Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

Intro of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

At the height of the browser war between Microsoft and Netscape, the competing companies released new browser versions one after another. Recently, however, the war has been downgraded to a minor skirmish. Almost a year after Netscape released version 6 of its browser, Microsoft finally released Internet Explorer 6 (both alone and as part of Windows XP). Unlike Netscape 6, however (and its latest update, Netscape 7.1), IE 6 didn't turn out to be a complete overhaul. This incremental upgrade offers just enough new gizmos--including improved privacy features--to keep an IE user from switching to Netscape 6.x, but its interface remains relatively unchanged. (Netscape 7.1, however, is a different ballgame: you may want to check it out, if only for its cool tabbed interface.) Just about the only reason we can figure that IE 6 even deserves the full 6 version number is its release in conjunction with Windows XP. For those of you not upgrading to Windows XP, whether you run IE 5.x or Netscape 6.x, there's no need to rush for this download.