It’s all go in August at Redmond, and having tantalized with Talisman at Siggraph Microsoft Corp this week changes direction and formally starts shipping Internet Explorer 3.0 with the new secret Netscape Communications Corp-killing feature, ActiveX, which the company has agreed to hand over to an independent standards body. Echoing the juvenilia that accompanied the Windows95 launch a year ago, Microsoft will formally unveil Internet Explorer 3.0 at midnight tonight – midnight in Washington state presumably, but when is midnight on the Internet? Explorer 3.0 is also the first release to support Java. Explorer 3.0 is initially only available for Windows95 and Windows NT, but the company is promising to make it available for Windows 3.1 early next year, and there will also be a Mac OS version. Microsoft says Internet Explorer 3.0 is available at no charge from Web site, and will be in software stores late next month as part of a package of Internet programs that will sell for $20.
