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Hello Windows users,
Microsoft has released a Public Preview of Internet Explorer 6.
But don't expect any extensive changes from the Internet Explorer 5.x versions. The look and feel of both Internet Explorer and Outlook Express are quite similar to the version 5 offerings. But there are some subtle changes. Internet Explorer 6 supports the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P), providing a standard and automated way to compare consumers' privacy preferences with the privacy practices of the Web sites they visit.
Internet Explorer 6 also features some new Explorer Bars and also lets you add 3rd party Explorer Bars.
The only differences I could find in Outlook Express with the 5.x version are better privacy settings. Outlook Express is now set by default to use the Restricted sites zone, something that I suggested you change yourself a few months ago.
Internet Explorer 6 has some promising new features & supports better privacy options. I installed this preview on a spare Windows Me system, and it felt just a little quicker browsing Web sites.
If you want to give this Preview a try, do not install it on a "production machine", remember, it is still a beta product!
Bill Gates Announces the Availability of Microsoft Windows XP Beta 2
Last Monday, Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft, announced the availability of Windows® XP beta 2, the new Microsoft Windows operating system for home and work, at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC). Distributed to hundreds of thousands of testers, beta 2 provides the opportunity for continued testing of the next version of Microsoft's new operating system. Windows XP, the new Windows with a new look, is built on an enhanced Windows 2000 engine which according to Microsoft, "enables exciting new experiences, giving users the freedom to unlock the possibilities of the digital world."
"The broad distribution of Windows XP beta 2 through the MSDN® developer program, TechNet, Microsoft's own internal testing, and the technical beta program represent Microsoft's commitment to working with our partners, customers and employees to make sure Windows XP is rock-solid," said Chris Jones, vice president of the Client Group in the Windows division at Microsoft. "This is an ideal time for developers to build and test hardware and software for Windows XP so our customers will have the best computing experience when Windows XP is released later this year."
Beta 2 provides testers with the first look at the exciting new visual design of Windows XP. The task-based approach helps users quickly find and complete tasks, and the intelligent design helps them get things done by adapting to their usage patterns.
Windows XP beta 2 includes the first public beta of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 technologies. Internet Explorer 6 is the underlying feature of Windows XP that enables the Internet experiences within the operating system, and the first beta version of the Internet Explorer 6 technologies includes a first look at many new and enhanced features that will give users of Windows XP a new way to experience the Internet.
I will be posting a review of Windows XP beta 2 as soon as I get my hands on the code.
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31 March 2001, Vol 4 No. 13
