History of Internet Explorer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a history of Internet Explorer, a graphical web browser from Microsoft developed over 7 major software versions including 1995 (1.0), 1995 (2.0), 1996 (3.0), 1997 (4.0), 1998 (5.0), 2001 (6.0), and 2006 (7.0).
| Market Share for February, 2007 [1] |
|---|
| IE4 - .01% |
| IE5 - .65% |
| IE6 - 48.25% |
| IE7 - 30.22% |
Contents |
[edit] Early beginnings: Spyglass Mosaic
Internet Explorer is derived from Spyglass Mosaic. Originally, Spyglass licensed the technology and trademarks from NCSA for producing their own web browser but never used any of the NCSA Mosaic source code.[2] Spyglass Mosaic was licensed by Microsoft, in an arrangement under which Spyglass would receive a quarterly fee plus a percentage of Microsoft's revenues for the software.
The browser was then modified and renamed as Internet Explorer. Microsoft originally released Internet Explorer 1.0 in August 1995 with the Internet Jumpstart Kit in Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95. Version 1.5 was released later for Windows NT that supported basic table rendering. Version 2.0 was released for both Windows 95 and Windows NT in November 1995, featuring support for SSL, cookies, VRML, and Internet newsgroups. Version 2.0 was also released for the Macintosh and Windows 3.1 in April 1996.
Internet Explorer 3.0 was released free of charge in August 1996 by bundling it with Windows 95 OSR2. Microsoft thus made no direct revenues on IE and was liable to pay Spyglass only the minimum quarterly fee. In 1997, Spyglass threatened Microsoft with a contractual audit, in response to which Microsoft settled for US $8 million.[3] Version 3 included Internet Mail and News 1.0 and the Windows Address Book. It also brought the browser much closer to the bar that had been set by Netscape, including the support of Netscape's plugins technology (NPAPI), ActiveX,frames, and a reverse-engineered version of JavaScript named JScript. Later, Microsoft NetMeeting and Windows Media Player were integrated into the product and thus helper applications became not as necessary as they once were. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) were also introduced with version 3 of Internet Explorer.
[edit] Second stage: browser wars
Version 4, released in September 1997, was shipped with the latest beta version of Windows 98 and was modified to integrate more closely with Microsoft Windows. It included an option to enable "Active Desktop" which displayed World Wide Web content on the desktop itself and was updated automatically as the content changed. The user could select other pages for use as Active Desktops as well. "Active Channel" technology was also introduced to automatically obtain information updates from websites. The technology was based on an XML standard known as Channel Definition Format (CDF), which predated the currently used web syndication formats like RSS. This version was designed to work on Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT, and could be downloaded from the Internet, free of charge. It supported Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Outlook Express 4.0 also came integrated into the browser and replaced the aging Microsoft Internet Mail & News product that was released with previous versions.
In March 1999, Microsoft released version 5 of Internet Explorer. Bi-directional text, ruby text and direct XML/XSL support were included in this release, along with enhanced support for CSS Level 1 and 2. The actual release of Internet Explorer 5 happened in three stages. Firstly, a Developer Preview was released in June 1998 (5.0B1), and then a Public Preview was released in November 1998 (5.0B2). Then in March 1999 the final release was released (5.0). In September it was released with Windows 98. Version 5.0 was the last one to be released for Windows 3.1x or Windows NT 3.x. Internet Explorer 5.5 was later released for Windows Me in July 2000, and included many bug fixes and security patches.
Version 6 was released with Windows XP in August 27, 2001. It mainly focused on privacy and security features, as they had become customer priorities. Microsoft implemented tools that support P3P, a technology under development by the W3C.
[edit] United States v. Microsoft
In a legal case brought by the US Department of Justice and twenty U.S. states, Microsoft was accused of breaking an earlier consent decree, by bundling Internet Explorer with its operating system software. The department took issue with Microsoft's contract with OEM computer manufacturers that bound the manufacturers to include Internet Explorer with the copies of Microsoft Windows they installed on systems they shipped. Allegedly, it would not allow the manufacturer to put an icon for any other web browser on the default desktop in place of Internet Explorer. Microsoft maintained that integration of its web browser into its operating system was in the interests of consumers.
