10 Days With The Netscape Navigator 9.0 Web Browser - Review [UPDATED]
Last week Netscape released the first release candidate of Netscape Navigator 9.0 for Mac OS X. I downloaded it, and I'm glad I did. After over a week of running it on both my 17" PowerBook and my G4-upgraded Pismo PowerBook this is now my favorite of the browsers that share the Mozilla.org Gecko /Firefox browser engine, which include Firefox itself of course, Mac-only Camino, the SeaMonkey suite browser, Netscape 9.0, and a gaggle of third-party specialty browsers like Flock, Sunrise, and others that use the Open Source Gecko architecture.
Of course I had already said Netscape 9.0 was going to be my favorite Gecko back in June when Netscape released the first version 9.0 public beta. I loved the interface appearance and the feature set. As I noted in my Gecko browser shoot-out "Which Gecko Browser Will Suit You Best? - Firefox, Netscape Navigator, Camino, or SeaMonkey?" last June, unfortunately, a bug reared its ugly head that for some reason made my dial-up Internet connection slow down to a worm's pace whenever Netscape 9.0 was running, not just for this application, but for all Internet programs, and this phenomenon, which has yet to be explained, persisted through the first three Netscape 9.0 public betas. It may have been something unique to my particular setup (the phenomenon was observed on two separate computers), but whatever, I'm delighted to report that there hasn't been a sign of this problem in Netscape 9.0 RC1.
In fact, this version seems to have been injected with a dose of elixir de lapin, or more accurately perhaps, elixir de latest version of Firefox, but in any case it's a really speedy browser, relatively speaking. Definitely feels livelier than also Gecko-based SeaMonkey 1.1.3 in informal back-to-back page loads, and SeaMonkey is no slouch.
The following announced changes have been made in version RC1 since Beta 3 was released in mid August:
- Added splash screen
- Fixed formatting bug in Mac license
- Fixed a bug that was preventing custom background colors
- Mini-browser enhancements
- Removed social news integration
- Exposed more preferences in the Preference Dialog for tabs and the mini-browser
- Fixed reversed preference for opening searches in new tab
- Fixed Mac bundle signature
- Fixed default icon and file associations
- Moved custom FTP style out of userContent.css
- Added URL correction preferences to Advanced Preferences page
- Added drop-down menu to print button
- Added drop-down menu to home button
- Added Firefox profile importing
- Added support for importing Netscape 8 bookmarks after the initial install
- Fixed theme issues on Linux
- Fixed truncation of Reload button label
- Fixed bugs with URL correction and country codes
- Added "Save to Linkpad" option to History context menu
No mention of speed tweaks, but it certainly is speedy.
I still love the interface. The new splash screen is very attractive, and reaches back to the early Classic Netscape graphics. I prefer Netscape’s Interface appearance to that of all the other Geckos, even the very Mac-like Camino. Yes, you can "skin" Firefox, but that's a level of complication I'd rather not cumber myself with. The Netscape 9 interface is clean and pleasant, and I like the smaller rendering of the navigation icons, et al., which leaves more room for content without scrolling. The appearance theme is attractively and tastefully retro as well in traditional Netscape green, which is a shade that appeals to me, and I especially appreciate some little touches, such as the Weatherbug weather readout that appears (by default, you can move it to a variety of configurations) in the lower right hand corner of the browser window.
I’m a weather-hound, so this constant weather monitor is right up my alley. You can choose to display the current weather for any location with a weather station listed in WeatherBug’s extensive database, which can be searched by clicking the little “?” icon beside the readout. For me, the closest (weather-wise) listed location I found was Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is 150 miles distant but gets roughly the same weather we do here, albeit usually a couple or so hours earlier. Anyway, it’s a cool little addition to the browser.
In a more practical vein, there is also a sensibly-rendered progress bar - another small thing, but so may browsers have dorky progress bars, the ones in Safari and Opera being prima facie examples.
Netscape Navigator 9 is based on Mozilla Firefox 2, whereas Netscape 6 and 7 were based on the Mozilla Application Suite, so unlike its predecessors, version 9 has no email or HTML authoring modules. If you need or want that functionality, SeaMonkey SeaMonkey 1.1.x, also now based on Firefox 2 technology, is is your ideal contemporary solution. The Opera browser also includes an email client module. Netscape's Website says they are currently working on a companion mail/news client to complement the Navigator browser, which will of course be a "Netscaped" clone of Mozilla's Thunderbird standalone email client companion to Firefox. I’m a consummate Eudora fan, so I never really used the Messenger module in old Netscape anyway and if just a good HTML-savvy text editor for Web authoring, http://www.nvu.com/ NVU is an Open Source solution that is actually spun off the old Composer module in Netscape. As with other recent versions, Netscape Navigator 9 however does incorporate support for AOL Instant Messenger, and other AOL-related features.
