Internet Explorer for Mac
Encyclopedia
Internet Explorer for Mac (also referred to as Internet Explorer for Macintosh, Internet Explorer Macintosh Edition, Internet Explorer:mac or IE:mac) was a proprietary
web browser
developed by Microsoft
for the Macintosh
platform. Initial versions were developed from the same code base as Internet Explorer for Windows
. Later versions diverged, particularly with the release of version 5 which included the Tasman
layout engine
.
As a result of the five-year agreement between Apple
and Microsoft in 1997, it was the default browser on Mac OS
and Mac OS X
from 1998 until it was replaced by Apple's own Safari
web browser in 2003.
On June 13, 2003, Microsoft announced that it was ceasing further development of Internet Explorer for Mac and the final update was released on July 11, 2003. The browser was not included in the default installation of Mac OS X v10.4
"Tiger" which was released on April 29, 2005. Microsoft discontinued support for the product on December 31, 2005 and removed the application from their Macintosh downloads site on January 31, 2006. Microsoft recommends "that users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari
."
.
web browser licensed from Spyglass. Available for both 68k
and PPC
based Macs running System 7.0.1
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 VR
. AOL
3.0 for Macintosh used the IE 2.1 rendering engine in its built-in web browser.
version 3.2, Cascading Style Sheets
, Java applet
s and ActiveX
controls. The final version, made available on January 8, 1997, also added support for the SSL and NTLM
security protocols and the PICS
and RSACi 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, led 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 Cookie
Manager.
in Boston, 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
, 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 8.1
. 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
.
version of Internet Explorer 5
had been released a year earlier, but used the Trident layout engine. The Macintosh Edition introduced a new rendering engine called Tasman that was designed to be more compliant with emerging W3C
standards such as HTML 4.0, CSS Level 1
, DOM Level 1
, 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), DOCTYPE
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). Preview releases of the browser included a feature called the MediaBar which integrated MP3 and internet radio
playback, but this feature was dropped from the final version. 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
version was released, bundled with the Mac OS X DP4 release handed out to developers at the 2000 Worldwide Developers Conference
. The Mac OS X Public Beta
included another preview of the Mac OS X version of IE. The release of Mac OS X v10.0
on March 24, 2001 included yet another preview of the Mac OS X version of IE 5. This was updated later, and the release of Mac OS X v10.1
on September 25, 2001 included the final version of Internet Explorer 5.1 for Mac OS X. IE 5.1 for Mac OS 8 and 9 was released on December 18, 2001.
According to Jorg Brown, one of the IE for Mac developers at Microsoft, after version 5 most of the team that produced IE for Mac were moved to another project. IE for Mac was relegated to something they were expected to work on in their "spare time".
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
text smoothing.
During 2002, Microsoft reassigned developers to develop version 6 of Internet Explorer for Mac, intended to be used as the base for a new product. MSN for Mac OS X
would be a subscription-only browser that worked with the online MSN
service, incorporate features like an address book, junk mail filters and an MSN Messenger client. However after hearing that Apple had started development of their own browser, they canceled the standalone browser development and concentrated on the MSN browser, which was released on May 15, 2003.
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 9, version 5.1.7. The last versions of Internet Explorer for Mac had a distinguishing blue logo that was the base for the logo used in Internet Explorer 6 for Windows (the Windows one just had a lighter blue, and it was less 3-D).
is included as an offline Easter egg
, accessible by typing 'about:
tasman
', in Internet Explorer 5 for Mac OS with the text replaced by the names of the developers.
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
developed by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
for the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
platform. Initial versions were developed from the same code base as Internet Explorer for Windows
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
. Later versions diverged, particularly with the release of version 5 which included the Tasman
Tasman (layout engine)
Tasman was a layout engine developed by Microsoft for inclusion in the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer 5. Tasman was an attempt to improve support for web standards, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. At the time of its release, Tasman was seen as the layout engine with the best...
layout engine
Layout engine
A web browser engine, , is a software component that takes marked up content and formatting information and displays the formatted content on the screen. It "paints" on the content area of a window, which is displayed on a monitor or a printer...
