Microsoft Corp. next week will begin rolling out key components in its plan
to more tightly integrate Internet access into Windows 95 and Windows NT.

Central to the company's forthcoming Internet Add-on operating system
enhancement is ShellView, a customizable integration of the Windows 95
Explorer interface and technologies found in Microsoft's forthcoming Internet
Explorer 3.0 browser, officials said.

The Add-on will enable users to view and browse World-Wide Web URLs (Uniform
Resource Locators) as nodes on a directory tree, or view folders and drives
as hot links on a Web page. It will also include functions for Internet
document conferencing and whiteboard use, said sources close to the Redmond,
Wash., company.

"I really believe that this is a watershed technology," said Philip Allega,
director of technology planning at Taco Bell Corp., in Irvine, Calif. "How it
will be fully exploited by businesses has yet to be determined, but it's
important that we in the IS group stay on top of it and utilize it as best we
can."

Microsoft will lay the foundation for the Add-on next week at its
Professional Developer's Conference in San Francisco when it releases the
Sweeper client API set, officials confirmed.

Sweeper APIs are the foundation for Internet Explorer 3.0, which Microsoft
will release in beta next week and commercially in the second quarter.

The Internet Add-on upgrade, which will build on technologies found in both
Sweeper and Internet Explorer 3.0, will run on Windows 95 and NT Workstations.

Through ShellView, users will be able to access Web sites across the Internet
or corporate intranets from the Explorer directory tree, just as they would a
local hard drive or LAN-based resource. Once the URL is activated, users are
automatically connected to the Web site without the use of a browser.

The ShellView directory tree will also list sharable applications and
documents ranging from off-the-shelf applications, such as Word, to
custom-built OCXes (Object Linking and Embedding custom controls). These
items can be shared over intranets or the Internet.

As part of Internet Add-on, Microsoft will replace the PPP (Point-to-Point
Protocol) stack in Windows 95 and NT with a multipoint PPP stack that
conforms to the T-120 data-conferencing protocol to enable white-board use
and document-sharing capabilities, said sources.

"ShellView is a good example of what you can do with component architecture,"
said Brad Silverberg, senior vice president of the Internet Platform and
Tools Division at Microsoft. "You can take the components, build the browser,
and browse your hard disk, the Internet, and your corporate network. It
should be seamless."

With the Internet Add-on not due until later this year, Microsoft is
continuing to press ahead with its Web browser efforts.

Some new features to be included in Internet Explorer 3.0 include support for
OCXes, DocObjects, Java, and VisualBasic Script. Microsoft will also support
the new RPACi specification within Internet Explorer 3.0, allowing users to
restrict access to any Web site.

Internet Explorer 3.0 will be an OLE Automation Server that can be accessed,
programmed, and customized by other applications.

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