NeoPlanet Web browser blows away the competition June 4, 2000 By JIM BROOKS On any given weekend night some 20 years ago, you could find me cruising my hometown in my white 1955 Chevy Bel Air two-door hardtop, the 8-track stereo blaring the Beach Boys and the car's header mufflers resonating with distinctive "rumpity-rumpity-rump" of a high-lift camshaft. But riding around town burned gas, and so my second favorite sport was sitting with friends watching everyone else cruise around. During conversations among my friends, the topic often shifted to talk of performance; or put more simply: "What have you got under the hood?" In the years since, my wife has often pointed out to me that this is a guy thing: Men tend to enjoy talking about their latest toys, regardless of what they are -- a chrome-plated starter or a Big Bertha golf club. So it was no surprise to me the enjoyment I've had using a third-party Web browser -- that's right, no Netscape and no Internet Explorer. Neoplanet's Web browser is actually a customized version of Internet Explorer that's now on your hard drive. The good news is the NeoPlanet browser is much smaller a download than Internet Explorer 5 -- about 2 megs. And don't think for a minute that NeoPlanet looks like the standard IE Web browser -- NeoPlanet looks, well, like something out of this world! What makes NeoPlanet's web browser unique is the ability to change "skins." "Skins" is NeoPlanet's term that refers to the overall look of the Web browser interface -- the graphics, text, buttons and colors. At my last count, there are nearly 600 different skins available for NeoPlanet. You can literally give your browser a new and totally different look every day. NeoPlanet's Web browser may have its roots in Internet Explorer, but it hides it well. The company is putting its chameleon abilities to good use in its current partnership with New Line Cinemas. As part of the promotion package for New Line releases, NeoPlanet will be releasing movie-themed skins for the NeoPlanet Web browser. Currently you can download a skin to turn NeoPlanet into a Stone Age appliance courtesy of "The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas." Even if you don't care to have boulders as your Web browser buttons, you can't avoid smiling when you hear that classic "Yabba Dabba Doo" when the browser starts. NeoPlanet works with Windows 95/98 and NT operating systems. For more information, or to download your own NeoPlanet browser, surf to www.neoplanet.com, and check it out. And look for more NeoPlanet movie-themed skins, including "Rocky and Bullwinkle," "The Nutty Professor II" and more. In the meantime, my NeoPlanet browser will be running the "Star Trek: Voyager" skin, complete with Capt. Janeway and the Voyager crew. NAME GAME WON. Actress Julia Roberts won control of an Internet domain that bears her name in a recent decision by an international arbitration panel. The panel found that the owner of the domain, www.juliaroberts.com, had no real interest in the domain, and was using it "in bad faith." The domain was registered by an individual who had also registered domains in the names of other movie stars and sports legends. An attempt to auction off the Julia Roberts domain on eBay failed. Most domain name disputes in the past have centered around trademark disputes. The decision for Roberts shows that even well-known names that aren't actually trademarked by find protection from cybersquatters -- those who register blocks of domains in hopes of turning a quick dollar. SPEGIEL ONLINE. My mother's favorite catalog retailer, Spegiel, will be soon add free Internet access to its usual offers of women's fashions and accessories. The Chicago-based retailer announced recently that it has teamed up with Yahoo! and Spinway to offer free ad-supported Internet access. As part of the deal, Spegiel Free Web's e-commerce enabled online catalog will become a highly visible brand on the popular Yahoo! Web site. The free Spiegel Internet access package is available for download online, or on a free CD-ROM. Spiegel plans to distribute the CDs in their popular printed catalogs. Yahoo! will help promote Spiegel's Web site, and Spinway will be providing the nuts and bolts hardware end of the Internet access part of the deal. Spiegel plans to include personalized content for its subscribers, including e-mail, messaging and other services. For more information, visit Spiegel's Web site at www.spiegel.com. Comments and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com, or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com on the World Wide Web. | HOME |