Microsoft asserted in court that IE was integrated with Windows 98, and that Windows 98 could not be made to operate without it. Australian computer scientist Shane Brooks later demonstrated that Windows 98 could in fact run with IE files removed.[4] Brooks went on to develop software designed to customize Windows by removing "undesired components", which is now known as LitePC. Microsoft has claimed that the software did not remove all components of Internet Explorer, leaving many dynamic link library files behind.
On April 3, 2000, Judge Jackson issued his findings of fact that Microsoft had abused its monopoly position by attempting to "dissuade Netscape from developing Navigator as a platform", that it "withheld crucial technical information", and attempted to reduce Navigator's usage share by "giving Internet Explorer away and rewarding firms that helped build its usage share" and "excluding Navigator from important distribution channels".[5]
Jackson also released a remedy that suggested Microsoft should be broken up into two companies. This remedy was overturned on appeal, amidst charges that Jackson had revealed a bias against Microsoft in communication with reporters. The findings of fact that Microsoft had broken the law, however, were upheld. Seven months later, the Department of Justice agreed on a settlement agreement with Microsoft. As of 2004, although nineteen states have agreed to the settlement, Massachusetts is still holding out.
[edit] Third stage: major development ceased
| Market Share for February, 2005 [6] |
|---|
| IE4 - .07% |
| IE5 - 6.17% |
| IE6 - 82.79% |
In a May 7, 2003 Microsoft online chat, Brian Countryman, Internet Explorer Program Manager, declared that on Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer will cease to be distributed separately from the operating system (IE 6 being the last standalone version);[7] it will, however, be continued as a part of the evolution of the operating system, with IE updates coming bundled in OS upgrades. Thus, IE and Windows will be kept more in sync: it will be less likely that people will use a relatively old version of IE on a newer version of Windows, and newer versions of IE will not be usable without an OS upgrade. Note that the release of IE 7 for Windows XP is an indication that this policy has since been at least partially changed.
This also partially accounts for the slow development of Internet Explorer and Windows Vista: the development team that was working on Windows Vista and the next version of Internet Explorer needed to pause its work during the development of Service Pack 2, to add what were seen as missing features like pop-up blocking and security patches to Windows XP. Critics argue that Microsoft should make the browser technologies specific to each revision of the operating system and forgo backward compatibility.[8]
On December 19, 2005, Microsoft announced that it would no longer support Internet Explorer for the Macintosh, and recommended using other Macintosh browsers such as Safari.
[edit] Version 7
Version 7.0 of Internet Explorer has been renamed Windows Internet Explorer, as part of Microsoft's rebranding of component names that are included with Windows. It is available as part of Windows Vista, and as a separate download via Microsoft Update for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.[9] Internet Explorer 7 can also be downloaded directly from Microsoft's website.[1] Large amounts of the underlying architecture, including the rendering engine and security framework, have been completely overhauled. Partly as a result of security enhancements, the browser will be a stand-alone application, rather than integrated with the Windows shell, which will no longer be capable of acting as a file browser. The first security advisory was posted only one day after the day of release,[10] but it turned out to be a security problem in Outlook Express, not in Internet Explorer 7.[11] The first vulnerability exclusive to Internet Explorer 7 was posted after 6 days.[12]
IE7 in Windows Vista incorporates additional security measures, most significantly "Protected Mode", whereby the browser runs in a sandbox with even lower rights than a limited user account. As such, it can only write to the Temporary Internet Files folder and cannot install start-up programs or change any configuration of the operating system without communicating through a broker process. This is expected to increase the security of the system considerably.[13] The Windows XP version of Internet Explorer 7 will not include "Protected Mode" operation, as it relies on technologies not found on systems before Vista. It also supports the Parental Controls and Network Diagnostics features which are unique to Vista. Internet Explorer 7 has only been released for Windows XP and later operating systems.
[edit] Release history
- On January 31, 2006, Microsoft released a public preview build (Beta 2 preview: Pre-Beta 2 version) of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (not for Windows Server 2003 SP 1) on their web site. It stated that more public preview builds (possibly Beta 2 in April) of Internet Explorer 7 will be released in first half of 2006, and final version will be released in second half of 2006.[14] The pre beta build was refreshed on March 20, 2006 to build 7.0.5335.5. A real Beta 2 Build was released on April 24, 2006 to build 7.0.5346.5. In addition, at the MIX'06 conference, Bill Gates said that Microsoft is already working on the next two versions of IE after version 7.
