Windows Internet Explorer

Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE), commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995. It has been the most widely used web browser since 1999, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003 and steadily declining since.

After the first release for Windows 95, additional versions of Internet Explorer were developed for other operating systems: Internet Explorer for Mac and Internet Explorer for UNIX (the latter for use through the X Window System on Solaris and HP-UX), and versions for older versions of Windows. Only the Windows version remains in active development; the Mac OS X and UNIX version are no longer supported.

Internet Explorer was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95. Later versions are available as free downloads and are also included in the OEM service releases of Windows 95 and in later versions of Windows. The most recent release is version 7.0, which is available as a free update for Windows XP with Service Pack 2, and Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or later, and is included with Windows Vista. An embedded OEM version called Internet Explorer for Windows CE (IE CE) is also available for WinCE based platforms and is currently based on IE6. Another Windows CE/ Windows Mobile browser known as Internet Explorer Mobile is from a different codebase and should not be confused with desktop versions of the browser.

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of waves shaped when a body of water, such as an ocean, is rapidly displaced. Earthquakes, group movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions, landslides, large meteorite impacts and testing with nuclear weapons at sea all have the potential to produce a tsunami. The effects of a tsunami can range from imperceptible to devastating. The word tsunami comes from the Japanese words meaning harbor and wave. For the plural, one can either follow usual English practice and add an s, or use an invariable plural as in Japanese. The term was created by fishermen who returned to port to find the area neighboring their harbor devastated, although they had not been conscious of any wave in the open water. Tsunamis are general throughout Japanese history; approximately 195 events in Japan have been recorded.

A tsunami has a much smaller amplitude (wave height) offshore, and a very long wavelength, which is why they generally pass unobserved at sea, forming only a passing bulge in the ocean. Tsunami have been historically referred to as tidal waves because as they approach land, they take on the characteristics of a vicious onrushing tide rather than the sort of cresting waves that are formed by wind action upon the ocean. Since they are not really related to tides the term is considered misleading and its treatment is discouraged by oceanographers.