There Will Be A Choice In Browsers

In response to the news that Microsoft’s SmartTags feature will allow them to manipulate web pages, Eric Norlin responded: Topica Email List Directory: _“Don’t think you can “just use Netscape” either. They’re owned by

AOL/Time Warner, and they just announced that Netscape intends to

become a major media outlet on the web. That’s right, Netscape

browsers are being loaded with features that keep you in the AOL/Time

Warner universe.”_ Don’t forget that Netscape 6 is not the same beast as previous Netscapes. It’s based on Mozilla, which is open source.

Is Mozilla a better browser than MSIE? Not quite yet, because they’re still optimizing it and working out the kinks. But, at least it’s not controlled by a company that has content of their own that they’re trying to peddle.

By the time XP comes out, Mozilla will likely be a good browser choice for sophisticated people. Unfortunately, the common user will likely still choose the default option that comes with the OS, and corporate IS departments are not likely to go to the trouble of installing a new browser… unless their company is threatened by SmartTags. It will be interesting to see how this little battle plays out.