Not too long ago, a browser was just someone who hung around a newsstand or bookstore without buying anything. Now, thanks to the World Wide Web and the explosion of Web technology on corporate networks, the browser has turned into a pretty indispensable piece of software used by millions daily.
Netscape Navigator owns 70 percent of the Internet browser market, but Microsoft's Internet Explorer is closing in fast. Each has a free, downloadable version available for a trial period. So which one should you use? In my humble opinion, most likely you need both. This is mainly due to the different features that each browser has to offer.
Netscape 2.0's open-ended plug-in structure allows developers to create interactive embellishments that bring the Web to life. Support for the Java programming language, for instance, lets you view dynamic visual and audio elements - like talking clocks and animated cartoon characters. And now, inline plug-ins like media players, filters, and other applications can be seamlessly integrated directly into the browser. For example, the Adobe Acrobat plug-in lets you view graphically rich pages that reflect precise font and image control. So when you read an online newspaper it will look just like the hard copy.
Frames are another new feature of version 2.0. They allow developers to create pages displaying multiple and independently scrollable frames on a single screen. This lets you freeze an element, like a site's table of contents, and keep it on your screen as you burrow down. For an example, check out the Atlantic Records site (http://WWW.ATLANTIC-RECORDS.COM/). Finally, Netscape 2.0 is platform independent - it runs on Windows 95, Windows 3.x, Mac OS, and UNIX.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer, on the other hand, requires Windows 95. It's downloadable for free at Microsoft's home page, http://WWW.MICROSOFT.COM, and available on the Plus
Pack for Windows 95. This Mosaic-based browser supports all of the standard hypertext functions, including tables.
One of Internet Explorer's strengths is the ease-of-use afforded by its integration with Windows 95. Once you've configured Win 95 with your Internet provider or set up your Microsoft Network account, just click on the Internet Explorer icon, and you're ready to
begin surfing the Web.
Internet Explorer's Win 95 integration is also revealed in the browser's novel approach to bookmarks. Your favorite sites are stored as shortcuts in standard Win 95 folders, which means that you can manipulate them with Win 95's basic file operation utilities (copy, move, delete, rename, and so on). It uses the standard Win 95 video player, and ships with Real Audio, a sound player that lets you listen to streamed audio built into Web pages. You can
easily add audio to your site and also scrolling marquee of multi-colored text. Check out the magazine's site at http://www.albany.net/~tricity/mast.html for a look at the background music and scrolling marquee features.
While Netscape's open-ended structure for multimedia and other enhancements will let you view fancy embellishments as they appear, Internet Explorer will also get you around the Net
in style. It offers tremendous functionality from its tight integration with Windows 95.
Netscape Navigator 3.0, with commercial release scheduled for July, is an incremental improvement on the already very good 2.0 version. Internet Explorer 3.0, which should be released in late summer, is a huge leap from Microsoft's current model.
Planned changes to the new browsers include feature like CoolTalk, which allows voice conversations, typed chat, and the sharing of ``white-board'' screens. These screens let people take turns making changes in a drawing or in text while others watch. Netscape has also added a security feature called digital signatures that automatically identifies you to servers, a crucial step for business transactions on the Net. The new browser runs faster,
has improved multimedia abilities, and is much more efficient at running network applications written in Sun Microsystems' Java language.
Microsoft's current Internet Explorer 2.0 lacks many of the features of even Netscape's Navigator 2.0, such as the ability to split a screen into multiple, independent ``frames.'' The new version, however, matches Netscape 3.0 feature for feature--then adds a few of its own. Its basic screen setup, which will instantly feel comfortable to Windows 95 users, is very flexible, allowing you to customize, resize, and move tool bars and menus. In addition
to voice, chat, and white-board sharing, Microsoft NetMeeting lets two or more people on the Internet work together in a Windows application, such as Microsoft Word or Lotus 1-2-3. And Internet Explorer has a built-in feature that allows parents to cut off kids' access to undesirable sites.
The stage is now set for a major battle for your desktop between Netscape and Microsoft. Netscape, which sells primarily to companies, thinks that corporate systems departments will
favor Navigator because it offers less reliance on Microsoft and because it works more or less identically on a variety of systems, including Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX. What they might not realize is that most of these corporate systems departments are already quite reliant on Microsoft for most of their operating system needs.
Netscape says that it has no intention of supporting ActiveX and believes the whole market is moving toward Java. I think it is more that they hope the whole market is moving towards Java.
Microsoft, which is giving its browser away, is appealing directly to end users, whether in the home or in Corporate America. It also has struck deals to make its latest Internet Explorer the browser of choice on both America Online and CompuServe. And by the end of the year, Microsoft will release a new version of Win95 and Windows NT, code-named Nashville, that will make Internet Explorer part of the Windows desktop. Of course, Netscape is betting that you'll prefer Navigator anyway. But if Microsoft can deliver on its promises in timely fashion -always a big if- I'm not sure you'll see any need to go beyond Internet Explorer.
Netscape Navigator 2.0 (and the beta 3.0 when available) can be downloaded from http://www.home.netscape.com A commercial version is available for $49 (free 90-day trial) Netscape, 415-528-2555
Internet Explorer 2.0 Downloadable free from http://www.microsoft.com or available in Plus Pack ($40) Microsoft, 206-882-8080 |
