The main choices for browsing the internet are Microsoft Internet Explorer and AOL's newly bought Netscape. So there you go, end of story right?
Wrong!
This is where iCab comes in to the arena. Just when everyone was closing down the options,WHAM, a new browser! This news has made shockwaves since iCabs first release. I went in search of a little chat with iCabs designers to find out why, and here is what Oliver Joppich of the iCab Company had to say.
 
Why the name iCab?
It's small, nice and should allow comfortable internet visiting. The initial name was CAB and on the Mac we made an internet Cab, so therefore iCab was born.
What was the main reason for releasing a browser when you are on an uphill run against Microsoft and AOL's Netscape?
Microsoft and AOL are not important for us. We just want to make a small, fast and good browser. Communicator and Internet Explorer are no competition at this point. They are made from big teams and based on old html concepts. The interface of Internet Explorer on the Mac is good (Much better than the Windows version) and we try to make iCab to be a good program. We see see the internet as an important content provider in the future and will support the content as good as possible. Compare it with a good book. The many extras of the big browser didn´t improve the content. The words are the important things. Everything else is just for fun or supporting ads...
 
What do plan to add to the next release of iCab?
Javascript, ssl and multi languages are top of our to-do-list. And many smaller things. We would like to improve iCab on a monthly base, free on the internet.
Do you think Netscape releasing its code was a good idea and would you ever concider doing the same?
It was a try from Netscape to get a better code from the people on the internet. It is possible that it will work. There are many good individuals out there. But at the moment AOL has other interests in the internet and I am not sure if this will work.
We are receiving lots of good ideas from the internet and try to improve iCab with the ideas. We will focus on a small browser. To make it really small it is important that one will coordinate all the stuff. And this will be Alexander. But we are working with other good programmers to make the best program possible. We have additional specialsts for graphics and another one for javascript support.
If people were to think you are just copying other browsers what would you tell them?
Everybody should use the browser he/she wants to use. In iCab there aren´t many things copied. The html machine is very good and based on our own new concept from 1998. Just look at the other html-machines and compare. And if there are good concepts in the user-interface, it wouldn´t make sense to develop a new way, if the old is good.
Would you like to see a Mac operating system more integrated with the internet and browsers?
It is important that Mac OS delivers a good and easy implementation of internet access. OS 8.5 offers a good start with the Internet Control panel. Apple should support, that everyone can use the emailer, web-browser and other internet tools of their choice. The way of windows with integrating an ugly version of internet explorer is no good solution. It just shows Gates' way in trying to dominate others. But these times have past.
We don't like Linux very much (it's just Unix), but the free concept behind it, is great. The internet will bring up many one man-concepts. You just need a good idea, a good program and a good provider. And everyone in the world can have access to this.
System requirements: 
Minimum 4MB free RAM
System 7.5 or better
MacTCP or OpenTransport
ThreadManager (not needed in OS 8.X)
InternetConfig 1.2 (or Mac OS 8.5)
Apples MRJ 2.0 or better for Java support in iCab (2.1 recommended)
QuickTime (3.0 recommended) for media playback on the internet
Some of the many features in iCab:
HTML 4.0 support
Tag recognition for specific Netscape und Microsoft HTML enhancements (i.e <BLINK>, <MARQUEE>, <MULTICOL> and more).
Flexible image filtering (for example banners) and Flexible cookie filtering
iCab can "bookmark" individual frames outside of their parent window
iCab can generate an error report indicating syntax mistakes in the HTML source. This feature is especially interesting for those individuals who design their own web pages.
Display Java-Applets with the help of Apples MRJ 2.0 or better.
iCab can search through HTML files on your local hard drive or cache
A special search mode can display the c't rom CDs by Heise-Verlag
Multiple search engines are available directly from the internet search option
Import web archives (and cache) from Internet Explorers 4.X
MacOS 8.5 Appearance savvy
Support for Navigation-Services, Contextual menus and proportional scrolling (MacOS 8.5)
and much, much more... download it for your self
I don't want to rant but give it a go and if you don't like it tell them and you never know they might listen. Oliver and his team really do want to make a difference so your views count!
Oliver Joppich
iCab Company http://www.icab.de (Look at iCab Preview 1.25. For
PPC and 68k)
Aktienman & Friends http://www.aktienman.de (AktienMan 1.23 ist da)
Next month........
I corner the the excellent Thorsten Lemke the designer of the 'must have utility' Graphic Converter AND Green Mountain the makers of DocMaker the programme you are viewing this ezine in - Whoa!
