Microsoft vs. Netscape

Internet Explorer 6.0 vs. older releases

For: Windows. (Versions for Mac and Windows 3.x are also available, but lack some features listed in this review.)
Pros: Pages load faster than from within Communicator. Java performance is considerably faster than Netscape's -- but Sun is complaining that Microsoft is not adhering to the official Java spec. Better interface, better integrated with Windows and more customizable settings. Fully supports Microsoft IntelliMouse.
Cons: Pop-up window management inferior to that of Netscape 7.01. Can't easily see dimensions of GIF or JPG graphics. Security issues are common and frequently critical in nature.

If you have ever surfed the web, chances are good you've used a browser by Netscape or Microsoft. Now, both companies have updated and enhanced their products. But are the new features must-have additions... or just more code bloat for functions you'll never need? In this article, we'll look at the all-important usability factor of the new browsers and see how they compare... and how they fare when compared against older releases.

Internet Explorer has evolved quite a bit since the first few editions, and versions prior to 5.5 are no longer well supported by Microsoft and suffer from very serious security problems, not the least of which can allow hostile code to arbitrarily be executed, simply by visiting a web page. The 6.0 release, first previewed at Microsoft's Forum 2000 keynote by Bill Gates in June, 2000, effectively addresses this issue, although numerous other security glitches -- not all of which, at this writing, have been addressed, are known to exist. Most recently, Microsoft has been pushing XML, so IE 5.0 and newer releases have support for this emerging standard.

Generally, IE works well -- provided that you follow Microsoft's recommendation and uninstall any betas before installing the release (This is important!).

Some people may prefer not to be on the leading edge. Those who are still using an older version should at least update to version 5.5. This release fixed almost all of the JavaScript and security shortcomings of the 4.0 and 5.0 releases, except IE's propensity to fail to access some FTP sites that Netscape's browser can handle. The much-ballyhooed "Shell integration" mode (essentially, a Windows 98 look-alike desktop for Windows 95 and NT 4 users), optionally available in the 4.0 release, was discontinued in subsequent releases, as this feature was integrated into Windows 98 and newer OSes.

Also, the Channels features and full-screen "kiosk" mode were an aspect of 4.0 that apparently didn't appeal to many people -- they were hidden by default in the 5.0 release. IE 4 shipped with a large number of predefined channels, ranging from news to movie previews. Also new was "Microsoft Connection Manager" -- basically, a reworked version of OSR2's dial-up status monitor.

Gone from IE5, as well, are several other aspects of this "shell integration" mode, such as the pie-chart views of the free space on your drives in Windows 95's "My Computer" window -- almost identical to those seen in Windows 98. Both IE 4 and IE 5, however, include a View menu option that gives you additional info about your control panels, drives and other system documents.  IE5 also added an instant messaging feature and other new attributes described in more detail elsewhere in this section.

Presumably, Microsoft removed the Shell Integration option in IE5.0 and 5.5 as an incentive for Windows 95 users to upgrade to Windows 98, and NT users to jump to Windows 2000, which supply these features as part of the OS.

This is probably the secret of why IE loads Web pages so quickly -- the bulk of the browser is already pre-loaded into the operating system, so page open without fanfare -- and they load very, very quickly.

Internet Explorer 4.0's "Shell integration mode" dramatically improves the functionality of the Windows 95/NT toolbar. For starters, any folder or Internet address can be configured as a new toolbar (just click in a blank area of the toolbar, press the right mouse button and choose "Toolbars>New Toolbar..."). Also, you can drop virtually any file you want onto a toolbar, and IE4 automatically adds an icon. Then, you can drag and drop documents onto these toolbar icons to automatically open them.

Also new on the IE4 toolbar was a Channels button, which can automatically deliver "pushed" content. We may be in the minority, but we hate pushy behavior. Speaking of which....

Microsoft continues to aggressively push its vision of an integrated, "all Microsoft" environment. Clicking the Edit button on the IE4 toolbar loaded Microsoft Word 97, despite the fact that we had Allaire's HomeSite, Hot Dog Pro, Corel WordPerfect 8 and several other text editors registered with the OS, and had most recently been using HomeSite to edit HTML pages. Toi its credit, however, the company provides an automatic conversion of email messages and addresses from Outlook 97 or IE 3.0's Mail client. Netscape bookmarks are also automatically converted.

Mimicking the Windows "Explore" mode, IE4 allows you to view web pages in a similar framed fashion. This pays off in the Search function, which keeps your search subject on the left, while displaying results on the right. In IE4, this framed approach is also available when viewing History, Favorites and Channels, as well. Like almost everything else in the program, the framed Search window is an optional feature that may be controlled via an Options setting.

