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DHTML News and Commentaries

NS6 Predicament
March 20th, 2001

Several months into its release, and it seems NS6 has yet to pick up much momentum. For webmasters, the plot on how to approach cross browser development thickens.

Our own internal, and yes, unscientific survey, shows that NS6 currently comprise less than 2% of the browser market share. The figures, based on a sample of 300k unique visitors over the course of 1 month, are:

• MSIE 5: 44%

• MSIE 5.5: 37%

• NS 4.x: 11%

• MSIE 4.x: 4%

• NS 6: 1.9%

Larger surveys such as one done by StatsMarket confirms the increasingly great divide between IE and NS (87% vs 13%).

The predicament for webmasters- particularly client side programmers such as ourselves- then, is at what pace to modify existing work to conform to NS6. Yes, it's an inevitable process, but is it an equally urgent one? We'll be the first to admit our drive to convert existing scripts on DD to work in NS6 has somehow been hampered in light of these figures (not to say in anyway it's stopped).

As webmasters, what's your view on NS6 and it's low penetration of the browser market thus far?

IE6 beta screenshots exposed
March 2nd, 2001

Last month, a site called Ctrl+Alt+Del posted beta versions of IE6 for download. Those links have since been removed (due to legal ramifications), but screenshots of Microsoft's test-tube browser can still be found here. Enjoy!

Netscape 6.01 out
Feburary 8th, 2001

Any update to the current buggy NS6 browser is welcome, and today, a minor one arrives.

Netscape 6 officially releases
November 15th, 2000 (By George Chiang, DD Team)

Ok, this one caught us by surprise as well, but apparently, NS 6 has officially released (Nov 15th). Simply go to Netscape.com for additional info, including download instructions.

As a Dynamic Drive user, you're be happy to know that we have plans to modify all our scripts, whenever possible, to be functional in the new NS browser. The task, obviously, is a grand one, so expect the process to be a gradual one. We'll definitely keep you posted through the site.

Netscape 6 PR 3 released!
August 11th, 2000 (By George Chiang, DD Team)

Netscape puts up another piece of armament in preparation for the battle with IE, with the release of NS 6 PR 3 today. According to the company, this latest preview version features an exciting new interface, enhanced stability, new Tab bars, and several bug fixes. Download PR 3 here, or check out the following sources for additional info on it:

-NS 6 PR3 overview (Cnet)
-Netscape redesigns site for NS 6 (Cnet)
-NS 6 PR3 discussions (Slashdot)

Netscape 6 PR 2 out the oven
August 11th, 2000 (By George Chiang, DD Team)

Those who religiously check the Mozilla website will know that NS 6 PR 2 has just been released (Aug 7th). Apart from the expected increase in stability over PR 1, this update is also rumored to finally support custom skins. Developers interested in confirming this for themselves can go to the site's download page.

Office application as possible Gecko spinoff
August 1st, 2000 (By George Chiang, DD Team)

One of the revolutionary things about Gecko is its open source nature, giving developers the ability to pry and modify the browser's underlining functionality with ease (and permission). With that in mind, it now seems possible that you may eventually be using a version of NS 6 (based on Gecko) that has full office applications and functionality built in! Work is supposedly underway by Sun MicroSystems to try and integrate StarOffice- a suit of free office apps such as Word and spreadsheet processor- directly into Mozilla, creating an alternate, multi-functional version of the core NS 6 browser (currently dubbed MozOffice). Imagine not only surfing the web, but downloading and editing webpages, typing up those term reports, and crunching a few numbers, all within the comfort of your browser! And bare in mind that since NS 6 is open source, MozOffice certainly won't be the only potential spinoff of the dinosaur. Expect exciting times ahead on the browser front!

Microsoft Releases IE 5.5
July 13th, 2000 (By John Miller, DD Team)

It's official- both the domestic and international versions of IE 5.5 has been released! This update comes after months of the new version idling in beta.

Expect to see new scripts on Dynamic Drive utilizing the browser's added DHTML features, such as scrollbar coloring and image zooming, in the very near future.

To read more on the new release of IE 5.5, click here to view News.com's report on it.

To the NS 6 developer team, time for you to step on the gas!

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Legend
All- Script works with Netscape 4 AND Internet Explorer 4+
NS- Indicates script works with Netscape 4 (NOT NS 6 yet)
IE- Indicates script works with Internet Explorer 4 and above
NS6!- Temporary index set up on script category pages to indicate script works in NS6