- On June 29, 2006, Microsoft released Beta 3 (Build 7.0.5450.4) of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2, Windows XP x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 SP1. It features minor UI cleanups, re-ordering of tabs by drag and drop, as well as noticeable performance improvements.
- On August 24, 2006, the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Internet Explorer 7 (Build 7.0.5700.6) was released for Windows XP SP2, Windows XP x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 SP1. This was the last pre-release version of IE7 before the final release.
- On September 28, 2006, 3Sharp, a privately held technical services firm, published the results of a study, commissioned by Microsoft,[15] evaluating eight anti-phishing solutions in which Internet Explorer 7 (Beta 3) came out on top. The study evaluated the ability to block phish, to warn about phish, and to allow good sites.[16]
- On October 18, 2006 the final version was released on microsoft.com, and was distributed as a high-priority update via Automatic Updates (AU) on November 1. AU notifies users when IE7 is ready to install and shows a welcome screen that presents key features and choices to “Install”, “Don’t Install”, or “Ask Me Later”.
- On November 8, 2006 a version of Internet Explorer 7 was released for Windows Vista only (7.0.6000.16386).
- On November 11, 2006 the latest version for Windows XP was made available (7.0.5730.11IC)[17].
[edit] Release history
Release history of Internet Explorer. Service packs are not included unless significant.
| Key: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Old Version | Current Version | Future Version |
| Major version | Minor version | Release date | Significant changes | Shipped with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version 1 | 1.0 | August 1995 | Initial release. | Plus! for Windows 95 |
| 1.5 | January 1996 | Unknown | ||
| Version 2 | 2.0 Beta | October 1995 | Support of HTML tables and other elements. | |
| 2.0 | November 1995 | SSL, cookies, VRML, and Internet newsgroups. | Windows NT 4.0 | |
| 2.01 | Unknown | Bug fix release. | ||
| Version 3 | 3.0 Alpha 1 | March 1996 | Improved support of HTML tables, frames, and other elements. | |
| 3.0 Alpha 2 | May 1996 | Support of VBScript and JScript. | ||
| 3.0 Beta 2 | July 1996 | Support of CSS and Java. | ||
| 3.0 | August 1996 | Final release. | Windows 95 OSR2 | |
| 3.01 | October 1996 | Bug fix release. | ||
| 3.02 | March 1997[18] | Bug fix release. | ||
| 3.03 | ? | Bug fix release. | ||
| Version 4 | 4.0 Beta 1 | April 1997 | Improved support of CSS and Microsoft DOM. | |
| 4.0 Beta 2 | July 1997 | Improved support of HTML and CSS. | ||
| 4.0 | September 1997 | Improved support of HTML and CSS. | Windows 95 OSR 2.5 | |
| 4.01 | November 1997 | Bug fix release. | Windows 98 | |
| Version 5 | 5.0 Beta 1 | June 1998 | Support of more CSS2 features. | |
| 5.0 Beta 2 | November 1998 | Support of bi-directional text, ruby character, XML/XSL and more CSS properties. | ||
| 5.0 | March 1999 | Final release. | Windows 98 SE | |
| 5.01 | November 1999 | Bug fix release. | Windows 2000 | |
| 5.5 Beta 1 | December 1999 | Support of more CSS properties. Minor changes to support of frames. | ||
| 5.5 | July 2000 | Final release. Last version for Windows 95. | Windows Me | |
| Version 6 | 6.0 Beta 1 | March 2001 | More CSS changes and bug fixes to be more W3C-compliant. | |
| 6.0 | August 27, 2001 | Final release. | Windows XP | |
| 6.0 SP1 | September 9, 2002 | Vulnerability patch. Last version for Windows prior to Windows XP. | Windows XP SP1 | |
| 6.0 SP2 | August 25, 2004 | Vulnerability patch. Popup/ActiveX blocker. Add-on manager. | Windows XP SP2 | |
| Version 7 | 7.0 Beta 1 | July 27, 2005 | Support of PNG alpha channel. CSS bug fixes. Tabbed browsing. | Windows Vista Beta 1 |
| 7.0 Beta 2 Preview | January 31, 2006 | More CSS fixes. RSS platform integration. New UI. Quick Tabs. | ||
| 7.0 Beta 2 | April 24, 2006 | Feature complete. More CSS fixes. Application compatibility fixes. | ||
| 7.0 Beta 3 | June 29, 2006 | Fixes rendering issues for CSS. | ||
| 7.0 RC 1 | August 24, 2006 | Improvements in performance, stability, security, application compatibility and final CSS adjustments. | ||
| 7.0 | October 18, 2006 | Final and current release. | Windows Vista | |
| Version 8 | 8.0 | Unknown | Rumored to be on P2P networks.[19] | Unknown |
[edit] References
- Microsoft Windows Family Home Page. Windows History: Internet Explorer History. Retrieved on May 12, 2005.
