News junkies, here's another war you can worry about: the Browser War.
Lastest news from the front:
Tiny Netscape Communications, the ruler of Webland, has launched its counterattack against the mighty armies of Microsoft Corp.
Two weeks ago, Microsoft invaded Webland with Internet Explorer 3.0, a new Web browser that many say is better than Netscape's Navigator 2.0. Microsoft gained a quick beachhead in Webland by not only by giving away Explorer, but throwing in free subscriptions to web journals such as Wall Street Journal Interactive, MTV and ESPN's SportsZone.
Computer magazines have been raving over Explorer, and Microsoft says more than a million copies have been downloaded from its Web site (http:// www.microsoft.com/ie) - not bad, considering that Explorer 3.0 is currently available only for Windows 95 and NT. It's also a 5.8-megabyte download, far from free if you're paying by the hour for Web time.
Monday, Netscape unleashed Navigator 3.0 (http://home.netscape.com), which includes a secret weapon: Internet Inbox.
This technology will allow sites to e-mail Web pages directly to users - opening up whole new possibilities for online magazines and junk mail.
Netscape has a stellar lineup of news providers to offer Inbox service, including The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com), Sony Music (http://www.music.sony.com), American Express (http://www.americanexpress.com) and Times Mirror magazines (Sporting News, Skiing, Golf, Yachting).
And Navigator 3.0 is available for all Windows and Mac computers.
Setting new standard
Netscape is still a bit cocky, requiring $49 for the privilege of using Navigator over the free Explorer. If you want it with manuals, the cost is $59, and for $66, you get Navigator and a year's worth of upgrades - probably a good buy if the browser wars continue apace.
How do the two compare? The casual user probably would not see much difference, other than the shape of the buttons in the toolbar. The real differences lie under the skin.
The browser war is really a race to incorporate into each browser all the glitzy technologies that are found on Web sites these days: Java scripts, 3D graphics, animation, audio and frames (which cut your browser window up into smaller windows).
Netscape, which has dominated the Web for two years, set many of these standards, and Microsoft has been busy catching up, while trying to develop a few Web standards of its own.
Much of this technology is added to the browser through plug-ins, programs that run with the main browser program. Navigator 3.0 wins the battle of available plug-ins (since it has been around longer) and has better support for Java scripts.
Microsoft, however, has the home-field advantage on Windows computers and plans to incorporate Explorer into future releases of Windows.
More choices available
Explorer could establish links between the programming at Web sites and the Windows operating system - which could make some future sites faster or better on a Windows machine.
Almost forgotten in all this Web warfare are all the other browsers out there. According to Browserwatch (http://www.browserwatch.com), there are more than 60 browsers logging into Web servers these days. Netscape still controls the market (about 80 percent in recent surveys), but there are many folks out there using America Online's browser, NetCom's NetCruiser, or IBM's WebExplorer for OS - 2.
And Apple Computer recently released Cyberdog, a web browser with links into the Macintosh operating system (http:// www.cyberdog.apple.com). This should make the Internet easier for Mac users, since e-mail, ftp and Web surfing becomes part of the desktop.
As the name implies, Cyberdog can help you track and fetch things from the Internet, just as the Mac's ''recent applications'' and ''recent documents'' features allow you to keep track of your work.
Cyberdog 1.1 can be downloaded free from the Apple site, but you'll need Mac OS 7.5 with Open Transport and OpenDoc extensions.
E-mail Charles Brewer with questions, comments and suggestions at CBrewer@enquirer.com.