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By JIM BROOKS
Several
weeks ago, I promised a review of the then just-released next-generation
Web browser from Netscape, Netscape 6.0.
I downloaded
the much-anticipated browser from the Netscape Web site (http://home.netscape.com)
the first day it was released, and I've formed some strong opinions
about it.
The
first?
Don't
install Netscape 6.0 -- yet.
Netscape
6.0 is an all-new browser that has its guts as part of the Gecko
open-source project. Gecko began when Netscape released to the public
the software code for its next-generation Web browser in 1998.
The
theory was that software developers around the world would then
be inclined to tinker -- and improve -- the browser.
And
so far, so good.
In
fact, the reason Netscape 6.0 is still a "Preview Version"
is because it is actually still being fine tuned. It's being released
to the public for more testing -- which will result in more changes
to the software.
The
good news is that Netscape 6.0 has the makings of a winner.
The
program is 30 percent smaller to download than Internet Explorer,
and considerably smaller than versions of Netscape Communicator
4.x.
Like
Communicator, the new Netscape 6.0 has several individual components
-- the Web browser, an improved Netscape Mail, Instant Messenger,
and Netscape Composer.
Here's
my take on the improvements and additions:
•
The Web browser seems to load pages about as fast as older versions
of Navigator. New in Netscape 6.0 is My Sidebar, a kind of combination
bookmarks manager and links window that you can pop open with the
click of the mouse.
My
Sidebar, as the name states, resides on the side -- left side --
of your browser window. Only a highlighted section of the left border
of your computer screen identifies that My Sidebar is there. But
click it once and you've got all your data right there at the fingertips.
My
Sidebar's default content was OK, but I didn't begin using it much
until I took time to set it up for my own personal favorites. After
that, My Sidebar was much more useful. I use it contantly now whenever
I have Netscape 6.0 running.
•
Netscape's browsers have had e-mail built-in for a good many years,
but none of the e-mail clients have been as useful as the new Netscape
Mail.
You
can easily manage multiple e-mail accounts and newsgroups, and AOL
users can even connect to their mail boxes on AOL's service.
I've
used an e-mail program separate from the Web browser for years,
mainly because I've always thought that Microsoft and Netscape's
e-mail clients have left much to be desired. The new Netscape Mail
appears to be a big step forward.
•
Instant Messenger isn't new, but Netscape 6.0 has more tightly integrated
it into the Web browser.
In
fact, you can keep your Buddy List at your finger tips by using
the new My Sidebar feature.
And
like before, Netscape users will still be able to chat live with
users of AOL's Instant Messenger service.
•
Netscape Composer is a standards-compliant Web page builder that
offers even novices the ability to create Web sites without knowing
HTML coding.
It's
quietly been included with Communicator for years, and lets you
build a Web page as easily as you create a page in a word processor.
Overall,
the look of Netscape 6.0 is a complete departure from what you may
be used to.
Gone
are the square icons and buttons across the top menu bar. They've
been replaced by round icons that resemble those found on the Netscape
Web site.
The
idea, according to the Netscape marketing team, was to keep important
buttons and information clustered together and handy.
It's
clean and sleek, but I'll admit that I spent time poking all the
buttons from time to time just to remember which button controled
what function. Once I set up My Sidebar with bookmarks, etc., it
became easier to use Netscape 6.0.
For
all the praises I sing, there's a big warning I'll have to include
-- don't try to use Netscape 6.0 until it's a "completed"
software package.
True,
it works pretty well as is, but Netscape 6.0 is still pretty buggy.
Crashes and freezes were commonplace during my trials. And more
than once I lost notes for a column because I hadn't saved them
yet to disk before Netscape 6.0 crashed or locked up my PC.
Of
course, that may be due in part to all of the other versions of
Netscape installed on my computer. At some point -- perhaps when
Netscape 6.0 is "complete," I'll go in and sweep away
the older versions of Netscape.
If
you're dying to try Netscape 6.0, do so at your own risk. It worked
well on a couple of PCs at work and on my home PC. Just remember
it's not as stable as the browser you're probably using at present.
For
more details, visit the Netscape home page at http://home.netscape.com.
PC
EVERYWHERE. I don't endorse products, but there's one software
title I've used recently that is easily one of the most useful programs
I've used in a long time.
The
product is Symmantec's pcAnywhere, software that allows you to completely
control a remote PC -- from anywhere else in the world.
In
my case, the "remote" PC was my desktop system at work.
The "anywhere" location was my home computer on a day
I couldn't make it to work.
The
program installed quickly on both my work and home computers, and
the setup for both was pretty simple and non-technical. In fact,
for a man with two VCRs that still blink "12:00," I was
surprised at how easily it worked!
From
my home PC I dialed in to my work computer and was surprised when
my work computer's desktop appeared on my home computer screen.
I was able to start any of the software on my work computer from
home, access the network, and download or upload files easily from
my home computer to work and back.
In
short, I was amazed at the work I was able to get done -- all performed
while dressed in my terrycloth robe and house slippers. Not a bad
way to telecommute!
This
impressive bit of software is by no means a new product (I was using
pcAnywhere version 9.0), but sometimes it becomes easy to overlook
the familiar. If you have a need to dial into (or Net into, since
the same trick works over the Internet) a work computer, pcAnywhere
is a great place to start.
GRAMMAR
HAMMER. When I worked as a copy editor at The News-Enterprise,
I used to joke that proper English and journalism seldom went hand-in-hand.
The
real truth is that the goal of the entire editorial staff of any
paper is to turn out a product filled with good, well-written stories.
And it's the editors' job to spot the errors in spelling and word
usage before the newspaper gets out the door.
If
you share this concern with grammar, style and spelling, then perhaps
you should take a test to join the Word Police.
Word
Police officers are ``entitled to issue Grammar Citations when you
see or hear crimes against the language'' -- all in good humor,
naturally.
The
Web site -- www.theatlantic.com/unbound/wordpolice/
-- also is used to promote the book ``Word Court'' by Atlantic Monthly
senior editor (and Word Police Commissioner) Barbara Wallraff.
To
join the Word Police, there's a quick entrance exam. It'll take
a sharp eye to get a perfect score (you can try it multiple times
without penalty).
I was
pleased to pass it with flying colors my first time through. Once
you pass the exam, you get a diploma you can print out from the
Web site, and even your own Word Police citations you can issue
as you see necessary.
Once
you pass the entrance exam, there are other exams you can take to
become members of other Word Police divisions: The Anti-Redundancy
Squad, The Pronoun Patrol, or the Division of Sex and Gender Crimes.
It's
all in good fun, especially if you believe grammar, style and spelling
is important -- even in this day and age of digital communication.
Join
the Word Police at www.theatlantic.com/unbound/wordpolice/,
and most of all, be careful out there.
Comments
and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com,
or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com
on the World Wide Web.
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