IBM WebExplorer

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IBM WebExplorer
Developer(s) IBM
Initial releaseNovember 27, 1995;27 years ago (1995-11-27)
Final release
1.2 / November 25, 1998;24 years ago (1998-11-25)
Operating system OS/2
Available inEnglish
Type Web browser
Website ibm.net/webexplore/

IBM WebExplorer was an early web browser designed at IBM facilities in the Research Triangle Park for OS/2.

Contents

History

Presented in 1994 with OS/2 Warp (v3), it was hailed as the best browser by Internet Magazine in their November issue and leveraged its position as the only native browser in OS/2 at that time. It was a "coming attraction" in The HTML Sourcebook: The Complete Guide to HTML. Almost immediately after the introduction of OS/2 Warp version 3, IBM dismantled the development team and that relegated the WebExplorer to the annals of history.[ citation needed ] OS/2 Warp 4 (1996) included it, but also included a link to download an OS/2 version of Netscape Navigator 2.02, which was late for shipping on CD. IBM had already planned the substitution of WebExplorer.[ citation needed ]

In 1995, it was added to AIX, IBM's proprietary UNIX platform. [1]

A 1996 review in PC Mag found that WebExplorer "lack[ed] several standard features" and wasn't very strong in terms of multimedia support. The IBM browser shipping with the IBM Internet Connection suite, WebExplorer Mosaic, was based on the Spyglass Mosaic code base and was found by the reviewer to be "far superior" to the OS/2 version, which was developed solely by IBM. [2]

Features

Version history

VersionDateNew featuresSystems
1.0January 6, 1995Customized AnimationsOS/2 2.1, OS/2 Warp
1.01April 5, 1995OS/2 2.1, OS/2 Warp
1.02June 28, 1995Drag and Drop Support

Color Palette Management

OS/2 Warp
1.03September 28, 1995Newsgroup Manager

HTML Extensions

OS/2 Warp
1.1aMarch 22, 1996OS/2 Warp
1.1b1996OS/2 Warp
1.1cJune 6, 1996OS/2 Warp
1.1dJune 14, 1996OS/2 Warp
1.1eJuly 11, 1996OS/2 Warp
1.1fSeptember 13, 1996Option "No Proxy For"OS/2 Warp
1.1gNovember 7, 1996OS/2 Warp
1.1hDecember 11, 1996OS/2 Warp
1.21996OS/2 Warp Version 4

There were severals builds released by IBM. IBM released some beta builds and also fixed many bugs in WebExplorer, one beta including support for Java.

Criticism

The browser did not support Frames and the installation of plugins like Java was complicated. [10]

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References

  1. "IBM Cruises onto Internet with Security Products & WWW Software SUPERHIGHWAY REPORT HPCwire". Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  2. Ayre, Rick; Mace, Thomas (March 12, 1996). "Just Browsing". PC Mag. Ziff Davis.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Read me file of the Web Explorer 1.1h.
  4. Under the Scope section. EDM/2 June 1996, Volume 4 Issue 5
  5. WebNav 2.0 added user interface enhancements on WebExplorer rendering.
  6. "hobbes.nmsu.edu". hobbes.nmsu.edu. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  7. Amstadt, Steve (December 3, 1996). "Browser Watch – IBM OS/2 Webexplorer News!". Archived from the original on February 9, 1999. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  8. Nicola Brown; Peter Chen; David Miller; Paul Van Eyk; William E. Weinman (1996). "Designing Web Animation" (PDF). New Riders Publishing . Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  9. "Internet Access Tools". PC Mag. No. v.14 n.7. Ziff Davis. October 10, 1995. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  10. Watson, Dave (July 21, 2001). "A Quick Look at Web Explorer". The Southern California OS/2 User Group. Retrieved August 16, 2010.

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