Beyond the browser wars.Navigator and Explorer aren't the only games in town If you surf the Web, chances are you're using some version of either Netscape Navigator An earlier Web browser for Windows, Macintosh and X Windows from Netscape that provided secure transmission over the Internet. Soon after its introduction in 1994, Navigator, or just "Netscape," as it was commonly called, quickly became the leading browser on the Web. or Microsoft Internet Explorer See Internet Explorer. . Depending on who you ask, and which company has the most recent upgrade, the two are locked in a see-saw battle for Internet superiority. But contrary to popular belief, they aren't the only games in town. While the two combatants offer great interfaces and features, there is something to be said for taking the road less traveled. There are browsers specialized for everything from text-only surfing to kid-friendly sites to visiting online auctions to getting Web pages via the phone. There are practical reasons for looking at alternative browsers besides not wanting to succumb to the marketing pressure of the two leaders. Hardware resources, surfing speed, personal preferences or the need to view special characters, such as mathematical symbols, are some of the issues that compel surfers to try a new board. Others look for better browsers for operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. that are not widely used. Whatever your reason, we've offered some choices so you don't have to give into the Netscape/Windows duopoly Duopoly A situation in which two companies own all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. Notes: This is very similar to a monopoly, where only one company dominates the market. . Here's a sampling of some popular alternative browsers that support Windows and often other platforms as well: NEOPLANET * NeoPlanet Inc. * www.neoplanet.com Tired of the same ol' thing when you fire up your browser? NeoPlanet's software lets you dress up your browser with downloadable "skins" (interfaces) in themes from gothic to natural. Design your own skins and put them online for others to download. There's already a library of over 100 skins that others have made. The software requires Internet Explorer Microsoft's Web browser, which comes with Windows starting with Windows 98. Commonly called "IE," versions for Mac and Unix are also available. Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser on the market. It has also been the browser engine in AOL's Internet access software. , but a Netscape Navigator version is coming soon. NeoPlanet is free to users. It gets its revenues from advertisers and other partners. OPERA 3.60 * Opera Software * www.opera.com Opera looks like a cross between a browser, a file manager and a word processing word processing, use of a computer program or a dedicated hardware and software package to write, edit, format, and print a document. Text is most commonly entered using a keyboard similar to a typewriter's, although handwritten input (see pen-based computer) and application. It has the prerequisite menu, toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the , URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. box and browser window --but that's not all. You can open multiple sites within a single Opera interface. For normal browsing, you'll probably want to blow up a single window to full size, since Web pages are generally designed to be seen in full-screen mode. You can even save your windows when you exit Opera, and bounce back to the sites you had open when you come back. Opera will import Netscape bookmarks and supports some popular plug-ins. You have to download Sun's Java plug-in yourself if you want Java. Download Opera for a 30-day timed evaluation, and register for $35 if you want to keep using it. The reminder screen is a little annoying, but the 30-day countdown includes only the days you actually use the product. NETCAPTOR * Stilesoft Inc. * www.netcaptor.com If you're really into conducting research on the Web, try NetCaptor. This browser does a better job than Opera of letting you browse multiple Websites at the same time. Each site is opened on a separate tab, allowing you to toggle To alternate back and forth between two states. toggle - To change a bit from whatever state it is in to the other state; to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. This comes from "toggle switches", such as standard light switches, though the word "toggle" actually refers to back and forth between full views rather than having all of the windows occupy your screen at once (as they do in Opera). The number of sites that can be opened is limited only by system memory, and the tabs can be positioned at the top or bottom of the screen. NetCaptor's no one-trick pony. In addition to browsing multiple Websites at the same time, you can customize toolbars, open groups of sites with a single click and drag Using a pointing device, such as a mouse, to latch onto an icon on screen and move it to some other location. When the screen pointer is over the icon of the object, the mouse button is clicked to grab it. The button is held down while the object is moved ("dragged") to its destination. and drop URLs on other browser tabs. One of its most refreshing features is its ability to automatically close pop-up windows. You'll also have a good deal of control over the loading of multimedia effects, such as sound and video. To support the price of the browser, which is free, NetCaptor displays an advertisement in the upper right-hand corner. Shell out $19.95 and you can be free of the ad. NetCaptor requires Internet Explorer 4.01 or greater to run. LYNX 2.8.2 * A shareware program * www.slcc.edu/lynx Want to slide through the Web like a hot knife through butter but your PC's performance is more like a sled on gravel? Try a text-based browser such as the widely respected Lynx. Lynx isn't pretty, nor is it a hayride hay·ride n. A recreational ride in a large wagon or other vehicle piled with hay. , but if your only concern is text and you're willing to devote some time to learning the old-fashioned Unix-like interface, you can shave a lot of time off your Web travels with this free software. This is only the tip of the iceberg tip of the iceberg n. pl. tips of the iceberg A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden: afraid that these few reported cases of the disease might only be the tip of the iceberg. when it comes to alternative browsers, so do some investigating and find one that fits your needs. To break the chains of the Navigator/Explorer dominance, visit the following sites and type "browser" in the search box: www.zdnet.com, www.yahoo.com and www.cnet.com. |
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