Media pane and cookie-management tools highlight latest version of browser.

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Windows XP offers tucks and tweaks to just about every facet of the operating system. Internet Explorer is no exception, and the updated version includes beefed-up cookie-management tools, a new button for media-related information, a sizing feature for browser-displayed images, and search functions.

The first thing you'll likely notice is the XP look. Though more engaging than what's offered in non-XP versions of the browser, it's less likely to spark the same oohs and ahs that other programs will generate.

One omission worth noting is support for Java and Netscape plug-ins; Microsoft transferred that responsibility to developers and opted for ActiveX. The Java plug-in from Sun isn't currently available. Sun recently complained of being shut out of XP.

Method to the media

IE 6.0 adds a media button, indicated by an icon of a music note and a globe. When clicked, it launches a left-hand pane that links, not surprisingly, to WindowsMedia.com, Microsoft's portal to news, music, and video. News comes mostly from MSNBC, though other outlets are available, including CNN, the BBC, and a few others.

The media panel integrates basic controls for a browser-based media player, located at the bottom panel. But you need a fast connection to be able to see the videos with any clarity -- true with any streaming video. Our test of a music video was grainy and pixel-y at 56 Kbps; at faster speeds (300 Kbps), image quality looked relatively sharp in most scenes. Our biggest complaint with the embedded media player is that it's overly integrated with Microsoft's music and entertainment portal, and while there are plenty of options to hear and see WindowsMedia.com material, you can't access your own music or video files from the player.

Cookie management

Anyone concerned with having third-party cookies deposited on their hard drives will like some of the privacy enhancements in Internet Explorer 6. Not all cookies are bad. Some can streamline Web browsing. The good cookies are small text files that allow you to forego entering names and passwords at sites you visit regularly. Other cookies aren't so sweet, and can be used to track where you're going on the Web -- often without your knowledge.

Third-party advertisers place cookies on your hard drive, and when they combine the info they gather with first-party cookies from the host website, they can compile information about sites you visit. Third-party advertisers mostly want to know what types of ads you click. The advertising community asserts that the information it collects is used to deliver highly specific advertising and doesn't violate privacy. But privacy advocates feel the practice is akin to someone watching what you look at while browsing in a store and then delivering unsolicited ads for products based on what you looked at. There's always the uneasy sense that someone is spying on you.

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