Netscape, the fallen leader of the World Wide Web revolution, is attempting to stage a major comeback with the forthcoming release of a totally revamped Netscape browser. The company took a major step forward today with the release of Netscape 6 Preview Release 3. The new release is not in any way finished software, however it will provide users a glimpse of what they might expect out of the finished product. According to Netscape:
Whatis New in Netscape 6 Preview Release 3?
Redesigned User Interface:
Youill notice that Preview Release 3 ships with an updated version of the Modern theme. Significant work has gone into creating this Modern theme with enhanced usability and design aesthetics. The basic, simplified layout of the theme has been maintained, while including many improvements that have been made in response to user feedback:
- Images have been reworked to produce a smoother, more polished appearance.
- Shading effects are used extensively to create a more three dimensional look and feel
- 3-D grooves are used to separate taskbar features and make them more "clickable."
- A print button has been added to the toolbar for easy printing.
The Modern theme gives users a browser with a fresh, unique new appearance. For traditionalists, Netscape 6 also ships with the Classic theme, which simulates the look and feel of Netscapeis earlier browsers. Themes can now be easily changed via the View menu.
Address Book Sync:
Now itis easier than ever to access your important contact information from any computer connected to the Internet. With Netscapeis new Address Book Sync feature, you can synchronize your Netscape 6 Personal Address Book with the Netscape Web Address Book and access your contact information on the web, using any web browser. Say youire on the road and need an important address or phone number. Since youive synched your Netscape 6 Address Book with your Netcenter Web Address Book, your address book is available through your Netcenter account. Simply log in to Netcenter from the airport, and the information is at your fingertips.Major improvements to Whatis Related:
Demonstrating the advantages of Open Source development, the Whatis Related Tab in My Sidebar has undergone major improvements. Alexa Internet, a subsidiary of Amazon, has improved this tab so that it now delivers improved links that are related to the individual web page you are viewing and has also improved the user interface. So the links are better and easier to use. These enhancements were offered through mozilla.org so are available to any developers as well as within Netscape 6.New Sidebar Tabs, including Shopping and Calendar tabs:
With over 600 tabs available for My Sidebar, the number of ways users can customize Netscape 6 continues to grow. Two new tabs of particular note are the Shopping tab and the Calendar tab. The new Shopping tab gives Internet Shoppers instant access to over 50 different shopping departments, ability to search from a list of over XXX products, and information on some hot shopping deals. The new Calendar tab lets users update and keep track of their daily appointments from within My Sidebar, so it is always with them as they browse the web, write email and work throughout the day.
You can find more information, including download links, at the Netscape web site.