MSN Explorer is an
AOL-like front end on top of
Microsoft's
MSN service. It came out in late
2000. It was an attempt to make web browsing easier and more friendly. MSN Explorer suceedes in being a fairly
decent Hotmail client (although Outlook Express and Entourage are much better). The free download is only for
Windows. It is a bit of a
memory pig in my
experience, weighing in at over 7 megs with only one
window open.
While open,
MSN explorer takes the place of
IE in as far as it is the default
browser. (It's really just an IE control inside a bunch of highly decorated windows). It's a good choice for families with multiple
accounts and only one
computer. You can sign in and out fairly easily. If you are a novice web user, and highly use MSN's services, then this is for you. Otherwise, you may just want the lighter
IE, and just use
OE for your email.
The obvious disadvantages of the
system is that it is only available for
windows, and (as far as
messaging goes) the network is tiny compared to
AOL's. The download is free, and available from the MSN network. It is Microsoft's sixth attempt at an
interface for the Microsoft
Network, and much better than the previous attempts, in many regards.