But time and competition are inexorable, particularly on the Web, and Netscape is under tremendous pressure. The company has responded with alacrity across the board, but has made some missteps in the process. Its once-commanding leadership position has become more vulnerable as a result.

Much of the pressure stems from the coming release of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0, due next week. Netscape beat Microsoft to market by a fairly wide margin with its 4.0 product, first with the Communicator Internet suite and more recently with the stand-alone version of Navigator, but neither is completely up to the leadership standard set by Navigator 3.0. What's more, Netscape has released a flurry of other hastily conceived products and services in recent weeks, none of which strike us (or the market, so far) as especially compelling. The company seems to have lost some of its focus.

The not-so-great Communicator is a mixed experience, starting from the moment you first log onto Netscape's new, layers-based home page. Dynamic HTML and layers will, we're convinced, play a major role in future Web development, but we fervently hope the clutter on Netscape's page is not an example of what is to come. (To its credit, the company does offer the option of defaulting to a non-layers page.) Communicator has nine separate components, including Navigator 4.0, and not all of them are available across all platforms. Nor do all of them currently work as advertised.

"Netcaster," Netscape's "push" client, is the most egregious example. Java-based and released first as a beta on Windows 95 and NT, it was initially God-awful, as Netscape betas frequently are. Netcaster now works more or less as advertised in Windows, albeit sluggishly. But, despite a blue-chip lineup of content providers, we see nothing here that threatens to displace PointCast for either individual or corporate use. Those who wish to use Netcaster on other platforms will need to exercise patience—it was not included in the "final" Communicator release for PowerPC, and will not be included for 68k Macs, which no longer receive Java support from Netscape. Netcaster was made available for Power Macs a few days ago, via Netscape's "SmartUpdate" feature (which is also based on Java, and which seems anything but smart). The Mac version is more or less where the Windows version was a couple of months ago, i.e., unusable.

The lackluster support of the Mac in Communicator and Navigator 4.0 seriously undercuts Netscape's claim to be the cross-platform standard-bearer, a claim which had been a major source of the company's original appeal. Legacy Mac users have essentially been left in the lurch, and we see no reason why these users shouldn't switch to Internet Explorer for its Java support.

Most of Communicator's other components function well enough (though "IBM On-Demand," a Java-based 3270 terminal emulator, suffers from the same sluggishness that besets Netcaster). "Messenger," the new e-mail client, improves on the already capable mail client in Netscape 3.0. "Collabra" does a fine job of providing newsgroup access; "Composer" remains a mediocre authoring tool. We didn't test "Conference," "Calendar" or "Auto Admin," and question how many people will use them. (Auto Admin, intended for IS managers, is also omitted from the Power Mac version.)

Navigator 4.0 itself is impressive, with a slick new interface and the aforementioned Dynamic HTML capabilities. We would recommend running the stand-alone version, unless you need Messenger (or Java support on a 68k Mac). Considered solely as a browser, Navigator remains the best overall choice. We do wish Netscape offered a version bundled with Messenger and Collabra, which would represent a logical upgrade from Navigator 3.0.

"Netcenter" is basically a new amalgamation of content intended to leverage the popularity of Netscape's home page and turn it into a full-fledged "destination." It is tied to Netcaster and SmartUpdate, and is very much a work-in-progress. Most of the content is available elsewhere.

While we understand the directions Netscape is taking, we're disappointed by them. In particular, we feel that by emphasizing its Windows products at the expense of genuine cross-platform support, Netscape is moving into Microsoft's territory, where it cannot hope to win. We hope the company can recover the focus that led to its original success.

(Reviewed September 23, 1997)