.
As a result of the five-year agreement between Apple
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
and Microsoft in 1997, it was the default browser on Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
from 1998 until it was replaced by Apple's own Safari
Safari (web browser)
Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
web browser in 2003.
On June 13, 2003, Microsoft announced that it was ceasing further development of Internet Explorer for Mac and the final update was released on July 11, 2003. The browser was not included in the default installation of Mac OS X v10.4
Mac OS X v10.4
Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier...
"Tiger" which was released on April 29, 2005. Microsoft discontinued support for the product on December 31, 2005 and removed the application from their Macintosh downloads site on January 31, 2006. Microsoft recommends "that users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari
Safari (web browser)
Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
."
History
Versions of Internet Explorer for Macintosh were released starting with version 2 in 1996, to version 5 which received its last patch in 2003. IE versions for Mac typically lagged several months to a year behind Windows versions, but included some unique developments including its own layout engine TasmanTasman (layout engine)
Tasman was a layout engine developed by Microsoft for inclusion in the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer 5. Tasman was an attempt to improve support for web standards, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. At the time of its release, Tasman was seen as the layout engine with the best...
.
Internet Explorer 2.0 for Macintosh
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 Spyglass MosaicMosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
web browser licensed from Spyglass. Available for both 68k
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
and PPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
based Macs running System 7.0.1
System 7 (Macintosh)
System 7 is a single-user graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers. It was introduced on May 13, 1991 by Apple Computer. It succeeded System 6, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8 in 1997...
or later, it supported the embedding of a number of multimedia formats into web pages, including AVI
Audio Video Interleave
Audio Video Interleave , known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback...
and QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
formatted video and AIFF
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
and WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
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
NPAPI
Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface is a cross-platform plugin architecture used by many web browsers.It was first developed for the Netscape family of browsers starting with Netscape Navigator 2.0 but was subsequently implemented by many other browsers, including all of the browsers...
(the first version of Internet Explorer on any platform to do so) and support for QuickTime VR
QuickTime VR
QuickTime VR is a type of image file format developed by Apple Inc. for QuickTime. It allows the creation and viewing of photographically-captured panoramas and the exploration of objects through images taken at multiple viewing angles...
. AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
3.0 for Macintosh used the IE 2.1 rendering engine in its built-in web browser.
Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh
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 HTMLHTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
version 3.2, Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
, Java applet
Java applet
A Java applet is an applet delivered to users in the form of Java bytecode. Java applets can run in a Web browser using a Java Virtual Machine , or in Sun's AppletViewer, a stand-alone tool for testing applets...
s and ActiveX
Component Object Model
Component Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
controls. The final version, made available on January 8, 1997, also added support for the SSL and NTLM
NTLM
In a Windows network, NTLM is a suite of Microsoft security protocols that provides authentication, integrity, and confidentiality to users....
security protocols and the PICS
Platform for Internet Content Selection
The Platform for Internet Content Selection is a specification created by W3C that uses metadata to label webpages to help parents and teachers control what children and students can access on the Internet. The W3C Protocol for Web Description Resources project integrates PICS concepts with RDF...
and RSACi 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, led to a delay in the release of the version 3.0 for Macs based on the 68k
68k
The Motorola 680x0/m68000/68000 is a family of 32-bit CISC microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and were the primary competitors of Intel's x86 microprocessors...
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
Autocomplete
Autocomplete is a feature provided by many web browsers, e-mail programs, search engine interfaces, source code editors, database query tools, word processors, and command line interpreters. Autocomplete involves the program predicting a word or phrase that the user wants to type in without the...
and Monitoring Favorites that notified users when sites in their Favorites list have been updated. It also included support for JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
and introduced a Download Manager and a Cookie
HTTP cookie
A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin website to send state information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site...
Manager.
Internet Explorer 4.0 for Macintosh
At the 1997 Macworld ExpoMacworld Conference & Expo
Produced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld | iWorld is a trade-show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
in Boston, on August 6, Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
and Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
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
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared...
