Microsoft Windows browsers
NOTE: Most of these browsers require that you have SLIP, PPP
or other TCP/IP networking on your PC. The exceptions
are SlipKnot and
I-COMM, which
have limited features but operate without a proper Internet
connection. SLIP or PPP can be accomplished
over phone lines. You can do this one of two ways: using a
proper SLIP account, which requires the active cooperation of your
network provider or educational institution (see
Frank Hecker's
guide to SLIP and PPP access; URL is <URL:http://access.digex.net/~hecker/> ), or by using
The Internet Adapter, a product
which simulates SLIP through your dialup Unix shell account.
A free product,
TwinSock (URL is http://ugsparc0.eecg.utoronto.ca/~luk/Welcome.html ),
provides equivalent functionality under Windows using its own proxy
protocol. If you only have non-Unix based dialup shell access, or have no PC
at home, your best option at this time is to run
Lynx on the VMS (or Unix, or...) system
you call, or telnet to a browser if you cannot do so.
- Cello
- Browser from Cornell LII. Available by anonymous FTP from
ftp.law.cornell.edu in the directory /pub/LII/cello.
- Mosaic for Windows
- From NCSA. Available by anonymous FTP from
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in the directory PC/Windows/Mosaic.
-
WinWeb
- From EINet. Available by anonymous FTP from
ftp.einet.net in the directory /einet/pc/winweb as
the file winweb.zip.
-
Netscape
- From Netscape Communications Corp
(URL is: http://home.netscape.com/info/index.html ).
Downloads and displays images incrementally while you read pages,
which also display incrementally, making it the best browser at
the time of this writing for those who connect to the
web via modems. Also supports tables in a standard manner,
in addition to many extensions to
HTML, not all of which conform to the
proposed standard. Netscape
is a commercial product but can be evaluated free of charge for an unlimited
period of time by individuals.
The 16-bit version works under both OS/2 and Windows.
Available by anonymous FTP from ftp.mcom.com in the
netscape subdirectory. See Netscape's web site for information
about mirror sites.
-
Quarterdeck Mosaic
- From Quarterdeck. Supports incremental image loading;
available for beta test (URL is <http://www.qdeck.com/beta/> ).
-
Spry Mosaic
- From Spry. Available by anonymous FTP from
ftp.spry.com in the directory AirMosaicDemo as the file
AMOSDEMO.EXE. Spry Mosaic is a
commercial product but a demonstration version is available and can be
registered inexpensively. Works under Windows and OS/2. Supports
the mailto: URL, transparent GIFs, ALT tags,
hierarchical hotlists, etc.
-
Booklink
- From Booklink. Available by anonymous FTP
from
ftp.booklink.com in the directory
lite
; this is a demonstration version
of the full browser, which costs $99. Booklink
can open many simultaneous connections in
different windows and display images and
pages progressively; at the time of this
writing it is the only browser to equal
Netscape in this area. The "lite" version can
only open two simultaneous connections, however.
-
SlipKnot
-
SlipKnot is the only graphical WWW browser that operates
entirely without SLIP, PPP, an Ethernet connection, or
special server-side software
(but consider TIA, section 4.12 for another
workaround). SlipKnot supports multiple fonts, inline
images, forms, and review of documents you have already received
while new documents arrive, and it operates entirely
through your regular Unix shell account. SlipKnot does
not require that you install any new
software on your Unix shell account.
You can obtain SlipKnot by anonymous FTP from
oak.oakland.edu in the directory
SimTel/win3/internet.
For more information,
see the SlipKnot information page
(URL is
http://www.interport.net/slipknot/slipknot.html ) or send
a blank email message to slipknot@micromind.com.
-
I-COMM
- I-COMM, like SlipKnot, operates without a true TCP/IP connection.
It requires a Unix shell account, as does SlipKnot.
I-COMM is shareware and is now in beta test
(URL is <URL:http://www.best.com/~icomm/icomm.htm> ).
- IBM OS/2 WebExplorer
- A native IBM OS/2 web browser. WebExplorer is a multithreaded application
and replaces the usual "back" and "forward" buttons with a visual map of your
exploration of the web. IBM WebExplorer can be acquired by anonymous
FTP from ftp01.ny.us.ibm.net in the directory pub/WebExplorer/ .
- WebSurfer
- Included with the Chameleon TCP/IP software package from
Netmanage, Inc. Comments, anyone?
World Wide Web FAQ