RSSNetscape Update Brings XML Fix for IE
By Nate Mook | Published June 17, 2005, 10:10 AM
AOL's Netscape division has released a minor update to its Firefox-based Web browser, which corrects an issue that caused XML rendering in Internet Explorer to break.
IE program manager Dave Massy called out Netscape last month for introducing the problem, which AOL has blamed on poor IE documentation, not a Netscape bug.
"After installing Netscape 8 the XML rendering capabilities of Internet Explorer no longer work," Massy wrote in the IEBlog. "That means that if you navigate in IE to an XML file such as an RSS feed or an XML file with an XSLT transformation applied then rather than seeing the data you are presented with a blank page."
Microsoft's Massy recommended that users of both browsers uninstall Netscape to correct the issue. AOL spokesperson Andrew Weinstein dismissed such calls, however, saying the problem affected a minor number of users and would be fixed in due time.
Along with the XML rendering problem, Netscape version 8.0.2 fixes some minor user agent string inconsistencies. The Firefox core of Netscape has not been upgraded, Weinstein told BetaNews.
The revived Netscape 8 was released last month in final form, offering a number of consumer-oriented features such as integrated RSS feeds and Netscape portal content, as well as enhanced privacy features. The browser's main draw is its ability to switch to Microsoft's Internet Explorer rendering engine for improve compatibility over Firefox.
Netscape 8.0.2 can be downloaded from FileForum.
How can they say it has been fixed? I tried it when version 8.0.2 was first posted here (BetaNews) and it still broke the XML rendering.
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|From my personal experience, KHTML / WebCore (Konqueror / Safari) is the best, followed by Gecko,(SeaMonkey / Firefox..) and Opera.
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|At this point the way I see it Netscape has joined the ranks of browsers like Maxthon, meaning it has become a shell. Now I'm not saying that Netscape is anything like Maxthon. So i'm gonna go ahead and say that before anyone starts storming at me. What I'm saying it serves the same purpose as Maxthon. The only difference is that unlike Maxthon it's not just a shell for IE, it's also a shell for Firefox.
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|NS is now actually a "Community Edition" (customized version) of ffx, with an additional inferior Trident rendering engine from MS.
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|However you want to look at it, this thing is another piece of AOL garbage. It would be a lot better if they had made it a little less cumbersome. Don't even get me started on that blasted messenger. I mean it's ok and all being built in, would just be great if it supported other messengers besides Aol Messenger. That will never happen though. It takes forever for the browser to even start and they somehow managed to make the firefox part of it slow. Netscape can't make anything without breaking it.
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|I'm just relieved that MS never installs anything that breaks some other program.
Oh wait - wasn't that called XP SP2? ;-p
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|It was also called Windows XP. :P
What do you mean everything is incompatible now? Wait - I have to tell every employee how to run programs in compatability mode? There's no command-line switch!?
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|It is expectable that evolutions and changes in an operating system would break certain application functionality over time as vulnerabilities and bugs are squashed... especially since so many programs inappropriately use such bugs as coding techniques.
However, an individual application should never break another application because it should never mess with the settings of another program... even if it's a "shell" like Netscape 8.0. AOL has a notorious habit of screwing up the operating systems their software runs on.
Too many people here seem to forget what happened when AOL released AOL 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 which resulted in many many corrupted TCP/IP stacks and configurations and broken network connections just so their software could "support" TCP/IP connections.
Too many people forget that ever since Netscape 7.0 was released, selecting "Make Netscape your default home page" that meant in IE as well as Netscape.
Ultimately though, I suppose this is what happens when Microsoft forces us to use the damn Registry instead of ini files and allows companies to replace system files instead of forcing them to keep their code in their own folders rather than system32.
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|I'd like to see smarter installer logic. Most all applications will use libraries that are found in the application directory first, and then the system directory second. If an installer detects that a version of a library already exists why don't any of them put the libraries in the program directory?
I can see how it would have caused bloat 15 years ago, but I don't think a bunch of 47kb libraries are going to fill a 100GB drive.
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|Exactly! For once, you and I agree completely on that. There is absolutely no sense in AOL (or any developer) replacing DLL or other libraries that already exist.
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|"AOL has a notorious habit of screwing up the operating systems their software runs on."
This is true, I've heard it many times from friendsa and family i've never actually had it happen to me. In the past though AOL has managed to totally break IE. I had the misfortune of having AOL once. After the install, IE would barely load then crash.
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|lol. I'm no IE fanboy, but I thought the big thing about Netscape and FF was to get away from IE. So why are they changing IE settings during installation? That's funny.
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|Ummm....
"The browser's main draw is its ability to switch to Microsoft's Internet Explorer rendering engine for improve compatibility over Firefox."
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|Yeah, it's doing such a swell job of that, eh?
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|ok ok... I feel retarded. I stopped reading somewhere after the fourth paragraph and did exactly what I tell others not to do: comment on a story I hadn't completely read.
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|Poor documentation? Netscape edited an entry in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Plugins\Extension.
Microsoft probably didn't document it because it wasn't meant for anyone to change, especially a program from another company.
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|This is too little, too late from AOL...
The college I work for presently has decided this year to discontinue support for and inclusion of Netscape on our systems. We will instead be including and supporting Firefox and Thunderbird as an alternative to IE/OE and Outlook.
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|sounds great! I've pretty much disliked netscape from the start, especially the "Commuinicator" suite.
I do love both Firefox and Thunderbird. I am noticing less and less compatibility issues while using Firefox, too.
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|Firefox is still a piece of crap! Alot of issues and bugs still need to be worked out. As for thunderbird it's just a joke.
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|Both of them work fine for me. What are your problems with them? Give some actual examples.
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|Everyone on this forum knows how much I support and enjoy using Microsoft products, but I'll be the first to tell you that I also use and support Firefox too.
Barring sites that require ActiveX (few and far between in my surfing behavior), I have yet to come across a site that doesn't work in Firefox.
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|I'm using Firefox but it is very anoying that many many many again MANY sites just not render well in Firefox and have to use a plugin to get the page right on my screen in IE. ANd I don't care what people saying, like it is a programming mistake of the web designer, i just want to see all pages the same way in what ever Internet Browser. Go to MSN groups, open a new discussion, the popup WYSIWYG interface just doesn't work. My private online office just doesn't render well in Firefox. What could I say more? Firefox has to do some work still!
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|ANd Thunderbird needs some good discussion too actually. It is absolutely not simple to get accounts installed very confusing very!. Talking about user friendly! I'm a Thunderbird user, love the software but again it really needs some discussions at the Thunderbird Office to think about how people like 55+ get this stuff working.
And for the makers... If I go to my Trash can, and say 20 messages are there to be deleted (but thats actually for every folder)I first have to click one message and then the rest. If I try to do that at once the first time no way to get those message deleted. A little thing maybe but shows a lack of good testing the software, esp. a little thing like this!
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|kszostek,give me your reasons why.thanks
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