[WEB4LIB] Netscape 7

[Andrew Mutch]

Without some way to lock down the interface, I'm not sure that the
Netscape-branded versions of Mozilla are going to be good fits with the public
computing environments in libraries. However, in Netscape's defense, the
problems with Javascript and the previously mentioned problems with table
display in web pages are not the fault of the browser. These problems are
caused by Netscape's attempt to implement web standards for HTML and DOM
running into hacked methods that worked with old browsers but fail in when made
to fit the standards model. As has been said before, web designers are going to
have to learn to write to the standards if they want the future browsers to
properly handle their scripts and display their pages. Of course, all of that
means nothing to a patron or staff member who can't understand why Netscape
won't display a web page that looks fine in IE.

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI




Catherine Buck Morgan wrote:

> I've loaded Netscape 6 on a few machines.... and the experience has not
> been pleasant. It destroys address books, esp. the groups. It doesn't
> interpret javascript well... scripts that ran well on 4.79 and IE (all
> versions), don't execute properly in Netscape 6, 6.2, etc.
>
> I do have Netscape 6.2 running in our training lab. I did a custom load,
> for browser only, no AOL, no mail, etc., and for the most part, it does
> just okay. Our trainers quickly and unanimously decided to use IE for
> most of the training, however.
>
> --Catherine.
>