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{{short description|Discontinued web browser for IBM OS/2}}
{{For|a later application based on Mozilla Application Suite, or with Microsoft Internet Explorer|IBM Web Browser}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox web browser
{{Infobox web browser
| name = IBM WebExplorer
| name = IBM WebExplorer
| logo = [[Image:webex.gif]]
| logo = webex.png
| screenshot = [[Image:OS2 IBM WebExplorer.png|200 px]]
| screenshot = OS2 IBM WebExplorer.png
| caption = IBM WebExplorer displaying the White House Website
| caption = IBM WebExplorer displaying the White House Website
| author =
| developer = [[IBM]]
| developer = [[IBM]]
| released = <!--0.91 {{release date and age|1995|11|27}} -->
| released = {{Start date and age|1995|11|27}}
| latest release version = 1.2
| latest release version = 1.2
| latest release date = <!--{{release date and age|1998|11|25}}-->
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|1998|11|25}}
| operating system = [[OS/2]]
| operating system = [[OS/2]]
| platform =
| platform =
| language = English
| language = English
| programming language =
| programming language =
| genre = [[web browser]]
| genre = [[Web browser]]
| license =
| license =
| discontinued = yes
| discontinued = yes
| website = [http://ibm.net/webexplore/ ]
| website = {{URL|ibm.net/webexplore/}}
}}
}}

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


==History==
==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|date=May 2015}} 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|date=May 2015}}
[[Image:IBMExploreWikipedia20040224.png|thumb|200 px|Spanish IBM WebExplorer displaying [[Wikipedia]] in 2004]]

Presented in 1994 with [[OS/2 Warp]] (v3), it was hailed as the best browser by ''[[Internet Magazine]]'' in their November issue{{citation needed|date=August 2007}} and leveraged its position as the only native browser in OS/2 at that time. It was based on the [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]] web browser and 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. IBM WebExplorer, at that time, was the browser application to beat. 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.
In 1995, it was added to AIX, IBM's proprietary UNIX platform.<ref name="aix">{{Cite web |url=http://www.taborcommunications.com/archives/5598.html |title=IBM Cruises onto Internet with Security Products & WWW Software SUPERHIGHWAY REPORT HPCwire |access-date=July 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203124731/http://www.taborcommunications.com/archives/5598.html |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 Inc.|Spyglass]] [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]] code base and was found by the reviewer to be "far superior" to the OS/2 version, which was developed solely by IBM.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Rick |last1=Ayre |first2=Thomas |last2=Mace |title=Just Browsing |newspaper=PC Mag |date=12 March 1996 |publisher=Ziff Davis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rGvyMX6n8cC&pg=RA1-PA142}}</ref>