.
Five months later on January 6, 1998, at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, 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
Dynamic HTML
Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is an umbrella term for a collection of technologies used together to create interactive and animated web sites by using a combination of a static markup language , a client-side scripting language , a presentation definition language , and the Document Object Model.DHTML...
, a new faster Java virtual machine
Java Virtual Machine
A Java virtual machine is a virtual machine capable of executing Java bytecode. It is the code execution component of the Java software platform. Sun Microsystems stated that there are over 4.5 billion JVM-enabled devices.-Overview:...
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
Active Channel
Active Channel is a website type which was introduced by Internet Explorer 4.0 in 1997. It allows synchronizing website content and viewing it offline...
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 8.1
Mac OS 8
Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
. 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
Sherlock (software)
Sherlock, named after Sherlock Holmes, was a file and web search tool created by Apple Inc. for the Mac OS, introduced with Mac OS 8.5 as an extension of the Mac OS Finder's file searching capabilities. Like its predecessor, it can search for local files and file contents, which it does using the...
.
Internet Explorer 5 Macintosh Edition
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. The WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version of Internet Explorer 5
Internet Explorer 5
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 was a graphical web browser released in March 1999 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but initially with versions available for Apple Macintosh, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX. It was one of the main participants of the first browser war...
had been released a year earlier, but used the Trident layout engine. The Macintosh Edition introduced a new rendering engine called Tasman that was designed to be more compliant with emerging W3C
World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
standards such as HTML 4.0, CSS Level 1
Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation semantics of a document written in a markup language...
, DOM Level 1
Document Object Model
The Document Object Model is a cross-platform and language-independent convention for representing and interacting with objects in HTML, XHTML and XML documents. Aspects of the DOM may be addressed and manipulated within the syntax of the programming language in use...
, and ECMAScript
ECMAScript
ECMAScript is the scripting language standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-262 specification and ISO/IEC 16262. The language is widely used for client-side scripting on the web, in the form of several well-known dialects such as JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript.- History :JavaScript...
. 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), DOCTYPE
Document Type Declaration
A Document Type Declaration, or DOCTYPE, is an instruction that associates a particular SGML or XML document with a Document Type Definition...
switching, Text Zoom and XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
source view. It also included an Auction Manager for tracking auctions in sites like eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
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). Preview releases of the browser included a feature called the MediaBar which integrated MP3 and internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
playback, but this feature was dropped from the final version. The initial release was just for Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
, however two months after that release on May 15 a Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
version was released, bundled with the Mac OS X DP4 release handed out to developers at the 2000 Worldwide Developers Conference
Worldwide Developers Conference
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, commonly abbreviated WWDC, is a conference held annually in California by Apple Inc. The conference is primarily used by Apple to showcase its new software and technologies for developers, as well as offering hands-on labs and feedback sessions...
. The Mac OS X Public Beta
Mac OS X Public Beta
The Mac OS X Public Beta was an early beta version of Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system Cheetah. It was released to the public on September 13, 2000 for US$29.95...
included another preview of the Mac OS X version of IE. The release of Mac OS X v10.0
Mac OS X v10.0
Mac OS X version 10.0, code named "Cheetah", is the first major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. Mac OS X v10.0 was released on March 24, 2001 for a price of US$129...
on March 24, 2001 included yet another preview of the Mac OS X version of IE 5. This was updated later, and the release of Mac OS X v10.1
Mac OS X v10.1
Mac OS X version 10.1, code named "Puma", is the second major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.0 and preceded Mac OS X v10.2. Version 10.1 was released on 25 September 2001 as a 'free update' to version 10.0...
on September 25, 2001 included the final version of Internet Explorer 5.1 for Mac OS X. IE 5.1 for Mac OS 8 and 9 was released on December 18, 2001.
According to Jorg Brown, one of the IE for Mac developers at Microsoft, after version 5 most of the team that produced IE for Mac were moved to another project. IE for Mac was relegated to something they were expected to work on in their "spare time".