For some reason that I find odd, there has been a fair bit of dismissive hostility expressed on the Mac Web about Netscape re-entering the Mac browser market. Perhaps there's residual resentment over their having abandoned the Mac with version 8, but they're certainly not the first software developer to leave the Mac platform for a while and then return. It's also been suggested that there are plenty of good mac OS X browsers, so why do we need another one? Well, in terms of *need,* we probably don't, but IMHO there is room for another OS X browser, especially one as nice as this one with some innovative features not available on any other browser.
I've always been a Netscape fan, and Netscape version 7.x remains my favorite among the few reasonably current browsers that still work with the Classic Mac OS, so I'm delighted that Netscape has decided to support OS X.
So what else does Netscape offer that would attract users away from, say, Firefox or Camino?
New stuff In Navigator 9
Visual Refresh
As noted above, Netscape Navigator 9's theme has been updated to save screen-space and leave more room for the websites you visit.
URL Correction
Navigator 9 will automatically correct common typos in URLs. For example, if you accidentally type googlecom, Navigator will fix it be to google.com. The browser will watch for nearly 30 different types of common mistakes and correct them for you (asking you to confirm, if you choose to enable confirmation). This will be a boon to sloppy, non-touch typists like me.
News Menu and Sidebar
A newsreader is built right into the browser, under the News menu, so you can keep current on important stuff like the latest on Paris Hilton sampling the simple life in the crowbar hotel. The news feed is provided by Netscape.com, and you can customize the menu to contain only the news categories you want to monitor. You can also keep the News sidebar open to always keep an eye on "what's happening."
Link Pad
The Link Pad is a new sidebar feature that allows you to save links/URLs that you want to visit later without cluttering your bookmarks. Just drag a link over the Link Pad status bar icon and drop it to save it in the Link Pad. By default, clicking on an item in the Link Pad will open it in the browser and remove it from the list, saving you the step of deleting it. I really like this feature, as it is a pain to have to go rooting around in the Bookmarks manager to delete URLs that you only wanted to return to once.
In-browser voting
The icons in the Navigator address bar let you share interesting stories you find and vote on stories shared by others. Not a biggie for me, as I have plenty of other outlets for airing my opinions, but this feature harmonizes with Netscape's current emphasis on social networking
Extension Compatibility
Since Navigator 9 shares its architecture and browser engine with the latest Mozilla technologies; Navigator 9 supports extensions that are compatible with Firefox 2. I'm not a big user of extensions, but if you're a fan, then Netscape 9 will accommodate you with the vast inventory of Firefox extensions.
Sidebar Mini Browser
You've always been able to have bookmarks open in the sidebar, but this functionality has been enhanced in Netscape 9 and extended it to all links, not just bookmarks. There is also a new navigation toolbar to the sidebar for easier split-screened browsing. Just right-click on a link and select "Open Link in Sidebar" to get started.
Restart Netscape
Restart Netscape (aka Session Restore) You can now restart Navigator (and keep your current tabs intact) by selecting "Restart Navigator" from the File menu. Unfortunately, this feature still doesn't match Session Restore in Camino (or Opera) that can be configured to load the last session after an ordinary quit and restart.
Resizable Text area
Drag the bottom-right corners of text fields in forms to add more typing space. Most convenient. I found that it works nicely on some Web page form fields; not at all on others, but it's nice to have.
Tab History
Opening a link in a new tab will give the new tab the same history as the source tab for a more seamless tabbed browsing experience.
OPML Support
Netscape Navigator supports importing and exporting your bookmarks in OPML, a popular format for sharing lists of newsfeeds.
Throbber
The Netscape 7-style throbber is back. Click on it any time to visit Netscape.com. Not something I'll use a lot, but a minor convenience
Combined Stop/Reload button
To save space in your toolbar, Netscape has combined the stop and reload buttons. Because you never need both at the same time, the toolbar will only show the relevant half of the pair. Less complication is usually a good thing
Friends' Activity Sidebar
If you are a member at Netscape.com, you can keep tabs on what your friends find interesting. This sidebar lets you view your friends latest votes, comments, and story submissions. More of that social networking emphasis. Not something I'm into, but if you are, this is a handy feature.
Sitemail Notification
This icon will sport an exclamation point when you have new Netscape.com sitemail messages waiting for you.
In summary, Netscape 9 does have enough distinctiveness to more than justify its entry into the OS X browser spectrum. It’s a really nice browser, but it’s of course short of perfection. One downside for Mac users is that it doesn't support Cocoa features, notably OS X Services, so if that capability is important to you, Cocoa-based Camino is your default choice among the Mozilla Gecko browsers. Netscape Navigator RC1 is pretty nicely tucked and folded, is now my number one workhorse browser until further notice, and I'm eagerly anticipating the final release.
Release notes:
http://browser.netscape.com/releasenotes/
Minimum System Requirements
PowerPC G3 processor
128 MB of RAM
75 MB of free disk space
Mac OS X 10.2.x
Recommended Configuration
PowerPC G4 or Intel processor
512 MB of RAM
150 MB of free disk space
Netscape 9.0 is freeware
For more information, visit:
http://www.netscape.com/tag/netscape+navigator
Download:
http://browser.netscape.com/downloads
Charles W. Moore
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