- Microsoft Knowledge Base. How to determine which version of Internet Explorer is installed. Retrieved on November 6, 2005.
- Index DOT Html and Index DOT Css. Browser History: Windows Internet Explorer. Retrieved on May 12, 2005.
- IEBlog. Windows Vista & IE7 Beta 1 Available. Retrieved on July 27, 2005.
- IEBlog. Standards and CSS in IE. Retrieved on July 29, 2005.
- IEBlog. IE7 Is Coming This Month. Retrieved on October 9, 2006.
- IEBlog. IE7 Platforms And Outlook Express. Retrieved on May 12, 2005.
- Microsoft Press Pass. RSA Conference 2005 - Gates Highlights Progress on Security, Outlines Next Steps for Continued Innovation. Retrieved on May 12, 2005.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=6&qptimeframe=M&qpsp=97&qpmr=55&qpdt=1&qpct=3
- ^ Memoirs From the Browser Wars, May 12, 2005 In 1995
- ^ Paul Thurrott (January 22, 1997). Microsoft and Spyglass kiss and make up. Windows IT Pro. Penton Media Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- ^ How to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 98, May 12, 2005
- ^ U.S. v. Microsoft: Court's Findings of Fact, May 12, 2005
- ^ http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=6&qpmr=55&qpdt=1&qpct=3&qptimeframe=M&qpsp=73
- ^ Microsoft to abandon standalone IE, January 23, 2006
- ^ Is Longhorn holding back Innovation?, May 12, 2005
- ^ Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 7, Retrieved on 2006-09-22
- ^ Internet Explorer 7 'mhtml:' Redirection Information Disclosure
- ^ IE7 Vulnerability already? Not really
- ^ Internet Explorer 7 Window Injection Vulnerability
- ^ Protected Mode in Vista IE7, IEBlog
- ^ Internet Explorer 7 downloads
- ^ http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/09/28/774513.aspx
- ^ http://www.3sharp.com/projects/antiphish/gone-fishing.pdf
- ^ http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=164539 Microsoft Knowledge Base with version listing], January 19, 2007
- ^ Knowledge Base Q164475, not available online
- ^ Internet Explorer 8.0 in P2P - IE8 Development Leads
[edit] See also
| Software | Windows • Office • Servers • Dynamics • Visual Studio • Money • Encarta • Defender • more… |
|---|---|
| Technology | Active Directory • DirectX • .NET • Internet Explorer • Windows Media • PlaysForSure • more… |
| Web properties | Windows Live • Office Live • MSNBC • ninemsn • MSN • Hotmail • Live Messenger • Spaces • Groups • Live ID |
| Gaming | Microsoft Game Studios • Zone • XNA • Xbox • Xbox 360 • Xbox Live (Arcade • Marketplace) • Games for Windows |
| Hardware | Zune • MSN TV • Natural Keyboard • Keyboard • Mouse • LifeCam • LifeChat • SideWinder • Ultra-Mobile PC • Fingerprint • Audio System |
| Education and recognition | MCPs • MSDN • MSDNAA • MSCA • Microsoft Press • Microsoft MVP |
| Board of directors | Ballmer • Cash • Dublon • Gates • Gilmartin • Hastings • Marquardt • Noski • Panke • Shirley |
