May '00 Headlines

Netscape software used to stand as the `standard` for Internet browsing. Being ran by an independent entity, programmers from the Silicon Valley, and the utilization `then-modern` features in the software, this browsing suite was definitely in a league of its own (in terms of performance). Microsoft would later introduce Internet Explorer in the early portion of the 90's, creating cross-browser competition.

Eventually, Netscape would sell out to America Online (the Internet service for morons), and surprisingly the browser would eventually lag behind Internet Explorer's more useful features throughout the mid-and-late Nineties.^*

With Microsoft's operating systems running 90% of the world's PCs, it would make sense Internet Explorer would work better when under the Windows environment. Plug-ins for media, certain HTML tags for webpages, the integration of MS Outlook, and transparent "connection" with Windows Explorer makes the IE software superior to the Netscape suite in almost any aspect.

With these thoughts in mind, we here at CALROG.COM decided to test the latest Netscape 6 PR1 anyways (the latest release)-- we wanted to check if it would compare to Internet Explorer in any realm, and somehow surprise us.

The only impressive feature with "Preview-Version 6" was the revamped GUI. It does look a bit more flashy than the old Netscape 4.x interface, styling blue sheik sidebars. However, we were unable to test Version 6 fully, because we were constantly prompted for registration and personal information. This is very pathetic how AOL tries to force demographic information out of an individual; not to mention the fact the browser won't fully run until information is provided.

Being that CALROG.COM is anti-AOL, we decided to use false information in the registration process. However, someone else beat us to the punch with our false user name. We tried again with another fake user ID, and for the next 45 minutes, we were told the server was busy. At this point, we gave up. It's not really worth the agony to register for an unnecessary browser, let alone give Steve Case any sort of demographics: be it true or false information.

The registration problems alone will probably cause consumers some virtual headaches. Even if legit individuals try to register with their vital information, they could plausibly put on the `busy` alert prompt. Go figure. Netscape, the once king of the browser corridor, has now slipped to substandard levels.

Hopefully, they can prove us wrong with the official release of Netscape 6, but here at CALROG.COM, we highly doubt this will happen.

* (We are not trying to promote Microsoft as a superior software company, just the fact that Netscape software is not up to par with IE.)

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