As is becoming routine with major product launches out of Redmond, the release of Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer 5 was profoundly unexciting. It yielded only the news, rumored for some time, that a second edition of Windows 98 is due out later this year. Second Edition, expected in the Fall, will include the new browser, new device drivers and other updates.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said this upgrade to Win 98 will be sold through retail and OEM channels. He also noted that, contrary to popular opinion, Microsoft is getting pretty close to releasing the last public beta of Windows 2000. But the confirmation that an interim version of Windows was to be launched led many to the conclusion that Microsoft was buying time for a later introduction of Windows 2000 than it originally planned.
Meanwhile dozens of companies lined up to declare their undying loyalty to the company and their support for its browser. Among the usual suspects were BellSouth, Lexico Publishing Group, ServiceWare, Softquad Software, VeriSign, Wall Data and ZDTV Radio.
