Musings on Netscape 2.0 and other ponderings.... Reflections of a ModemJunkie copyright 1995 by Leonard Grossman Its almost exactly a year since I sold my Dell stock, walked into a pawnshop, and bought my screaming 386-40. A lot has happened since then - aside from Dell increasing in value by more than 100% and then splitting two for one! Regular readers may remember that I had resisted Windows for as long as I could, but that my online addiction demanded that I get access to the Internet and that my poor typing skills required that I use Windows clients for much of that access. So, when I saw my sleeping beauty on the counter and the dealer accepted my firm and almost joking offer of $300, I made the move. Within a few weeks I had my first internet account and discovered I was using it so much that I had to find an unlimited access Internet Service Provider (ISP). It was almost exactly at that time that Netscape rushed onto the online scene. Even though my first provider had supplied me with Mosaic, it was only a week or so before I began the regular process of updating Netscape. Although Win3.1 was slow on my machine, I quickly overcame most of my objections to Windows and even stopped spelling it Windoze, particularly after I found and installed four more megs of RAM on sale at a swapfest. And then I found it was true: The learning curve in Windows is incredibly fast compared to that in DOS. Although I had tried dozens of times to use the Internet from the command line, I just couldn't get the hang of it. I rarely knew where I was. Commands that seemed to work one day, didn't the next. I was at a loss! But with Windows clients I was up and running in just a few days, even though there were so many things to learn...and even though each client had a somewhat different interface. Before long I was using Netscape, Trumpet News Reader, and Eudora several times a day. Within a couple of months a major newspaper had written a feature article about my use of Gopher techniques to help my daughter with her homework. I was FTPing files with abandon and had to triple my available hard drive space within just a few months. I even discovered it was faster to grab files from certain sources on line than to find the right CD and grab them from there. What made this possible? Two things! The first was the ease of the point and click interface while the second was the availability of the Windows help on line. The online world is an incredible resource for both the newbie and the tyro. I used local bulletin boards like the great Chicago Syslink, and the various BBS networks with magnificent resources like the RIME and Ilink Windows conferences (frequented by the likes of Bob Miller, Jim Gunn, Gregg Hommel to name just a few) In these places, I found information and made new friends. In conjunction with the usenet news groups, there was always someone who would help, especially, after I learned to bear the heat of the flames . In truth, the BBSs were/are very hospitable. However, a year ago, many regulars on the internet newsgroups were openly inhospitable to newbies. We threatened their culture and it took a bit of time for every one to accommodate to one another. Protection of turf has subsided and with it fewer flames of that type. Today, if I ask a particularly dumb question I will more than likely be ignored. We have taken it over and made it our own! In the months after the change to Windows, I quickly developed more confidence. I upgraded to Windows for Work Groups, added WordPerfect for Windows even though, I still maintain that for simple text creation, nothing beats WP 5.1 for DOS. I then made the plunge and popped for the Final Beta! What fun when that disk arrived. In preparation I finally got that 420 meg tape backup I had wanted so long, even though the extra space was rendered temporarily useless by those #%&@^! long filenames. I then installed the larger hard drives, put the Win95 CD in the machine and began the install. Over the next few weeks I played and worked, configured and reconfigured. I spent hours online, seeking answers and providing a few too. In the process I learned more and more about Windows, about my machine and about the Internet. Eventually, I decided that Win95 wasn't right for me and/or this computer. (See my previous columns for some of the reasons why.) Some day - maybe, but not right now. When the surprise package with the Final Win95 Beta arrived, I left it unopened. I have not even tried the new MS Office suite demo. I had gone back to W4WG and was happy. And I still am. I don't feel left out or do I hunger for more multi- tasking. But something is missing. I hadn't realized how much of my time at the screen, and particularly, online, was related to the discovery about computers, software and telecommunication. I still spend far too much time on line but now most of it is reading the news or simply surfing. The driving purpose is missing. Everything I use seems to be configured optimally, even if Netscape still GPFs (crashes) when it's time for me to go back to bed. Without the challenge of something new, the need to solve a problem, the Net can be a vast wasteland. As