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
Quartz (graphics layer)
Quartz specifically refers to a pair of Mac OS X technologies, each part of the Core Graphics framework: Quartz 2D and Quartz Compositor. It includes both a 2D renderer in Core Graphics and the composition engine that sends instructions to the graphics card...
text smoothing.
During 2002, Microsoft reassigned developers to develop version 6 of Internet Explorer for Mac, intended to be used as the base for a new product. MSN for Mac OS X
MSN for Mac OS X
MSN for Mac OS X, was a dial-up client interface to Microsoft's pay-for-access online services for Mac users. It was discontinued in March 2005. The software was, in some respects, comparable to the AOL dial-up client given its channelized interface, built-in chat and instant messaging...
would be a subscription-only browser that worked with the online MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
service, incorporate features like an address book, junk mail filters and an MSN Messenger client. However after hearing that Apple had started development of their own browser, they canceled the standalone browser development and concentrated on the MSN browser, which was released on May 15, 2003.
On June 13, 2003, PC Pro
PC Pro
PC Pro is one of several computer magazines published monthly in the United Kingdom by Dennis Publishing. PC Pro also licenses individual articles for republication in various countries around the world - and some articles are translated into local languages...
reported that Macintosh Business Unit
Macintosh Business Unit
Macintosh Business Unit is an operating unit of Microsoft that, as of 2009, is the largest software developer outside of Apple Inc. for the Mac OS operating system...
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 9, version 5.1.7. The last versions of Internet Explorer for Mac had a distinguishing blue logo that was the base for the logo used in Internet Explorer 6 for Windows (the Windows one just had a lighter blue, and it was less 3-D).
Internet Explorer 5 for Mac distinguishing features
These are features found in Internet Explorer for Mac, which were not found in common contemporary browsers (with the possible exception of Internet Explorer for Windows). Some are still not features in many browsers.- Support for annotative glosses to Japanese kanjiKanjiKanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
and Chinese characters (see furiganaRuby characterare small, annotative glosses that can be placed above or to the right of a Chinese character when writing languages with logographic characters such as Chinese or Japanese to show the pronunciation...
). - Scrapbook feature lets the user archive any page in its current state.
- Auction Manager feature automatically tracks eBayEBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
auctions. - Although Internet Explorer for Mac did not have any PNG support at all until version 5.0 (a year or two after other major browsers), the PNG support added in that version was unusually robust, including transparency and color correction.
- An option to change the browser color, to match the colors of the iMac G3IMac G3The iMac G3 was the first model of the iMac line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. , and the originator of the Legacy-free PC market category. Like the first Macs, the iMac G3 is an all-in-one personal computer, encompassing both the monitor and the system unit in a single enclosure...
. The first builds had a choice of 9 colors, but later builds had 15. - Print Preview functionality allowing for adjustment of the font-size from within the preview pane.
- Page Holder sidebar functionality allowing users to hold a page in the sidebar (links-only view available too) and load clicked links in the main browser window. Much of this functionality was replaced with tabbed browsing in later browsers, but not the links-only view.
- As with previous IE Mac versions, and in common with many other Macintosh internet software, the URL from which content was downloaded is added to the FinderMacintosh FinderThe Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...
's Comment field (visible through Get Info).
Other features
These are features found in Internet Explorer for Mac and some other of its contemporaries.- 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
- Tasman rendering engine offers superior CSS support compared to TridentTrident (layout engine)Trident is the name of the layout engine for the Microsoft Windows version of Internet Explorer.It was first introduced with the release of Internet Explorer version 4.0 in October 1997; it has been steadily upgraded and remains in use today...
in other Internet Explorer 5Internet Explorer 5Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 was a graphical web browser released in March 1999 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but initially with versions available for Apple Macintosh, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX. It was one of the main participants of the first browser war...
versions, and was not affected by the Internet Explorer box model bugInternet Explorer box model bugThe Internet Explorer box model bug refers to the way in which earlier versions of Internet Explorer handle the sizing of elements in a web page, which differs from the standard way recommended by the W3C for the Cascading Style Sheets language...
