Internet Explorer 4.0 Platform Preview Release 1 is finally here!

Well, we've been waiting since last July, but it's finally here: the firstpublic beta of Internet Explorer 4.0. As with everything else surroundingthis program, the release got off to a rough start this weekend whenMicrosoft inadvertently made the FTP sites holding the new build (544)accessible to the public for about half an hour. Also, several of themirror sites (Conexion, etc.) posted the build to their Web sitesprematurely, adding to what can only be described as a feeding frenzy.Denizens of the public IE4 newsgroup were excitedly posting 500 messagesan hour at one point, advising people where the build could be downloaded.Soon, TUCOWS and other reputable sites (including the Nexus) had both theWindows NT and 95 versions available for download. Tomorrow, Microsoftwill finally post the builds to their Web and FTP sites, completing therelease cycle. You know, it's as if it were planned that way from thebeginning.

"In preparation for the worldwide release of Internet Explorer 4.0,Microsoft distributed code to our partners," said Dave Fester, leadproduct manager for Internet Explorer at Microsoft. "One of our serverswas left open for a short time." This, according to C-Net, is theofficial excuse for the weird release.

Eventually, there will be two ways to get IE 4: using "Active Setup" ordownloading a single, self-extracting executable. Active Setup will letyou install IE 4.0 live over the Net (not recommended) or download thefiles first and then install. The beauty of Active Setup is that it issmart enough to start re-downloading where it left off if you getdisconnected. Eventually, this will be the best way to get IE 4.0. Rightnow, however, the Active Setup download sites are down so this won'tbe an option for the next day or two.

There are three editions of Internet Explorer 4.0 you will be able todownload: Standard, Enhanced, and Full. These editions feature thefollowing components:

Currently, only the Standard version is available from the Nexus Web siteand other places that now have Internet Explorer 4.0 for download. TheWindows 95 version is a 12.6 Mb download: the Windows NT version is 10 Mb.We will post Enhanced and Full versions as soon as they become available,as well as the file dump you get when you choose "download" using ActiveSetup with the Full install so you will be able to download specificcomponents if you like.

When you install Internet Explorer 4.0, it will overwrite your IE 3.xinstall. My understanding is that uninstalling IE 4.0 will return you toyour previous IE 3.0 build, but the opening window that appears whenyou install the product told me that it will not uninstall, so you maywant to think about this before installing. Posts in the public IE 4newsgroup suggest the product uninstalls fine. For details on uninstalling,please read this Knowledge Base article.

Also, a final caveat for Windows NT 4.0 users: if you are using the PostService Pack 2 Hot Fixes, IE 4.0 may uninstall them. To see if this isthe case, simply type "hotfix v" at a command line (you should see theword "failed" next to the hot fixes that are no longer active). To "fix"the hot fixes, remove the registry keys that contain them (found inHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionHOTFIX)and then reinstall them. All will be well.In any event, most of the people who installed IE 4.0 are quite happywith it. A few problems (no spell checking in Outlook Express, HTMLweirdness, etc.) should be fixed in the next release. For now, if you'readventurous and just can't wait, go check it out and expect not to getanything done for a few hours. It's a big, fun program and it willchange your entire user interface if you let it. Enjoy!

Also, Microsoft has added numerous new public newsgroups to theirmsnews.microsoft.com New Server:

microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.active_desktop
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.activex_contrl
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.announcements
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.app_compat
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.browser
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.connect_wizard
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.docs_help
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.favorites
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.feedback
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.frontpad
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.java_applets
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.mschat
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.multimedia_con
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.netmeeting
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.outlookexpress
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.printing
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.scripting
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.setup
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.shell
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.taskscheduler
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.web_delivery
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.web_publishing
microsoft.public.inetexplorer.ie4.web_server

I guess they're standing behind this pretty seriously, so if you're havingproblems, you know where to look for help. Thanks to WinInfo subscriberTristan Gulyas for first getting me into the weekend feeding frenzy