Problems with browser upgrades: Netscape 6.0 & Internet Explorer 5.5
Important note: This document has become significantly dated since it was first published as a news article in November, 2000. Please see Problems with browser upgrades: Netscape 6.x & Internet Explorer 5.5/6.0 for an updated discussion.
Netscape 6.0 and Internet Explorer 5.5 introduce significant problems for University users. Information Systems & Computing (ISC) does not currently support these new versions and strongly suggests staying with the previous versions of the browsers, Netscape Communicator 4.76 and Internet Explorer 5.0/5.01. Following are details about the new browser versions and the issues relevant to Penn users.
Netscape 6.0 for Mac OS & Windows
Netscape 6.0 is the first complete rewrite of the Netscape code in the history of the Netscape browser.
Issues with Netscape 6.0 that are especially relevant to Penn users:
- Netscape 6.0 does not work correctly with the University's proxy server. Information is available on the library's web site.
- Netscape 6.0 does not support Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), which was supported in Netscape Communicator 4.x. This means that the configuration for Penn's LDAP Server will not work for those who use Netscape 6.0 for e-mail.
- Netscape 6.0 does not completely support the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in. Specifically, the Acrobat plug-in can no longer perform the following three functions:
- Fast Web View (formerly known as "Page At A Time Downloading") is not supported. This means PDF files must be downloaded in their entirety before they can be viewed. Users with slower modem connections may notice a significant difference.
- Acrobat Forms are not supported. As a result, if a PDF form has a "submit" button, users will be unable to perform the submission while inside Netscape 6.0.
- Netscape 6.0's File/Print menu method for printing to Adobe PDF is no longer functional. As a result, you can only print from within the Acrobat plug-in.
Netscape 6.0 features both a completely new default interface and a completely new HTML engine. In many ways, the HTML engine provides the best support of any browser for web standards such as those of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Netscape 6.0 requires 64 Mbytes RAM, 30 to 40 Mbytes of hard disk space, and a Pentium 133 MHz or PowerPC 200 MHz processor.
Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows
Though Internet Explorer 5.5 is not as significant a change as Netscape 6.0, it still raises important issues.
Issues with Internet Explorer 5.5 that are especially relevant to Penn users:
- Internet Explorer 5.5 does not work correctly with the University's proxy server. Information is available on the library's web site.
- Internet Explorer 5.5 may disable certain features of the Microsoft Digital Dashboard, including Wharton's SPIKE Digital Dashboard.
Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME) ships standard with Internet Explorer 5.5, and cannot be downgraded to Internet Explorer 5.01. ISC suggests using Netscape Communicator 4.76.
Internet Explorer 5.5 has a print preview feature and has increased support for World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards, including Cascading Style Sheets 1 (CSS), though such support remains incomplete. Internet Explorer 5.5 requires 32 Mbytes RAM, 50 to 100 Mbytes of hard disk space, and a Pentium 133 MHz processor.
--John Mulhern III, IT Project Leader, ISC Client Services Group
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Please note: This material is no longer current and appears
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Use the search and navigation tools above to locate more up-to-date materials, if they exist. |