==Features==
==Features==
Line 30: Line 34:
*Some of its parts could be reused in other programs<ref name="EDM">[http://www.edm2.com/0405/scope.html Under the Scope] section. [[EDM/2]] June 1996,
*Some of its parts could be reused in other programs<ref name="EDM">[http://www.edm2.com/0405/scope.html Under the Scope] section. [[EDM/2]] June 1996,
Volume 4 Issue 5</ref> and scripted with [[Rexx]]. Some external companies used this capability to offer an enhanced browser with IBM's rendering engine<ref name="WebNav">[http://www.bmtmicro.com/BMTCatalog/multipleos/webnav.html WebNav 2.0] added user interface enhancements on WebExplorer rendering.</ref>
Volume 4 Issue 5</ref> and scripted with [[Rexx]]. Some external companies used this capability to offer an enhanced browser with IBM's rendering engine<ref name="WebNav">[http://www.bmtmicro.com/BMTCatalog/multipleos/webnav.html WebNav 2.0] added user interface enhancements on WebExplorer rendering.</ref>
*A page could define what the animated [[throbber]] should look like. It was implemented through a non-standard <nowiki><frame></nowiki> [[HTML tag]]. OS/2 users created several animations.<ref>{{cite web|title=hobbes.nmsu.edu|url=http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?sh=1&dir=//pub/multimedia/video/webexani|publisher=hobbes.nmsu.edu|accessdate=2009-04-20|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070705094652/http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?sh=1&dir=/pub/multimedia/video/webexani |archivedate=Jul 05, 2007}}</ref> The later introduction of [[Framing (World Wide Web)|web frames]] leads WebExplorer to confusion on modern pages
*A page could define what the animated [[throbber]] should look like. It was implemented through a non-standard <nowiki><frame></nowiki> [[HTML tag]]. OS/2 users created several animations.<ref>{{cite web|title=hobbes.nmsu.edu |url=http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?sh=1&dir=//pub/multimedia/video/webexani |publisher=hobbes.nmsu.edu |access-date=April 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705094652/http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?sh=1&dir=%2Fpub%2Fmultimedia%2Fvideo%2Fwebexani |archive-date=July 5, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The later introduction of [[Framing (World Wide Web)|web frames]] leads WebExplorer to confusion on modern pages
*A presentation mode without visible menu bars
*A presentation mode without visible menu bars
*A menu option ''Links'' collecting all the links in the page. It was used by [[IBM VoiceType]] for voice navigation
*A menu option ''Links'' collecting all the links in the page. It was used by [[IBM VoiceType]] for voice navigation
*[[Java applet]]s <ref>{{cite web|last=Amstadt|first=Steve|title=Browser Watch - IBM OS/2 Webexplorer News!|url=http://browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm9.html|accessdate=8 July 2010|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/19990209192948/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm9.html|archivedate=9 February 1999|date=3 December 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Designing Web Animation|url=http://podgoretsky.com/ftp/Docs/Internet/pdf/Designing%20Web%20Animation.pdf|publisher=[[New Riders Publishing]]|accessdate=8 July 2010|author=Nicola Brown|coauthors=Peter Chen, David Miller, Paul Van Eyk, and William E. Weinman|year=1996}}</ref>
*[[Java applet]]s<ref>{{cite web|last=Amstadt |first=Steve |title=Browser Watch – IBM OS/2 Webexplorer News! |url=http://browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm9.html |access-date=July 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990209192948/http://browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm9.html |archive-date=February 9, 1999 |date=December 3, 1996 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Designing Web Animation|url=http://podgoretsky.com/ftp/Docs/Internet/pdf/Designing%20Web%20Animation.pdf|publisher=[[New Riders Publishing]]|access-date=July 8, 2010|author=Nicola Brown|author2=Peter Chen |author3=David Miller |author4=Paul Van Eyk |author5=William E. Weinman |year=1996}}</ref>
*[[Graphics Interchange Format|GIF]] support<ref name="readme1.1h" />
*[[Graphics Interchange Format|GIF]] support<ref name="readme1.1h"/>
*[[Proxy server|Proxy authentication]]<ref name="readme1.1h" />
*[[Proxy server|Proxy authentication]]<ref name="readme1.1h"/>
*[[Image map]]<ref name="readme1.1h" />
*[[Image map]]<ref name="readme1.1h"/>
*''Webmap'' "hierarchically displays your complete path through the web; a pointer denotes the current site, but any site can be revisited with only a mouse click."<ref>{{cite news|title=Internet Access Tools|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yurvRCerf_UC&pg=PA168|access-date=Mar 8, 2018|work=PC Mag|issue=v.14 n.7|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=Oct 10, 1995}}</ref>


==Version history==
==Version history==
{|class="wikitable"
{{Expand section|date=July 2010}}
!Version
!Date
!New features
!Systems
|-
|1.0
| {{Start date|1995|1|06}}
|Customized Animations
|OS/2 2.1, OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.01
| {{Start date|1995|4|05}}
|
|OS/2 2.1, OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.02
| {{Start date|1995|6|28}}
|Drag and Drop Support
Color Palette Management
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.03
| {{Start date|1995|9|28}}
|Newsgroup Manager
HTML Extensions
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1a
| {{Start date|1996|3|22}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1b
| {{Start date|1996}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1c
| {{Start date|1996|6|06}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1d
| {{Start date|1996|6|14}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1e
| {{Start date|1996|7|11}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1f
| {{Start date|1996|9|13}}
|Option "No Proxy For"
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1g
| {{Start date|1996|11|07}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.1h
| {{Start date|1996|12|11}}
|
|OS/2 Warp
|-
|1.2
| {{Start date|1996}}
|
|OS/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.
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.