Lois Laulicht editorialized in WindoWatch (Sept. '95 - Issue No.7), the Net is in danger of becoming trivialized by commerce. Slowly, I find less and less reason to log on. Not that I spend much less time, mind you, but it doesn't seem as exciting any more. OOOPS!! I spoke too soon!! I couldn't sleep last night. So I FTPd (downloaded) the long awaited next generation of Netscape, Version 2.0b1, at 4:00 a.m. I was still wide awake so I installed it over the previous version. Big mistake! The images don't work. They look like a psychedelic somethings from the 60's - and other problems , too. Quick! Log on to the Net!! What is everyone saying? Others are having some of the same problems. Sharing ideas. What would I do if I couldn't find the answers, or at least company to share my misery, on line? I guess I'll keep my internet account--at least until I figure the new Netscape out... Some First Impressions of Netscape 2.0 and Related Great Thoughts After I installed the newest version of Netscape I noted that like my growing waistline in recent years, Netscape has also grown to nearly two megs of compressed files. It also tries to do everything. It now includes a full mail reader, a full featured news reader, and much more. Earlier versions relied on the user to set up helper applications to perform these functions. Now they are included in a supposedly common interface. This is not necessarily an improvement, however. One of the advantages of Windows clients for the internet is the ability to choose your favorite applications to perform different functions. Each can be configured for your own needs. Netscape, like other browsers, seems intent upon doing it all. In the process, some good features were lost along with some individuality. I had the same thoughts at the PC Expo, as I watched a lengthy demonstration of Emissary, a full featured commercial browser/file manager/jack of all trades. Yes, it does do wonderful things. However, I like freedom of choice. What if there is an upgrade in an alternative news reader? What if there is a new mail program out there? Do I have to have multiples of everything with browsers, too? That is how word processors got so huge. They have to do everything today. But do they really. Why buy a suit, or a suite, when all you need is a pair of pants? It takes up room in the closet - and on your hard drive. Will Netscape wake up and smell the coffee. Speaking of coffee, the 16 bit Netscape failed to incorporate the promised ability to handle Hot Java and the buggy 32 bit version seems to have been removed from Netscape's FTP site for the time being. Perhaps it'll be back by the time we go to press. By the way, I solved my Netscape problem for the time being by reinstalling the previous version and will wait to see how things shake out before I upgrade again. I must be getting old. Speaking of the PC Expo. I did manage to sneak out of the office for a few hours the other day to head over to McCormick Place in Chicago. They must have been desperate for attendance-- on the Monday before the show, they faxed me a comp admission-- without a request. But it was a good show... and, as an aside, far more enjoyable than Windows World this summer which had the disadvantage of taking place just a couple of weeks before the big Win 95 rollout. All those vendors could do was hold their collective breath and wait. The PC Expo was a different story. A few minutes after entering the door I came upon a booth with a large crowd around it. No, it wasn't the "adult" CD-ROMS as they're in the back. It was the Casio booth. They were demonstrating a new digital camera. It was truly amazing. It stores images until they can be downloaded into your PC. All of the images can be viewed from a large view screen on the back of the camera. they can be edited in the camera and shown directly on a television screen or a computer monitor with appropriate cables provided. Using the view screen, it is possible to delete images, even after additional photos have been taken, saving memory for additional shots. It is even possible to prepare a show on your computer and use this little hand held device to make your presentation on your customer's television screen. No need to carry a computer or have special equipment. The stored images printed quickly on a special color printer, which is also available. The images were incredibly sharp even tho' my hair looked thinner than I remembered. Not only was my full face image perfectly focused, but the face of a woman who must have been standing more than 10 feet behind me peered over my shoulder in perfect focus as well. The depth of field was amazing. Perhaps the lens is a bit wide angled, which must explain why my hairline appears to be receding in the closeup. Suggested street prices: Camera about $700, printer, a little under $500. Not cheap, but wait 'til next year, Cub fans. So, until next time or until I see you on line, I must log on and see whether anyone has come up with a fix for Netscape 2.0. Leonard Grossman is a lawyer for the Department of Labor. He is a regular WindoWatch contributor and can be reached at leonard.grossman@syslink.mcs.com ww