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This article was published in PC Plus issue 155 (Sep 99), and is reproduced here for information purposes only.

This is the original copy which was sent to the magazine, not the subbed version which appeared on the page. 

paul@paulspages.co.uk
www.paulspages.co.uk

Netscape Communicator 4.6

This is the complete 1-page review, with 803 words of body copy plus screen shots, captions and information panels. The screenshot images have been resized to make them web-friendly, but the copy is exactly as I sent it to the magazine. 

Netscape Communicator 4.6

Netscape Navigator's heyday as the dominant Windows web browser proved all too short-lived, as Microsoft's Internet Explorer hit back with a triple whammy of desktop integration, marketing muscle and, since release 4.0, technical superiority. Today Netscape's Communicator client-side software bundle, which includes Navigator, is number two on the Windows platform, and Netscape Communications is a subsidiary of online giant AOL. Nevertheless, the fight goes on.

                Communicator 4.5 appeared late last year (see review, issue 147). It tidied up version 4.0's confusing email/newsgroup software, used Alexa's online cross-referencing system to power a neat 'related sites' popup menu, and provided IE-style 'smart browsing', which accepted search keywords typed directly into the address bar. However the release did nothing to address Navigator's poor Dynamic HTML support, nor its lack of integrated offline (cached) browsing, two areas where IE4.0 had pulled significantly ahead. 

The new year should see the launch of Communicator 5.0, the first fruit of Netscape's open door development project (see www.mozilla.org). The company's staying tight-lipped about 5.0's contents at the moment, but in the meantime it's launched Communicator 4.6, its first release since the takeover by AOL, and one which will have to stave off Internet Explorer 5.0 for at least the next six months.

Communicator 4.6 is a fairly minor upgrade, downloadable as a 4.8MB patch to release 4.5. The changes are all to the Navigator browser, leaving the Messenger mail/news client and Composer web page editor untouched. Highlights include improved Related Sites menus, Smart Browsing enhancements linked to AOL's Digital City travel-guide site, 56-bit encryption for users outside of the 128-bit North American zone, a range of bug fixes, version 2.0 of AOL's Instant Messenger ICQ-rival, and a bundled copy of RealNetworks RealPlayer G2 streaming multimedia client (in theory, at least). Netscape also claims that its browser beats IE5 on performance. There are, however, no improvements to Navigator's DHTML programming model, nor any offline browsing or other major interface enhancements.

IE5 now has its own Alexa-powered Related Sites feature, but Navigator's is more easily accessible - just press the toolbar button and up pops a list of sites which Alexa's search engine thinks contain similar material to the one you're currently viewing. The new version also shows you site statistics, and a link to the relevant section in Netscape's Open Directory search engine. The new Digital City tie-up is basically a good idea too - type 'New York Restaurants' into Navigator's address bar and you get a page of links to eateries in the Big Apple. Unfortunately it's limited to the USA - try the same with London, and you end up, for some reason, reading about Columbus, Ohio.

                Although Netscape claims to be bundling the MP3-capable RealPlayer G2, its download site gave us an older version. That's not a major problem, as you can download the basic G2 player from www.real.com, although the installation process failed when we tried it. Hopefully everything will be fixed by the time you read this.

Netscape claims that Navigator 4.6 is up to 15 percent faster than IE5 at loading most portal site pages, and 6 percent faster overall on the Web's top 100 sites. In fact it seems faster than that, especially when retrieving from its local cache rather than across the Internet. While IE appears sluggish even when working along its history list, Navigator snaps the pages quickly onto the screen, a trade-off benefit of its simpler cacheing system, which doesn't support IE's offline browsing.

                In other respects, however, offline working - or, to be more accurate, switching between online (connected) and offline states - emerges as a major weak spot in Communicator 4.6. IE5 now has this thoroughly sorted, offering users dial-up connection dialogs whenever it finds itself disconnected and needing online data, and handling connection failures smoothly. Communicator, on the other hand, shows a marked tendency to give up when a dial-up link goes missing, reporting network errors and absent servers.

                Navigator 4.6 is a decent enough browser, but as a competitor to IE5 it just doesn't make the grade - in fact it hasn't even caught up with IE4. It's marginally snappier, but inferior in most other respects, particularly if you use dial-up Internet access, when its lack of offline browsing and clumsy connection handling make a real difference. It's a similar story with the Messenger mail/news application, which is now virtually an Outlook Express clone, but harder to configure, and lacking IE5-level features such as multiple user identities.

                Communicator 4.6 costs nothing, which makes it a 'why not?' addition to the Windows desktop, and useful for browsing the remaining few Netscape-only sites. It also has the Linux field to itself - for now, at least. However Communicator 5.0 will have to be much better than this if AOL/Netscape is to deny Microsoft absolute control of the Windows browser market.

Paul Stephens

[Screen Shots & Captions]

Navigator 4.6's Related Sites menu now has Site Info and Open Directory options. IE5 has a similar feature, but this one's more accessible.

Typing 'New York Restaurants' produces this useful page from AOL's Digital City guide. Shame it doesn't have anything on London (or anywhere else in the UK).

Communicator tends to show this when it should be offering a dial-up networking connection dialog.

Messenger, Communicator's email/newsgroup client, can download address books and settings from a central server - great for roaming users. In other respects, though, it's an Outlook Express clone, and not quite as capable.

[Facts & ratings]

[ENDS]

(C) Paul Stephens 1999. All rights reserved.