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Netscape 6.1
max2010 writes: "Netscape Browser Version 6.1 is released.
Give it a try, grab the 25MByte junk of code for MAC, Unix and Windows at ftp.netscape.com." MSNBC has a brief story about the release.
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Which is fairly nice, actually.. finally, a web browser that can run Java 1.2/1.3 applets "natively", using the simple <applet> html syntax for invocation.
- jon
Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
First off, try 0.9.3-- in my experience, it is definitely faster and more stable than 0.9.2. I've been using Mozilla for a while now and while it used to be true that 4.7 rendered faster than Mozilla, I don't think it is any more. At least on my Windows machine, Mozilla is inching towards the rendering speed of IE-- something Netscape 4 hasn't been able to come close to for quite some time. I'm not sure about my Linux boxes because I don't have Netscape 4 installed on those (Mozilla & Konqueror only).
I'd give Mozilla 0.9.3 before sticking with 4.7-- not only is it prettier but its definitely surpassed 4.7 at this point on stability, speed, and rendering accuracy/quality.
Perl - $Just @when->$you ${thought} s/yn/tax/ &couldn\'t %get $worse;
Well, it uses alot of small .gifs for one thing, But you get a much better picture if you look at the individual packages (which can be downloaded seperatly, so you don't have to get the full 25MB)
browser.xpi = 5.6MB = The main program
jre13i.exe = 7.5MB = Java Runtime Engine
mail.xpi = 1.4MB = Mail program (which isn't standalone btw)
nsrp8.exe = 3.7MB Real Player for netscape
winamp275.exe = 1.6 WinAmp
And another 5MB of 16 smaller packages like PSM, Flash, and spellcheck, many of which are essential like aol's art extention, net2phone, and some plugin for helping identify HP printers.
No "editorial bias" here:
AOL Time Warner released the first final upgrade to its notoriously buggy Netscape 6 browser, promising a smoother and faster ride for Netscape loyalists.
netscape loyalists?
Are they trying to position Netscape users as a bunch of militia members or something? Wait'll we see Rosie attacking Tom Sellick saying we have no right to keep using Netscape.
Beautiful example of objective reporting there.
Branding = AOL/Netscape inspired bookmarks and messenger.
add the AOL messenger in the sidebar, and a dictionary.
oh, and don't forget the product registration and mynetscape account setup. You can bypass the registration, but the myNetscape portal is a nice addition to the browser if only to backup bookmarks and adress book.
"The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
I've seen numerous pieces he's written about Mozilla or Netscape where the facts have been grossly distorted and crucial details have been omitted or the wrong emphasis has been place. And all of this with large amounts of negative spin and sometimes even going as far as to accuse AOL of some major conspiracy or other.
Personally I think he's been slighted by Netscape in the dim and distant past and now he has an axe to grind. Certainly it's not about browsers because I get the distinct impression he would print the same mulch even if Mozilla was by far and away the better browser.
While I won't contest the fact that 6.0 and 6.01 were complete shit, this latest edition does *not* act like beta code. NS6.1 is a real browser, and a serious IE5 competitor, IMHO.
Give it a shot - the integrated AIM alone will be enough to win some favor with a lot of people...
The Free desktop that Just Works
Step one - clear your cache
/.'s front page IE takes about two seconds to get from the top banner ad to the bottom of the page. With Mozilla I can't time it. The whole page just pops up.
Step two - load up the biggest waste of bandwidth page you can find in IE. Make a mental note of the time it took to load the page.
Step three - repeat with Mozilla.
Even with my cable modem there's a marked difference. When I load
And besides, I think Mozilla looks real cool with the Aqua theme I downloaded. Only problem I have is that it freezes when I try to download 78,000 headers from alt.binaries.images.
Samsung took back my unlocked bootloader because Google wants me to rent movies. They're both evil.
IE Already exists for Solaris, in fact I'm running it right now on my Sun Ultra5... Which means Linux is probably around the corner. Whats a better way to compete with Linux than to create products for it? Futher pentrating the market.. Sigh..
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
Its aimed to the great ignorant masses. It hooks in to netscape.com and all of the portal madness that entails.
Its fluffier than mozilla, and unlike mozilla, it won't expire in 30 days, asking for you to download the newest nightly. Yes, i know, it IS mozilla, but its mozilla with a AOL facelift.
You or i will use mozilla, and will probably get violent if someone tried to force us to use netscape ( i went from 4.x to mozilla about 3 months ago in linux and windows), but there are a lot of simpletons who like a browser they can understand.
BTW did you see the advertisment? "Less confusing! Less buttons!"
I think that sums it up.
Mention "Netscape Navigator" to Joe Internetuser and he might have a clue as to what you're babbling about. "Mozilla", while sporting an infinitely cooler name, doesn't have nearly as much recognition. Your average user might be willing to try Netscape because they at least know the name, but why should they try Mozilla? Most people don't know (or care) about the connection between the two.
For us geek types, Mozilla is the way to go. But it's important that Netscape stick around, making these releases, so that the rabble can remember there ARE alternative to the great AIEEE!!
