Byte by Bite

Reader has praise for Netscape's new browser

by Marv Dealy

Published July 1, 2005

To the reader mailbag to catch up a little: back in January Sheila and Randy Esson wrote: ȁSorry to hear you have been ill and glad you are back. I am very weak on back-ups. I want to learn how to back up to a CD RW or DVD RW.”

“I have a Nero Suite but haven't learned how to you use it. Please advise where to go or what to read or buy to really learn how to back up and restore files and programs. I have bumbled through back ups when moving data to a new computer, but it makes me nervous!”

Well Sheila, the good news is that Windows XP comes with a handy backup utility that you can access through Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup.

The program should start in a Wizard mode; if not, poke around and switch to the Wizard the first time you use this utility. It works pretty well; you can, for example, tell it to back up all the documents and settings for one or more user accounts, or you can specify complete backups and several other iterations of progressive backups, or you can backup a single document or folder.

Part of the Wizard allows you to set how often the backup will run. Just make sure that whatever you’re backing up to has enough space to accommodate what you’re trying to backup. In other words, don’t expect to copy the entire contents of a computer with an 80 GB hard drive onto one CD.

Next, from Rube Moulton who wrote from Twain Harte back in April: “It is nice to be able finally to find your column on the Union Democrat web site. I noticed a few weeks ago that my longtime complaint about it being missing had been fixed. Thanks.”

(Remember, faithful readers, that the links at the Union Democrat web site are live, and you don’t have to type in the ridiculously long URLs I sometimes include with this column.)

Anyway, Rube writes: “recently I decided to download and try the new Netscape 8.0 beta browser. I've been using Firefox for several months, and for the most part have liked it. But there are a few quirks that are bothersome.”

“My experience with Netscape's new browser so far has been excellent. Most of the troubling quirks present in Firefox are gone.But the big thing I really like is that it provides the ability to rate a website's trustworthiness, and then decide whether to use Internet Explorer or Firefox coding when browsing that site. Netscape then remembers your decisions. This fixes the incompatibility problem that exists between some websites and Firefox, but leaves the good security aspects of being able to use Firefox with sites that are either unknown or known to be risky. It's a really good feature.”

No, Rube, I haven’t downloaded and experimented with Netscape 8, despite the fact I used Netscape as my browser for years. I’m lazy; Firefox does have its quirks, however, and it sounds like Netscape 8 has resolved some of those issues.

Rube, if you’d care to pass along more of your experience with the program in the last couple of months – good or bad – I’d certainly be interested. Anyone else out there who is using the newest Netscape, I’d appreciate your comments, as well.

Finally, I subscribe to lots of newsletters and the like that are delivered by e-mail, all in an effort to keep abreast of the stuff that interest you regulars (hi, to all 35).

One, from CNET.com, caught my eye with a teaser about the kind of automobile you drive to and from work, asking is it the best commute it can be? Get on over to the web site, and you can “vote” which of the editor-picked 4 vehicles disappear from the web site. Personally, I removed ‘em all.

Perhaps predictably, there aren’t any pickups on the page, just 3 cars and 1 esuvee. The cars, a Scion, a Toyata Prius and a Honda Civic Hybrid, are all be a very correct Berkleymobiles, and the esuvee choice, a Nissan Murano, underlines that the editors at CNET aren’t “car guys.”

In fact, they state that they’ve made their choices based on a “comfortable cabin environment” and “decent to good” gas mileage. (http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10895_7-6250529-1.html?tag=nl.e729) Never mind handling, horsepower, etc.

CNET goes on to say “Exterior styling doesn't really matter a whole lot, either, because after two weeks of commuting, you'll have forgotten what the outside of your car looks like.”

Well. If you’ve ever seen my painted VW you’ll know there isn’t any possibility that I’ll forget what the outside looks like in two weeks.

As for commutes, I don’t know about the “comfortable cabin environment” – it takes me longer to put my portable computers, satchel, coffee thermos and the like into and then take out of the VW than it actually takes to drive from my house to the office. Take that, you folks on the Bay Bridge at this very moment.

If you’re reading this on your cell phone while you’re driving, hang up and pay attention to where you’re going.