Maxthon

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Maxthon

Maxthon Screenshot
Developer:	Maxthon International Limited
Latest release:	1.5.9 build 80 / February 11, 2007
Preview release:	2.0.1.7022 / February 13, 2007
OS:	Windows
Use:	Web browser
License:	Proprietary EULA
Website:	maxthon.com

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Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) (pronounced "max-ton") is a China-based freeware (more specifically donateware) web browser. From its early MyIE2 roots, Maxthon has developed a growing user base, especially in China, and in 2006 it has received commercial backing for its upcoming version Maxthon 2.0, currently in beta ^[1]. It uses the Trident layout engine, just like Internet Explorer, but it can use the Gecko engine used in Mozilla Firefox as well.

Maxthon seeks to provide many rich features and a highly customizable interface, without losing any of the compatibility of Internet Explorer.

In January of 2006, Maxthon developers partnered with Microsoft in its booth at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Maxthon is reported to be the second most popular browser in China ^[2], and it has been downloaded more than 79.6 million times worldwide ^[3].

1 History
2 Features
- 2.1 Version 2.0
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Maxthon started life as MyIE, originally created by Changyou, a Chinese man, who wanted to customize his Internet Explorer browser. MyIE was one of the first browsers to support tabbed browsing. Changyou posted most of the code onto his BBS, but unexpectedly left the project due to personal reasons in 2000. One of his admirers, Jeff Chen, decided to continue the development and released a new version with the name MyIE2. MyIE2 grew very fast, with massive contributions from passionate users all over the world. They communicated via BBS, forums and instant messaging, and helped with aspects such as plugins, skins and debugging.

MyIE2 was renamed Maxthon in 2003. It was seed funded by the first Skype investor Morten Lund, together with WI Harper Group in 2005. In 2006 Maxthon received a major investment from the US-based venture capital firm Charles River Ventures.[1]

[edit] Features

Tabbed document interface
Saves open tabs in case of program shutdown or system crash
Undo for any tabs accidentally closed
AD Hunter - an advert-blocking utility that blocks pop-ups, banners, and floating ads in webpages
Flash, Java applet and ActiveX blocker
Skinnable
Customizable tabs and interface
Programmable mouse gestures
External utility bar - toolbar that allows you to open third-party programs
RSS reader
Supports many Internet Explorer plugins as well as plugins of its own
Partial Gecko engine support with the use of a third-party program
A search toolbar with 8 different search engines (user extendable)
Automatic updating service
Groups - the ability to bookmark & open multiple pages simultaneously.
URL aliases - open URLs by just typing a word in the address bar.
Simple collector - a small notepad-like utility, used to collect any text from webpages. You can write scripts in it and run them in the current webpage.
Integrated web services - user extendable, but by default includes translators, Google's cached version of pages, Whois and anonymous web proxies.

[edit] Version 2.0

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