Microsoft to Unveil IE 4.5 for Mac in January

The next update to Internet Explorer for the Macintosh
is scheduled to be released early next month at the MacWorld trade show in
San Francisco.

According to published reports, public spats between Apple Computer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will not affect product
releases. Microsoft has also scheduled several enhancements for IE 4.5
that will be unveiled by the middle of next year.

New features to be included in IE 4.5 for the Mac include Sherlock,
technology built into Mac OS 8.5 that allows users to easily locate Web
content. Sherlock technology will be accessible through a button on the
browser’s main toolbar.

The update will also feature Page Holder, which allows users to view the
content of page links while still displaying the original page in a
separate pane. It will also automatically optimize content for printing by
modifying the page layout to allow it to better fit on a standard sheet of
paper. IE 4.5 will also include a self-repair feature that will kick in if
a portion of the software’s code is mistakenly removed.

Microsoft also promised IE 4.5 for the Mac will also be easier to install,
load twice as fast and call up cached Web pages up to 30 times faster than
previous versions.

MacWorld will begin Jan. 4.