<!--080795 - leaked internal build http://web.archive.org/web/19990423114459/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm2.html
081495 - beta - http://web.archive.org/web/19990423114459/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm2.html
0.8 http://www.browserlist.fmajor.com/User-Agent_list.shtml
0.92 http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16656543.html
0.93 http://www.browserlist.fmajor.com/User-Agent_list.shtml
0.94 http://www.browserlist.fmajor.com/User-Agent_list.shtml
1.02c http://www.browserlist.fmajor.com/User-Agent_list.shtml
1.03 http://www.browserlist.fmajor.com/User-Agent_list.shtml
1.03b 01/18/96(? dates of the files in archive): is only a bugfixing build readme file in build
1.1 http://www.browserlist.fmajor.com/User-Agent_list.shtml
1.1b 5/06/96: is only a bugfixing build: readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip and readme file of http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11b.zip
1.1c 06/06/96: is only a bugfixing build: readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip
1.1d 06/14/96: is only a bugfixing build: readme file of http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11d.exe
1.1e 07/11/96: is only a bugfixing build: readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip and readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip
1.1f 09/13/96: bugfix build and anew function: "No Proxy For"-option: "per site proxy operion" - readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip and http://web.archive.org/web/20000817110356/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm14.html
1.1g 11/07/96: is only a bugfixing build: readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip and http://web.archive.org/web/20000817104114/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm16.html
1.1h 12/11/96: is only a bugfixing build: readme file http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip and http://web.archive.org/web/20000817100800/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm18.html

other news:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990505112333/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm20.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19990506012533/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/netscape136.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19990209192948/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm9.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20000817131628/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm8.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20000817113703/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm12.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20000817113619/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm13.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19991128065212/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/ibm22.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19991021205859/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/multi69.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20010218203409/www.ibm.com/news/1997/08/ls9708182.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19980215160230/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/multi71.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19980527050836/www.ibm.com/News/1997/08/ls9708182.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19980708185557/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/os27.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19990506095050/browserwatch.internet.com/news/story/news-981006-8.html
official page: http://web.archive.org/web/19990209192948/http://www.raleigh.ibm.com/WebExplorer/
-->


==Criticism==
==Criticism==
The browser doesn't support [[Framing (World Wide Web)|Frames]] and the installation of [[Plug-in (computing)|plugins]] like Java was complicated.<ref>{{cite web|last=Watson|first=Dave|title=A Quick Look at Web Explorer|url=http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/webexplorer.html|publisher=The Southern California OS/2 User Group|accessdate=16 August 2010|date=21 July 2001}}</ref>
The browser did not support [[Framing (World Wide Web)|Frames]] and the installation of [[Plug-in (computing)|plugins]] like Java was complicated.<ref>{{cite web|last=Watson|first=Dave|title=A Quick Look at Web Explorer|url=http://www.scoug.com/os24u/2001/webexplorer.html|publisher=The Southern California OS/2 User Group|access-date=August 16, 2010|date=July 21, 2001}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://web.archive.org/web/19990116230210/www.networking.ibm.com/WebExplorer/webhome.htm The official page at IBM] (version from 1999 at the [[Internet Archive]]).
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990116230210/http://www.networking.ibm.com/WebExplorer/webhome.htm |date=January 16, 1999 |title=The official page at IBM }}
*[http://www.seds.org/~spider/os2/webex.html The IBM OS/2 WebExplorer]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070222135131/http://www.seds.org/~spider/os2/webex.html The IBM OS/2 WebExplorer]
*[http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f2000/2054.htm IBM WebExplorer is mentioned] in [[United States v. Microsoft]].
*[http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f2000/2054.htm IBM WebExplorer is mentioned] in [[United States v. Microsoft]].


