Maxthon
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Categories: Internet Explorer shells | Windows-only freeware | Windows web browsers | Science and technology in the People's Republic of China
Maxthon (pronounced [ˈmækstən] and formerly known as MyIE2) is a China-based freeware (more specifically donateware) web browser for Windows. From its early MyIE2 roots, Maxthon has developed a growing user base, especially in China, and in 2006 it received commercial backing for Maxthon 2.0.[1] It uses the Trident layout engine, just like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but it can use the Gecko engine used in Mozilla Firefox as well. Maxthon seeks to provide many rich features and a highly customizable interface, without losing any of the compatibility of Internet Explorer. In January of 2006, Maxthon developers partnered with Microsoft in its booth at the Consumer Electronics Show. Maxthon is reported to be the second most popular browser in China,[2] and it has been downloaded more than 137 million times worldwide.[3]
HistoryMaxthon started life as MyIE, originally created by Changyou, a Chinese programmer, who wanted to customize his Internet Explorer browser. Changyou posted most of the code onto his BBS, before leaving the project in 2000. Jeff Chen continued development and released a new version, called MyIE2. MyIE2 grew quickly, with contributions from users around the world in areas including plugins, skins and debugging. MyIE2 was renamed Maxthon in 2003. It received seed funding from the first Skype investor Morten Lund, and WI Harper Group in 2005. In 2006 Maxthon received further investment from the US-based venture capital firm Charles River Ventures.[4] On April 10, 2007, it was reported that Google had invested at least US$1 million in Maxthon;[5] this was denied the following day by Chen.[6] However, in an interview with Chinese portal Sina.com, Chen did not rule out future "co-operation" between the two businesses.[7] Features
Version 2.0The release version of Maxthon 2.0 is currently ready for download on the official website. The new features (as of RC2) include [1]:
Full changelogs for 2.0 versions See alsoReferences
External links
ca:Maxthon cs:Maxthon de:Maxthon es:Maxthon fr:Maxthon zh-classical:傲游瀏覽器 ko:맥스톤 it:Maxthon he:מקסתון nl:Maxthon ja:Maxthon uz:Maxthon pl:Maxthon pt:Maxthon ru:Maxthon th:แมกซ์ทอน tr:Maxthon (Ağ Tarayıcısı) yi:מאקסטאן zh-yue:傲游瀏覽器 | ||||||||||||||||||||


