A look into the history of the browser that started it all.

The first Internet browser.

In 1995 when Microsoft first released Windows 95 it included network technologies for connecting to the Internet which included TCP/IP.

It's then when Microsoft developed a add-on to it's operating system called a web browser. Internet Explorer was originally shipped as a retail product as part of the Internet Jumpstart Kit in Microsoft Plus.

Internet Explorer 2, improves on the product.

In was only later that year in November when Microsoft released its first cross-platform browser, Internet Explorer 2.0 which was supported by both Macintosh and Windows.

Some of the websites you could view included Lycos, Yahoo!, and the Trojan Room coffee pot.

Internet Explorer 3 became the one product to have.

In August 1996, Microsoft released a rebuilt Internet Explorer which was designed for Windows 95. IE 3 offered various components that allowed the browser to display GIF and JPG files, play MIDI sound files, and play streaming audio files.

Web developers found that IE 3 delivered a flexible programming model. Web Developers used ActiveX to make websites interactive and created experiences only comparable to CD-ROM titles of that era.

It was downloaded more than 32,000 times in the first six hours after it was released.

One year after that Internet Explorer 4 is released.

It was designed for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT.

Web pages became more interactive which made them seem more like applications rather than web pages.

By 1999, Internet Explorer 5 emerges.

Personalization became a key focus for web driven applications based on DHTML. With the expanded programming capabilities offered by IE 5, e-commerce became unified term on the web.

When Internet Explorer 6 was released it started addressing online security.

Internet Explorer 6 is released with Windows XP in 2001 as a more private, reliable, and flexible browser than it's previous versions.

The privacy tools in Internet Explorer 6 enabled users to set their own level of privacy, restricting the flow of private information.

IE 6 was the first Internet browser to include such robust privacy tools.

Five years later, Internet Explorer 7 became available.

Internet Explorer 7 provided advanced safeguards that helped protect against malicious software and phishing attacks.

IE 7 had a new look and the first of Microsoft's browser versions to introduce tabbed browsing.

Internet Explorer 8 focused on speed and usability upon it's release.

In March 2009 when Internet Explorer 8 was released, it had cut down on the time it's previous versions needed to complete common tasks making it the fastest browser Microsoft has ever build.

Additionally it had visual search suggestions, complete with visuals and detailed information to save time on mundane tasks.

Come 2011 and the new version of Internet Explorer 9.

Internet Explorer 9 has put it's focus on the web itself.

This version builds on a new user experience and support for modern standards which include HTML 5.

As the next version of Internet Explorer is on its way, the foundation for immerse website and software is built.