No sign of Old Macdonalds Farm (Microsoft Internet Explorer 6)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6
Date:	13/05/03 (208 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Secure, Easy to use, Good customisation

Disadvantages: A bit too big brother, Still closes for no reason

Thats because he says EI EI OH. Im saying IE IE...Hmmm.
Thats right, one of the most widely used browsers in the world today for the internet, underwent a very quiet facelift about 18 months ago.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer or IE as it shall now be called develops a new skin every couple of years like a slippery snake loses its outer layer.
I say slippery snake because I suppose you can liken this to the monopoly on the market Microsoft has with its browser.

So before I start, lets look at the history of it.

HISTORY
With the release of Windows 95 operating system in the last decade, Microsoft spotted a big gap in the market. Why allow other manufacturers to get hold of their operating system and fill it full of another browser technology?
So, they bolted on Internet Explorer 1 for surfing the web.
Until then, the all conquering NETSCAPE had the market covered.
Before too long, Microsoft began to improve and Netscape, well, didnt!
The Release of version 3 in 1996 was a revelation. Much more forgiving than the previous versions and at last, slightly ahead of Netscape in Functionality.
Since then, it has not looked back. Improvements in speed and reliability as well as compatibility with various web building technologies has made it the market leader.

COMPETITORS?
There are not too many around now that can compete on a playing field. Firstly, IE6 is free with all new operating systems and you can download it too for nothing.
True, there are some strange browsers that come with various service provider software such as the AOL own brand browser but they are not as powerful as IE6. You can take a step into the world of bad compatibility and download the latest version of Netscape 7 but they have never really recovered from the poor performance of their slow Netscape 6 browser. That knocked the nail in the coffin for the generation who are not prepared to wait for pages to load. WE want it NOW NO

W NOW!
Anyone else?
Yep. Mozilla make an open source version to download so you can make or modify your own browser but who really wants to go to all that trouble.?

So IE6 really is out there on its own.

IMPROVEMENTS OVER 5?
OK, so what is better than Version 5?
Well, it has firstly been brought into the XP arena with some enhancements to its looks. More matched in styling to XP and 2000 than Windows 98 and ME. However, it will sit quite happily on all of these platforms. So if you have an older machine, it should cope quite happily with IE6.
Better security is something we all like. We are forever inputting credit card details and other personal information. While no software is hack proof, IE6 is a great step forward with its new Web Privacy tools. It allows you better encryption than ever before of secret information and gives you greater flexibility over how secure you want your browser to be.
Error reporting?
Well they call it Fault Correction System.
Surely the should be no errors? Well there are! Yes, the clever people at Microsoft thought it would be a good idea to include its own debugging tool that reports errors directly to Microsoft.
This benefits you by allowing the manufacturer to see actual faults in their software as it happens. The bad side is, you don?t know what it is reporting back about you. I have this feature turned off as I don?t always want people to know what I?m browsing!

Possibly the best feature is an enhancement to its streaming media and playback facilities. It is also capable of handling picture resizing and other media based requirements.
Hover over any picture and a little toolbar appears. It gives you the option of saving, printing, mailing or opening my ?pictures folder?! There is also a big box at the bottom so you can resize the picture as you want it within the web page. Clever gadgets!

UPGRADES AND SERVICE PACKS.
With any software built today
, it
is constantly being improved. Take my version number of my software. It is: 6.0.2800.1106 followed by a load of digits and numbers! So they must be constantly making new builds! When you go to the Microsoft website, you will see plenty of patches, fixes and critical updates for IE6. Its always best to download them as it keeps your systems as current and highly protected as possible.

RELIABILITY.
Supposedly much improved but I still find it wants to shut down for no reason at times and behave in an odd manner. Yes its better but not totally bug proof.

LOOK AND FEEL.
Very much like the previous version but with the ability to look exactly like XP! No old style windows if you don?t want. Now it can be fully customized with ease thanks to the easy toolbar selector.
Great if you like to play about with things like that.
Easy to use and easy to find things as it stays in line with earlier builds. If you are used to IE, IE6 is a doddle!

OVERALL.
I would say progression rather than innovation. Its th enext step with security and technology and it?s a great browser to use but it might be suffering from a case of ?big brother? too much!

Summary: