MEET THE NEW ARMY OF `BROWSER UTILITIES'.Byline: Phillip Robinson Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire Once upon a time, you needed lots of different software to master the Internet. There were Usenet newsgroup A newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. The term is somewhat confusing, because it is usually a discussion group. readers, file-transfer utilities, e-mail editors and on and on. Then the World Wide Web came along. And browsers such as 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. and Microsoft Internet Explorer See Internet Explorer. began to do more than just display Web pages; they began handling those other Internet activities. You won't be surprised, then, to learn of a new army of ``browser utilities'' that help you find, store and organize information. There are dozens of these applications. Some help you search. Others enhance bookmarking In genetics and epigenetics, bookmarking is a biological phenomenon believed to function as an epigenetic mechanism for transmitting cellular memory of the pattern of gene expression in a cell, throughout mitosis, to its daughter cells. - intelligently saving and arranging the addresses of Web sites you regularly visit. Still others download Web sites so you can read them, off-line, at your leisure. Off-line reading is handy if you don't want to sit at the Internet-connected computer while gathering the latest from favorite sites. Playing information back from a hard disk is faster than almost any kind of Internet connection. It frees desktop computer users from having to hang around during long, slow downloads and it allows portable computer users to carry their favorite Web sites with them. Typically, you tell the software which sites are important to you and then tell it when you want to sign on automatically, search for new material, download it "Download It" is Clea's debut single. It was released in the UK on September 22, 2003 and missed the top 20 charting at #21. The single had average promotion, being performed in shows like Top of the Pops. and log off. Before you buy any browser extras, make sure you have the latest version of your browser itself. It may have added the feature you've been wanting. And consider changing to a different browser. The big noise comes from Navigator and Explorer, but other browsers have their fans, too. Make sure the utility you're chasing comes in a version for your browser and your operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. . Finally, always check the Web for the tool before buying at the store. For most utilities, you can find a free demo or trial version on the Web. Let's look at a few. WebCompass (Quarterdeck (Quarterdeck Corporation, Marina del Rey, CA) A pioneering software company, founded in 1983, that offered a variety of utilities, diagnostics, connectivity and Internet products for the PC and Macintosh. ; 800-683-6696; www.qdeck.com; for Navigator, Explorer or Mosaic; Windows; $50) knows that regular Web searchers soon grow skeptical that a single search engine or index - whether Yahoo, Altavista, Excite, WebCrawler, Lycos or anything else - can provide everything they need. WebCompass takes your keyword queries and runs them by many of the engines at once, indexing and ranking the results. CyberSearch (Frontier Technologies, 800-879-0075, www. frontiertech.com, for any browser, for Windows, $20) has both off-line and bookmark A stored location for quick retrieval at a later date. Web browsers provide bookmarks that contain the addresses (URLs) of favorite sites. Most electronic references, large text databases and help systems provide bookmarks that mark a location users want to revisit in the future. strengths. It puts the famous LYCOS database of Web sites - 550,000 Web pages - on a CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). . For $9.95 a month more you can get updates to keep pace with Web address changes. You search the CD-ROM using keywords, much as you would use an on-line search engine such as Yahoo or Altavista. You can use the CyberSearch bookmark feature to organize addresses into outline-style levels, making it easier to find your important addresses when you need them. I wish there were some automation built in to go to those sites. That's just what you get in WebEx (Traveling Software, 800-343-8080, www.travsoft. com, for Windows, $30). WebEx doesn't help you figure out which sites to visit. Instead, it automates the process of getting the information from sites you've already picked - text, graphics and all - and putting it on your hard disk so you can look at it later. It can't import bookmarks or favorite-site lists you've already created in your browser. But it does work inside your browser, making it very easy to use. And it's helpful to be able to keep using the browser while WebEx is downloading pages in the background. WebWhacker (ForeFront, 800-653-4933, www.ffg.com, for Windows or Mac, $70) can save and organize bookmarks or entire Web sites. It isn't as easy to set up as I'd like, or as easy as WebEx, but it's better at sorting and listing the pages it does save. ``Whacking'' to save sites with it is like using a graphic screen capture program. Like WebEx, unfortunately, it can't load your existing bookmark files. FreeLoader free·load intr.v. free·load·ed, free·load·ing, free·loads Slang To take advantage of the charity, generosity, or hospitality of others. (202-686-0660, www.freeloader.net, for Navigator, for Windows, free) is free and it loads. Wow Truth in naming. What that means is you can download a copy for free, install it with your Navigator, tell it what pages or sites you want to download, and then tell it the schedule for doing so. What's the catch? Advertising. At least once a day it will download and display ads from FreeLoader's own site. Another drawback: It's inflexible in letting you organize the pages you want to download. HotPage (DocuMagix, 800-362-8624, www.documagix. com, for Navigator, for Windows, $40) goes beyond the simple ``Save'' command offered within a browser. It helps you save and organize Web pages so they can later be viewed, printed, faxed, e-mailed, sent to Windows applications or injected directly into other Windows documents, all from commands right within Navigator. You can search through the stored documents by keywords, add annotations to documents before processing them and then add links to other Web pages or sites. There's password security to protect your stored Web information from unauthorized viewing. SmartMarks (First Floor Software, 415-968-1101, www.firstfloor.com, Windows 3.1 or 95, $25 with trial version free for download) will help you organize, track and manage your favorite Web sites. SmartMarks is both a bookmark organizer and an off-line Web searcher. It can send a single search request to many popular search engine sites and can reach out at scheduled times to download up to two levels - less than some competing off-line searchers - from sites you dictate. Then there are bundles of Internet utilities, giving you a variety of extras in one box. One such batch comes with Web.Max (Berkeley Systems Berkeley Systems was a San Francisco Bay Area software company cofounded in 1987 by Wes Boyd and Joan Blades. It made money early on by doing contract work for the National Institutes of Health, specifically in making modifications to the Macintosh so that it could be usable by , 800-344-5541, www.berksys.com, for Navigator or Explorer, for Windows 95, $40). ``Net Retriever retriever: see sporting dog. retriever Any of several dog breeds, bred to retrieve game, that have a thick, water-resistant coat, keen sense of smell, and “soft” mouth that does not damage game. Retrievers are 22–24 in. ,'' somewhat like WebCompass, lets you search for Web sites using many of the most popular search engines in one step, rather than testing each one in turn to see what it can tell you. ``Downloader'' automatically monitors Web sites for changes and can download site information for off-line perusal. A ``Web.Max TV'' utility displays recent news headlines. There's also a Web-phone utility (for talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to others on the Web with the same software). Like HotPage, it also offers some password security to protect your saved files. InternetMania (Corel, 800-772-6735, www.corel.com, for Windows, $20) includes an FTP FTP in full file transfer protocol Internet protocol that allows a computer to send files to or receive files from another computer. Like many Internet resources, FTP works by means of a client-server architecture; the user runs client software to connect to utility (for more flexibility than in the rudimentary File Transfer Protocol A communications protocol used to transmit files without loss of data. A file transfer protocol can handle all types of files including binary files and ASCII text files. See Kermit, Zmodem and FTP. workings in most browsers) and a newsgroup newsgroup Internet forum for discussion of specific subjects. Newsgroups are organized into subjects (e.g., automobiles); each typically has several subgroups (e.g., classic cars, Formula One racing cars). reader. There's an off-line Web search utility that's based on the same Lycos listings as CyberSearch, though without an update option. And there are several tools for creating your own home page and Web site. None of these tools is overwhelmingly wonderful, but you get a lot for the money. Starfish Internet Utilities (Starfish Software Starfish was founded in 1994 by Philippe Kahn, best known for his invention of the camera phone and his most recent company Fullpower Technologies. The founding vision of Starfish was global synchronization and integration of wireless and wireline devices, which translated with the , 888-STARFISH, www.starfishsoftware .com, for Navigator or Explorer, for Windows 95 or NT, $40) starts with the ``QuickMarks'' command to organize and even attach icons to bookmarks. It can monitor sites to see if they change, showing you when you might want to drop by for a new look. The ``QuickZip'' utility compresses and decompresses files using the standard ZIP format. You may need this if you're a frequent file downloader. Borrowed from Starfish's EarthTime clock, the ``NetClock'' utility will synchronize See synchronization. your computer clock to the Internet Time In the early days of the public Internet, Internet time referred to the breakneck speed with which companies scrambled to gain traffic and market share on the Web. A new business could come and go within a matter of weeks. Server central clock - cute but probably not vital to most people. The ``NetMeter'' is the most interesting utility in the package, because it can tell you precisely how long you've spent on-line for each of your on-line services. The Netscape PowerPack (Netscape, 415-937-3777, home.netscape.com, on CD or downloaded, for Navigator, for Windows 3.1 or 95, $39.95), contains SmartMarks and other utilities. Norton AntiVirus A popular antivirus program from Symantec. The AntiVirus function is available as a separate product for home and business users or as part of various packages that contain other utilities such as Norton SystemWorks and Norton Internet Security. See Norton Utilities. Internet Scanner does just what its name suggests - protecting you from the danger of contracting a virus from all that enticing free software on-line. CyberSpell will check your spelling within Netscape e-mail messages - protecting you from the danger of looking silly on-line. Netscape Chat will help you waste time typing blather to others on-line, or, more seriously, improve your collaboration with colleagues linked to the Internet. And a collection of 15 ``plug-ins'' adds to Navigator's multimedia abilities, to hear sounds and view 2D and 3D graphics at Web sites. |
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