Expect a public IE 5.0 beta soon

Microsoft is planning on releasing a "developer's preview" of InternetExplorer 5.0 later this month, similar to Platform Preview release of IE 4from a year before. The beta release is designed to get developers and Webdesigners up to speed with IE 5.0's new features, which are geared largelytoward this group rather than interface enhancements. Anyone expecting anew look for the browser will be disappointed, Microsoft officials said.

"It won't seem like much of a step at all [to look at it]," said Craig Beilinson, an IE product manager. There are, however, big changes under thehood, he added. "It should be a relatively similar beta cycle to what you've seen from us in the past."

New features in Internet Explorer 5.0 include drag and drop icons, a"snapshot" feature, custom Web page support, and new error messages. Thedrag and drop icon feature allows users to take a new "Web icon" from a Webpage and drag it to another frame, another browser window, the desktop, oranother program such as Microsoft Word. These icons are objects that carrytext and graphics, or any other HTML element, so they represent an easyway to move information around. The snapshot feature lets Web sites easilystore personal information about users so that the information is retainedeach time they revisit the site. Customized Web page support lets Webdevelopers create site for intranets that can run in "browser-less" windowsthat lack toolbar and navigational controls. New error messages in IE 5.0make it easier for users to understand when there is a problem and whatthat problem really means.

Internet Explorer 5.0 will be faster and more stable than IE 4.0, Microsoftsays.

Microsoft is also positioning Dynamic HTML, which first appeared in IE 4.0,as a replacement for Java applets. Dynamic HTML is easier to code thanJava, but offers the same features without the need to compile an executableprogram