===Downloads===
===Downloads===
*[http://browsers.evolt.org/?webexplorer/OS2/1.01 version 1.1] at browsers.evolt.org
*[https://browsers.evolt.org/browsers/archive/webexplorer versions 1.01 and 1.1h] at browsers.evolt.org
*[http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/webxv11h.zip version 1.1h] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724061132/http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/webxv11h.zip |date=July 24, 2011 }}
*[http://www.os2bbs.com/file_f/internet/WEBX103B.ZIP version 1.03b]
*[http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11b.zip version 1.1b]
*[http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11d.exe version 1.1d]
*[http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11e.zip version 1.1e]
*[http://www.os2bbs.com/file_f/internet/WEBXV11F.EXE version 1.1f]
*[http://www.os2bbs.com/file_f/internet/WEBXV11G.EXE version 1.1g]
*[http://www.os2site.com/sw/internet/browser/webexplorer/webxv11h.zip version 1.1h] [http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/apps/internet/www/browser/webxv11h.zip alternate]


{{Early web browsers}}
{{Early web browsers}}
{{web browsers}}
{{web browsers}}
{{IBM}}
{{IBM}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2011}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibm Webexplorer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibm Webexplorer}}
Line 109: Line 143:
[[Category:Discontinued web browsers]]
[[Category:Discontinued web browsers]]
[[Category:IBM software|Webexplorer]]
[[Category:IBM software|Webexplorer]]
[[Category:Products and services discontinued in 1998]]

[[ko:IBM 웹익스플로러]]
[[nl:WebExplorer]]
[[ja:IBM WebExplorer]]

Latest revision as of 23:11, 20 August 2023

IBM WebExplorer
Developer(s)IBM
Initial releaseNovember 27, 1995; 28 years ago (1995-11-27)
Final release
1.2 / November 25, 1998; 25 years ago (1998-11-25)
Operating systemOS/2
Available inEnglish
TypeWeb browser
Websiteibm.net/webexplore/

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

History

[edit]

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

[edit]
  • Support for HTML 3.0 (with tables)[3]
  • Usenet reader
  • Some of its parts could be reused in other programs[4] and scripted with Rexx. Some external companies used this capability to offer an enhanced browser with IBM's rendering engine[5]
  • A page could define what the animated throbber should look like. It was implemented through a non-standard <frame> HTML tag. OS/2 users created several animations.[6] The later introduction of web frames leads WebExplorer to confusion on modern pages
  • A presentation mode without visible menu bars
  • A menu option Links collecting all the links in the page. It was used by IBM VoiceType for voice navigation
  • Java applets[7][8]
  • GIF support[3]
  • Proxy authentication[3]
  • Image map[3]
  • Webmap "hierarchically displays your complete path through the web; a pointer denotes the current site, but any site can be revisited with only a mouse click."[9]

Version history

[edit]
Version Date New features Systems
1.0 January 6, 1995 (1995-01-06) Customized Animations OS/2 2.1, OS/2 Warp
1.01 April 5, 1995 (1995-04-05) OS/2 2.1, OS/2 Warp
1.02 June 28, 1995 (1995-06-28) Drag and Drop Support

Color Palette Management

OS/2 Warp
1.03 September 28, 1995 (1995-09-28) Newsgroup Manager

HTML Extensions

OS/2 Warp
1.1a March 22, 1996 (1996-03-22) OS/2 Warp
1.1b 1996 (1996) OS/2 Warp
1.1c June 6, 1996 (1996-06-06) OS/2 Warp
1.1d June 14, 1996 (1996-06-14) OS/2 Warp
1.1e July 11, 1996 (1996-07-11) OS/2 Warp
1.1f September 13, 1996 (1996-09-13) Option "No Proxy For" OS/2 Warp
1.1g November 7, 1996 (1996-11-07) OS/2 Warp
1.1h December 11, 1996 (1996-12-11) OS/2 Warp
1.2 1996 (1996) OS/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

[edit]

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

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b c d 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.
[edit]

Downloads

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IBM_WebExplorer&oldid=1171405469"