The IE4 Active Desktop crashes that plagued us in the PR2 version are gone from the final version. An Active Setup option allows additional components to be easily added. Overall, reliability was better than that of Netscape's browser. The Windows integration mode offers options to hide or show icons, open files with a single or double-click (once you've become used to single-clicking, it's hard to go back!), turn desktop applets on or off, and so on. The integration mode environment is entirely optional and can be turned off temporarily or uninstalled completely using the Add/Remove Control Panel, if desired. If you like Windows the way it was, you can configure it as such.

Alternatively, the browser offers a full-screen kiosk mode, in which the menu bar appears only when the mouse is in its vicinity. Elsewhere, a single scroll bar down the right side of the page is the only adornment.

In Kiosk mode, your Windows 95/NT desktop is replaced by a full-screen view of any web page you choose. (a simple mouse-click in the upper-right corner of the screen brings it back). This is a great way to view web pages. You can also set this toolbar to auto-hide, much as the standard Windows 95/NT toolbar can be configured. Other new IE4 features, such as the "Desktop" icon on the toolbar and the ability to hide any window with a single click on the corresponding application or document window's toolbar icon, also help manage the clutter of multiple windows and icons on the typical Windows user's desktop.

Taking a page from Windows CE, Internet Explorer 4.0 allows any window to be minimized or maximized with a single mouse-click. However, what is perhaps IE4's most compelling feature is its sheer speed. In Web integration mode, web pages load almost instantly and, indeed, Internet Explorer itself appears in less than a second. This is because it is, in effect, already loaded, but who cares?

IE 4 makes excellent use of the wheel on the Microsoft IntelliMouse. One of the best features appears when you click the "wheel button" on the mouse. An icon appears where you clicked on the web page, and you can then smoothly scroll through the contents at any speed. Alternatively, you can scroll line by line by rotating the wheel on the IntelliMouse.

The Email and News services included with IE4 closely resemble Microsoft's Outlook. Dubbed Outlook Express, the IE4 components have one big advantage over their Office 97 cousin: They are much faster. Best of all, you can easily migrate your email messages from an existing program like Eudora or Netscape Mail.

IE4's news reader displays Quick Tips in a frame on the screen, much as Startup tips are displayed in recent versions of MS Office or many other programs. Both the Mail and News functions offer filtering and anti-spam functions. Overall, we prefer Netscape's News reader, but Microsoft's email client. (It's worth mentioning that MSN users cannot use this email client, as Microsoft's own ISP service inexplicably still does not support POP3 mail services.)

IE4 contains the fix to the bug that made headlines worldwide when it was shown that Internet Explorer 3.01 was susceptible to a bug that allowed links to remote applications -- including those on your own hard drive -- to be accessed by users anywhere on the web. Instead of blindly opening the file, as IE3.01 did, IE3.02 and IE4 present a dialog box.

Microsoft's Dynamic HTML, unfortunately, is not the same as Netscape's dialect (a situation we sincerely hope is resolved ASAP), but in our tests of both, it seems safe to say that Microsoft's is both easier to program and more capable.

Internet Explorer 5.2 for Macintosh features Dynamic HTML support comparable to that in IE4 for Win95 and NT, plus a number of features not found in the Windows release, including a tabbed bookmarks feature similar to that found in Netscape 7. The current Mac version supports Active Channels (and can use the ones created for the Windows release -- developers do not need to create a separate Mac version), but ships without the preconfigured channels accompanying the Windows version. Also, the Mac version lacks the Desktop integration feature of the Windows release. HTML rendering is not the same as that of the windows releases and is, in fact, generally considered to more accurately reflect current W3C consortium standards. Web authors should be sure to check web pages on multiple browsers, in order to ensure cross-platform compatibility.

Netscape 7.0x vs. earlier releases
Netscape Communicator 4.01 marked the initial release of Netcaster, Netscape's implementation of a "Webtop" interface for "pushed" content. This feature, it was originally hoped, would appeal to those who don't like to mix up their OS and their web browser as much as Microsoft's offering does. However, pushed content never really caught on, and Netscape underwent dramatic changes after the 4.7x versions were released to lacklustre consumer interest. Netscape lost much of its market share and eventually released its source-code to the open source community, where subsequent versions of the "Mozilla" browser showed up for a variety of platforms, and in a number of other forms. The code was almost completely rewritten after the 4.7 release, and Netscape 7, based on the new "gecko" rendering engine, is once again gaining attention as a viable alternative to Internet Explorer.