(not fixed in Trident until IE 6Internet Explorer 6Internet Explorer 6 is the sixth major revision of Internet Explorer, a web browser developed by Microsoft for Windows operating systems...
) - Text zoom allows the user to resize text on any page, regardless of how text size is specified
Easter egg
Acid1Acid1
Acid1, originally called the Box Acid Test, is a test page for web browsers. It was developed in October 1998 and was important in establishing baseline interoperability between early web browsers, especially for the Cascading Style Sheets 1.0 specification...
is included as an offline Easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
, accessible by typing 'about:
About: URI scheme
about is an internal URI scheme in various web browsers to display certain built-in functions...
tasman
Tasman (layout engine)
Tasman was a layout engine developed by Microsoft for inclusion in the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer 5. Tasman was an attempt to improve support for web standards, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. At the time of its release, Tasman was seen as the layout engine with the best...
', in Internet Explorer 5 for Mac OS with the text replaced by the names of the developers.
Version summary
| Internet Explorer for Mac Version Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac OS 7 System 7 System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system... , 8 Mac OS 8 Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems... , 9 Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as... on 68k 68k The Motorola 680x0/m68000/68000 is a family of 32-bit CISC microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and were the primary competitors of Intel's x86 microprocessors... and PPC PowerPC PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM... |
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| Version | Date | Notes | Layout engine Layout engine A web browser engine, , is a software component that takes marked up content and formatting information and displays the formatted content on the screen. It "paints" on the content area of a window, which is displayed on a monitor or a printer... |
| Version 2.0 | April 23, 1996 | ||
| Version 2.1 | August 1996 | ||
| Version 3.0 | January 8, 1997 | PPC only initially; 128-bit SGC encryption | |
| Version 3.01 | May 14, 1997 | Included with Mac OS 8; download manager | |
| Version 4.0 | January 6, 1998 | Included with Mac OS 8 | |
| Version 4.5 | January 5, 1999 | ||
| Version 5.0 | March 27, 2000 | Tasman Tasman (layout engine) Tasman was a layout engine developed by Microsoft for inclusion in the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer 5. Tasman was an attempt to improve support for web standards, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. At the time of its release, Tasman was seen as the layout engine with the best... v0 |
|
| Version 5.1 | December 18, 2001 | Tasman v0.1 | |
| Version 5.1.4 | April 16, 2002 | Tasman | |
| Version 5.1.5 | July 5, 2002 | Tasman | |
| Version 5.1.6 | September 25, 2002 | Tasman | |
| Version 5.1.7 | July 2003 | Tasman | |
| Mac OS X Mac OS X Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems... on PPC |
|||
| Version | Date | Notes | Layout engine Layout engine A web browser engine, , is a software component that takes marked up content and formatting information and displays the formatted content on the screen. It "paints" on the content area of a window, which is displayed on a monitor or a printer... |
| Version 5 | May 15, 2000 | released with Mac OS X DP4 | Tasman v0 |
| Version 5.1.1 | May 23, 2001 | Tasman v0.1 | |
| Version 5.1.2 | September 25, 2001 | released with Mac OS X 10.1 | Tasman |
| Version 5.1.3 | October 23, 2001 | released in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS01-053 | Tasman |
| Version 5.2 | June 17, 2002 | Tasman | |
| Version 5.2.1 | July 5, 2002 | Tasman | |
| Version 5.2.2 | September 25, 2002 | Tasman | |
| Version 5.2.3 | June 16, 2003 | final version | Tasman v0.9 |
See also
- Internet ExplorerInternet ExplorerWindows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
- List of web browsers
- Comparison of web browsersComparison of web browsersThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of web browsers. Please see the individual products' articles for further information.-Historical web browsers:...
- Browser timelineBrowser timelineA time line of web browsers from the early 1990s to the present. Prior to browsers, many technologies and systems existed for information viewing and transmission...