A browser renaissance
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Until recently the choice of competent browsers was fairly limited,between the sublime (the rock-solid and speedy but text-only Like many others, I've been waiting for ages to dump my Netscape browser,which has a 50/50 chance of freezing on any Web page containing Java. Itlooks like we are about to be rewarded for our patience. The reward is not, however, the new Netscape 6. Everyone seems tohave their own reason for hating it -- some for its Of course, unless you've been under a rock for two years, you know thatNetscape 6 is based on the Mozillaopen source chassis. Mozilla has been developing a fully functionalbrowser in parallel with Netscape. Now available at But to me, Mozilla wants to do too much on -- and to -- your desktop.Sorry, but I don't think we need to reinvent the wheel. Linux desktops arealready plentiful and of good quality. How about something that works withan existing environment rather than trying to replace it? Nimble browsers Desktop integration One thing's for certain: You have plenty of options for Web surfing. Thosewho like tight integration between browser and desktop can have it; thosewho don't have plenty of useful alternatives. And that's good -- as we'veseen so often in the world of open source, one size need not fit all. Which browser model do you prefer? Tell Evan in the TalkBack below or inthe
Open source software invites developers to dive in to address weaknesses.Browsers such as Galeon andSkipStone have jettisonedthe mail-reading and page-making
In the open source space, Microsoft's practice of integrating Web servicestightly into the desktop environment, rather than just sitting on top ofit, has more appeal than many would like to admit. I suspect the mostpopular model to be adopted in the open source world will -- horror! --follow in Microsoft's path.Two examples of this model, which I'll cover more closely in a futurepiece, are KDE's Konqueror andEazel's Nautilus. These appshave the potential to make separate third-party Web browsers as redundantin the open source world as they already are in the Windows world.
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