Does Windows Internet Explorer (IE) run on any UNIX-ish platforms? If it does, then my entire world-view shifts more to the center
I would be very surprised if you can run IE on any UNIX (even with a WINE-like emulator).
Microsoft has traditionally not been in the interoperability or cross-platform mode of building or compiling their products on UNIX-ish platforms. That is why Netscape was suggested by 98'. There are other UNIX utilities for making http 'calls', but Netscape is very popular because they support most UNIX flavors and distros.