Internet Explorer 4.01 - still buggy



Tip
Many reviewers love it, and lots of people find Microsoft's star-crossed browser to be trouble-free. But the bug reports on IE 4.0 and 4.01 keep pouring into our mailbox. Bugs and Fixes readers are reporting a wide range of glitches: pointers that seize up, Active Desktop errors, ignorance of the IntelliMouse's scroll wheel, print problems, frozen floppy drives, and the usual spate of exception errors, fatal errors, and General Protection Faults.
So far Microsoft has been mum about the exact bugs that IE 4.01 fixes, and about how soon the company will get around to tackling the rest, including new problems introduced in version 4.01. In published reports Microsoft's second-in-command, Steve Ballmer, has even admitted that the company compromised on fixing IE 4.0's bugs to meet the program's scheduled ship date.
So what's a faithful IE fan to do? You could switch to Netscape Navigator 4.04, but that browser has a long bug history, too. My advice: stick with Internet Explorer 3.02 or Navigator 3.04. They may not include all the latest bells and whistles, but at least they're relatively stable.
- Scott Spanbauer

Category: Bugs and fixes
Issue: Apr 1998

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