Computers & Technology

Windows '97: Bringing the Web - and it's interface - to your desktop

By Patrick Dent
Staff Writer

Let's take a look forward to `97... Windows `97, that is. Or should I call it Winnet Explorer? For in Microsoft's vision of the next operating system's interface, Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer have become one and the same. Whether you call it Nashville, Windows `97 or Windows `96 (it should slip in just before the calendar year is out), Microsoft has officially dubbed it Internet Explorer 4.0--a seamless interface between system and Web access.
Whether you know it or not, those of you using Internet Explorer 3.0 are already getting a sneak peek at the future PC environment, courtesy of Microsoft. Right now, thanks to its ActiveX component, IE 3 already has many of the capabilities that IE 4/Windows `97 will have; you can already open files up inside the browser.
`Big deal,' you object. `Most browsers can open documents.'
Yes, but thanks to the standard protocol/format of ActiveX, IE 3.0 will not only open up, say, the contents of a Word document (version 7, which Microsoft obviously wrote to support ActiveX), but also can pull up things like toolbars and formatting inside the browser. The use of one standard basis for document exchange allows for interchangeability between applications.
So how does this all fit into an operating system? Well, if your browser can open up anything--including your hard drive itself--then why would you need the "desktop browser" (Windows Explorer)? It blurs--or disintegrates--the line between "intranets," the Internet and local environments.
And there is an added bonus--that relationship goes both ways.
The browser would not only usurp the role of the current Windows Explorer, but would also inherit (and add to) many of its functions. How about mapping a Web site the way you would a hard drive, by viewing the series of pages as a finder-like skeletal tree? How about having a window in the desktop that has live and updated sports or news headlines? Would you like to have your favorite Web pages (or should I call them documents) automatically updated so you can view them offline? Would you like to access information, files and multimedia from the desktop--regardless of whether they are on the hard drive or in Japan? As Tom Selleck would say, "You will."
And of course, the system-browser hybrid would also have lots of new cookies and goodies, as well as incorporating Web niceties (like some of those mentioned above) that are currently accessed by using different mini-applications or browser plug-ins.
Is Netscape shaking in its boots?
Well if it isn't, it probably ought to be. The browser that is still the de facto standard for the Web may be looking down the barrel of a very shrewd (and maybe even anti-competitive) business move. Rather than just continuing to match and compete with Netscape Navigator head-on--through proprietary plug-ins, browser-specific HTML codes, deals with commercial services, etc.--Microsoft (again) is trying to change the rules of the game. (Remember when there was actually a question as to which operating system PCs would use?)
Any advantages versions of Navigator might have over Explorer could be irrelevant if Explorer is built right into all Windows-equipped PC systems. As for the ease with which many users navigate Navigator (it dominates browser market share), Explorer would be your operating interface; you would be regularly using it (and learning its ins and outs and shortcuts) for everything from running applications to organizing your desktop.
Of course, Navigator has its own plans--exclusive agreements, innovative whistles and bells, time-saving features, etc.--but they lie in making Navigator the base for Internet and Web applications, not making it the system interface itself.
Many users may buck at the idea of the software giant's further expansion into every facet of their computer lives. But they may have little choice in the matter. With Microsoft building ActiveX support into all its programs and many other software developers following suit, would you really want to miss out on a browser that powerful--and that can work with documents that still contain the complex formatting of spreadsheets and data processors?
For now, interested Windows users can test-drive IE 3 (a good browser unto itself) and look for previews of IE 4 (currently moving from alpha to beta). You can download Internet Explorer 3.0 for free (and help Microsoft try to edge out Netscape Navigator) at http://www.microsoft.com.