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From...
Test-surfing the new Navigator
July 22, 1998
Web posted at: 4:30 PM EDT
by Paul Heltzel
(IDG) -- What do you want to do today? How about downloading almost 13MB worth of Netscape browser over your painfully slow modem? Not your idea of fun? Not ours either. So when the first beta of Communicator 4.5 showed up Thursday, we thought it better be good to put our patience to that kind of test.
Our first look at this version shows a few nice improvements, but also more than enough bugs to slow you down.
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Netscape says Preview Release 1 has been through an extended private beta testing period before its release to the public. But expect the usual hang-ups with this release; it crashed a handful of times over our two days of casual browsing. The browser now includes a feedback feature that automatically sends a report of your crash. If this feature offends your right-to-privacy sensibilities, you can uncheck a box during installation to turn it off.
So what else is new? Netscape pulled out Collabra discussion group features and folded them into the Messenger e-mail client where they belong. The e-mail interface now has a third pane that lets you see your folders in one pane, your messages in another, and a message-content preview in the third.
The suite is now 12.7MB instead of 16MB, thanks to the removal of Collabra, the Netcaster push client, and the Conference whiteboarding tool. Thumbs up to Netscape for this move.
An earlier version we looked at didn't have the Smart Browsing features Netscape has been touting. One of these features, keyword searching, works well despite my initial skepticism. For instance, typing in Salvation Army brings up http://www.salvation-army.com/. Pretty neat.
Also new is a related links feature. During your hunt for information, a "What's Related" button generates a list of recommended sites related to the one you're viewing. Navigator pulls the links from a database provided by its Netcenter service. I found this feature most helpful with big-name sites, like car makers or well-known magazines, but predictably, it didn't have any recommendations for a number of the lesser-known sites I visited.
Who should download this browser? Early adopters who are curious to see the Smart Browsing features. Pass if you're already using Communicator 4.05, which is more stable. Finally, if you're an Internet Explorer 3 or 4 user, and you're comfortable with your browser's features and stability, stay put.