Article Abstract:
Microsoft introduces the Internet Explorer 4.0 Web browser, which embraces the new, object-oriented structure of software, but the company is only following the example of others, including Apple and its new Cyberdog 1.1 Internet access software. Both products reflect the emerging emphasis on networked computers, which will employ software components instead of bloated applications. Both Internet Explorer and Cyberdog are designed to offer users mix-and-match modules that allow them to incorporate many different types of data in a single document. Explorer allows users to concentrate on their tasks, rather than on the minutiae of carrying out those tasks. It also reduces the differentiation between information stored on the network and on the local drives. Cyberdog's modular approach is based on Open Doc technology, and it is a collection of Open Doc modules that provide functions including Web browsing, E-mail reading and writing and other Internet processes. Cyberdog also helps users monitor their documents.
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Article Abstract:
Microsoft has announced support for a new voluntary rating system to control information distributed via the World Wide Web as well as plans to add an information filtering system to the next version of its Internet Explorer software. Microsoft's endorsement of the RSAC-I rating system joins the company with other Internet filtering software developers, including Microsystems Software and SurfWatch Software. Although the RSAC-I system is voluntary and assigned by software producers, most developers participate in the system because retailers often refuse to sell unrated packages. Microsoft's filtering-system implementation will allow parents to block access to Web material without a RSAC-I rating. World Wide Web software leaders Spyglass and Netscape Communications have declined to support the RSAC-I advisory system. Instead, they advocate the Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS), which establishes a technical foundation for different rating systems.
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Article Abstract:
Apple's $59 Internet Connection Kit earns a recommendation because opens the door to the vast resources of the Internet. The product is a collection of applications that are available free or for very low cost on the Internet. The difficulty in getting the programs from the Internet is that users must already be on the Internet or know someone who has access in order to find the programs. Apple's Kit spares users the time and effort required to locate and download all the programs. The Kit includes the Netscape Navigator Web browser, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Apple's Quicktime VR player video software and the Claris E-mailer Lite, among others. An Internet Dialer module assists new users in finding an access provider and creating an account. Installing the software may take several attempts, since there are no easy undo options. Users must have System 7.5 or later as their operating system, 8MB of RAM and 10MB of available hard disk space.
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