Galeon (Linux), Chimera (Mac) and Phoenix (Windows/Linux) are just three of the most popular browsers based in part of heavily customized Mozilla code. Phoenix, in particular, is worth checking out, if you are interested in an ultra-fast web browser, lacking much of the bloat that ultimately led many to become dissatisfied with Netscape Communicator.

Pros: Built-in FTP client can access sites that IE cannot reach. Better JavaScript implementation than that in Microsoft's browser results in fewer error message dialogs. TrueDoc support allows precise font control. Improved plug-in and automatic update support. Optional Netcaster feature adds "push" and "webtop" features.

Cons: 4.7x tended to crash more frequently than IE releases, lacked numerous page-rendering features found in IE. CSS implementation, while improved over 4.0 releases, is inferior to IE's. Lacks support for HTML 4.0 and later specs. Version 6.0 was, in many ways, an even more disappointing release -- very buggy, and notoriously sluggish. Subsequent 6.x releases improved the situation and, by 6.2, Netscape was back on track. The 7.0.1 release is considered by many the best version yet.

"Popup Window Controls" are turned off by default in Netscape 7.01, but users can turn the feature on and change the list of excepted sites under the "Privacy & Security" category of their "Preferences" file, under the browser's "Edit" menu.

Netscape Communicator continues to offer an number of conveniences not available in Internet Explorer, such as the ability to easily determine the size of a graphic in pixels, open a frame or a graphic in a new window, and view images from within its newsgroup client.

While we prefer Communicator's built-in web authoring functionality (previously available as part of the Navigator "Gold" package), we find it disconcerting that long-standing bugs, such as the program's propensity to crash when items are cut-and-pasted into tables, remain unresolved. However, while few HTML mavens would choose Communicator over a standalone web-page editor, its functions are, for the most part more elegantly implemented than those in IE4's FrontPad -- essentially the editor section of the FrontPage 97 package.

Email in Communicator is considerably improved over previous releases and poses a formidable threat to dedicated packages such as Eudora and Claris Emailer. Frankly, we prefer Netscape's offering over both of these; Microsoft's Outlook Express is arguably superior in interface and approximately at par in features. Spam filtering, automatic re-routing and other advanced features are available in both the Netscape and Microsoft packages, but what set's Netscape's Mail apart is its elegant handling of attachments. A paperclip icon signals one or more attachments; a click on this icon reveals the files. Tiny arrows in the window's border allows the viewing area (essentially, a frame) to be shown or hidden, and other functions are both sensibly implemented and easy to find. Like IE4, Communicator provides an "accept no cookies" option.

Cookies, those sneaky mechanisms by which websites can tell if -- and when -- you've visited before, are elegantly handled by both IE4 and Communicator. A dialog allows you to effectively deal with them or disable them entirely.

Security continues to be a major concern for web surfers, and a source of grief for both Netscape and Microsoft, as hackers and researchers the world over continue to find loopholes in browser security. The good news is, both companies have moved quickly to plug security breaches and fix bugs. Netcaster's installer cautions the user if a Java applet is "requesting unusual access" to their computer or network.

The VRML viewer formerly bundled with the full version of Communicator (and easily installable into the base installation via Netscape's JAR automatic update system) was superior to the one in IE4 in a few ways: It supported embedded MIDI files in VRML worlds and offered better support of Java and audio extensions, not to mention the proprietary WebFX/Live3D extensions that Netscape acquired when it bought Paper Software in 1995. Unfortunately, this viewer is no longer offered. We recommend Parallel Graphics' Cortona for those seeking VRML compatibility.

Conclusion
Netscape version 7.x is a worthwhile upgrade for Netscape fans, however, some web pages exploit features present only in IE that can make Netscape users feel like second-class citizens on these improperly crafted websites. There are, however, still some users likely to prefer Netscape's tabbed browser interface or cross-platform code base.

Even with its web/desktop integration features disabled (as easy as a couple of clicks and a restart), IE4 quickly became our favorite web browser, and when 5.0 came out, we, like the majority of other users on the Web, switched for good. Windows-based Netscape users looking for a superior web browsing experience should check out IE, although those with slower computers will probably want to turn off the "Active Desktop," as this feature slows down screen redrawing slightly and may confuse some users with the changes in the desktop and mouse functionality.

Nevertheless, at this stage of the game, a few issues notwithstanding, Microsoft holds the upper hand in both functionality and, for the most part, elegance. It's no surprise that Netscape's long-held dominant market position was eventually usurped.

For Further Reading

• Macinstruct: Netscape 6 Sucks!