End of lesson. You may press the button.
Does anyone know what build of Mozilla this is based on?
--
"Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos." - Homer Simpson [1F10]
Final upgrade to buggy version 6
The release isn't a beta. The article itself mentions that the beta came out in June. Strange that MSNBC would miss a tiny detail like that. :)
Lasers Controlled Games!
Well, alright, Netscape 6.1 has been released. Isn't it much more worthy to keep tracking Mozilla's nightly builds though? I'd rather use it, since Netscape is based on it, and it's code is open, after all.
25 Megs _is_ rather amazing, especially considering the Mozilla release it's based on (v0.9.2) is only 8.32Meg in size (for the Windows version).
Weird.
I'll be sticking with Mozilla v0.9.3 for now, thanks, though I _do_ wish they'd speed up the bookmarks manager by at _least_ an order of magnitude (at _least_!). Definite bookmark weirdness in v0.9.3 for me (on Windows).
Note that the article was written by Paul Festa of CNET News.com. As soon as I read that article yesterday on CNET (about the upcoming release, with the same wording), I sent him a letter and CC'd Jai Singh (Editor-in-Chief) about it.
Paul Festa has been, throughout the browser wars, firmly on the side of Microsoft. At least, that's the opinion you tend to get after reading his articles.
He also has no memory of history. Here is an excerpt from my letter to him:
Let CNET know you don't like his biased reporting by emailing their editors.
And just so you don't think I'm some crazy, "Netscape loyalist," I actually use MSIE throughout the day and like it.
"And like that
Netscape comes with plugins, Mozilla doesn't. Big deal for a slashdotter? No. For your average user? Yes.
Why do I keep typing pythong?
I mistakenly signed up for NetCenter years ago. Never thought too much about it until AOL bought them out. At that point, I wanted OUT by the most direct route possible. Heh.
Every month they sent me stuff I didn't want. Mostly drivel, but hardly unsolicited - I mean, I did sign up for it, right? Opt-out time. Yeah, right. I basically sent them 4 or 5 emails a week asking to be taken off their "membership" list. They ignored each and every one. Not to mention that the "Unsubscribe" link on the NutCenter page absolutely never worked, either. I resorted to flaming away at them. I cursed them out and called them every filthy name in the book. I harvested emai addresses from their site and cc'ed every name I had. Multiple times a week!
No response. Then after a couple of "warnings" that my account had expired, it all finally ceased. And that, my friends, is about the closest I ever want to be to *anything* even remotely connected to AOL.
As for the "Why Netscape instead of Mozilla?" group, there are advantages to using a mildly invasive, "shrink-wrapped" piece of software. The fact that it's official Netscape means that customers have a single and (usually) definative source of help and information in the form of Netscape themselves. While Mozilla has Bugzilla and on-line forums, that's not all that appealing to those who view themselves more as "casual computer users" than "participants in the community." And again, this is something the corporate types prefer.
So before you jump down Netscape's throat for releasing this, remember that not everybody is a Free software junkie. Personally, I wish they released this update sooner, and I think it will be interesting to see how Mozilla vs. Netscape works out. This could be the definative closed-source vs. open-source competition, with about as even a playing field between the two as you're going to get.
Anybody know if they re-released their spell checker so I can use mozilla again for email?
In a way, AOL/Netscape had to release v6.1 Right Now (TM), since IE 6 is going to be released next Wednesday This isn't to say that I don't like Netscape, though -- I download the Mozilla daily builds every day..
Alex Bischoff
HTML/CSS coder for hire
TheFrood
If you say "I'll probably get modded down for this..." then I will mod you down.
Furthermore, why was the open-sourcing of Netscape a "failure"? It was a *difficult* task, and the first of it's kind. To say that it was easy or that it's clearly the road to take for all other commercial freeware is obviously not the case, but a failure? Not in the least! Have you tried Netscape 6.1? Give it a shot, a serious try, and then try to tell me it's a "failure".
The Free desktop that Just Works
This, one key feature, points to something I haven't seen mentioned, yet.
It looks like this is a migration tool to move AOL users from an IE based AOL client to one based on Netscape (Mozilla) code. Is Netscape's ability to read AOL email confirmation of something only suspected prior to this release?
"I'm The Bounty Bear. I will find him anywhere. I'm searching."
about the meaning of the words "Open Source".
Answer me two questions.
1) How did Netscape benifit from Open-Sourcing their code?
2) How did the Open-Source community benifit from the Open-Sourcing of Netscape?
[Note: Before you mention Galeon, remember that it was born in response to the poor performace of earlier Mozilla builds.]
I think carrying the burdon of the Open-Source initiative was why the development processed has dragged on as it has. Do you remember the first couple of builds? Is it possible that they would have made more progress without this burdon?
Don't get me wrong (again), I am quite pro-Open-Source and manage two 100+ dl/month OSS codebases myself. I'm simply stating the fact that in the case of Netscape, it turned out to be a poor example of why companies should Open-Source and share their code. Companies should share this code in the name of progress but they should be more sophisticated about how.