Netscape 7.0 Preview Release, based on the recent Mozilla 1.0 RC2 build and the Gecko browser engine, offers a variety of enhancements on Netscape 6.2. Considered, by many, as the only adequate alternative to Internet Explorer, Netscape has not always delivered. Version 6.2 did offer vast improvements on previews editions of the browser and version 7 promises more of the same.
In version 7 users are offered the ability to utilize tabbed browsing, much like the popular option in Opera, keeping multiple pages open in a single browser window. Another interesting new feature is the ability to save a complete web page. According to Netscape you can, in a single action, save a page with all of its graphics files (GIFs and JPEGs)without the need to individually download each file to capture all the content on the page.
Another new feature is Click-to-Search, which allows users to search for any word in a web page without having to leave the page. Simply select the word with the mouse, right-click and choose to start a search with the word. The results appear in a separate window and in the search tab in My Sidebar.
Further enhancements include print preview, email return receipts, message labels and S/MIME support, a quick Search of mail and address book, a filtering service and mail alerts.
Initial reactions to the preview have been mostly positive, although some complaints about the size, 30.8 MB, have been made.
This new Netscape release comes at a time when Microsoft is expected to hide IE, with the new Windows XP patch and with America Online thinking of dithcing IE as their preferred browser. The success of Netscape 7 could bring it back to a strong position from which to continue the war it had once waged on Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
To download the preview click on the download tab above.