet Explorer for Mac, which are not found in other common browsers (other than Internet Explorer).

*Support for ruby characters *Scrapbook feature lets the user archive any page in its current state *Auction Manager feature automatically tracks EBay auctions *Although Internet Explorer for Mac did not have any PNG support at all until version 5.0 (a year or two after most popular browsers), the PNG support added in that version was said at the time to be the best available on any platform.

==Common features==

These are features found in Internet Explorer for Mac and some other browsers.

*Auto-complete in the address bar responds to typing partial URLs or page titles, searches favorites and history *Go menu allows access to the persistent global browser history *Rendering engine offers superior CSS support compared with Internet Explorer for Windows *Immune from most Internet Explorer for Windows browser exploits *Text zoom allows the user to resize text on any page, regardless of how text size is specified

==Missing features==

These are features found in other common browsers, which Internet Explorer for Mac lacks.

*Pop-up ad blocking *Tab (GUI) browsing

==Concerns and problems==

These are concerns and problems facing Internet Explorer users for Mac that do not, today, affect users of other browsers.

*No longer being actively developed, primarily because Apple created Safari, though commitment had been diminishing beforehand *Although the layout engine has been well regarded, it has quirks independent of Internet Explorer for Windows and of Mozilla Firefox, and web pages are often no longer designed for it *Public key certificate support is notoriously difficult for ISVs who needed to provide their own Certificate authority. *Somewhat slow, at least for its day, giving the misleading impression that the Mac could not browse the web at full speed

=See also=

*List of web browsers *Comparison of web browsers

=External links=

*[http://www.microsoft.com/mac/ie Download Internet Explorer for Mac OS] *[http://www.macworld.com/news/2003/06/13/explorer/ Microsoft drops development of Internet Explorer for Mac] - Jim Dalrymple speaks to Microsoft s Jessica Sommer for MacCentral. *[http://browsers.evolt.org/ evolt.org - Browser Archive] - Freely downloadable copies of old versions of Internet Explorer.