October 31, 2003 11:07 AM CST

How Do You Browse the Net?

By Tim O’Toole

There are several programs available that can be used to view your favorite websites. You have the two main players, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, and all of their friends, such as Opera, Mozilla, AOL, and many more.

My question is, "How do you browse the net?"

Each browser is very different from the next. There are some things that Internet Explorer supports that Netscape doesn't. I have to keep all of this in mind when coding and designing the site. However, it is very difficult to develop a site that will function properly with every browser on the market.

The majority of people on the Internet are using Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator (the one with the boat wheel - come on, you know you've called it that at least once). In fact, just about 99% of the visitors to this website use these browsers. They are the best browsers around, and the only ones you should be using. They support nearly every fun bell, whistle, and dancing hamster that you can think of putting on a website, they come with several useful features, and best of all, they're both free!

You're probably saying, "All right! I use these browsers! I'm hip to technology!" Right, good for you. But let me once again ask you my question. "How do you browse the net?" I know that at least half of you on this website are not using a current version of either Internet Explorer or Netscape. Now don't worry, I'm not going to say who you are, but do us all a favor and upgrade!

This website contains many interactive features which you can only view with the most current versions of these two browsers! For example, do you see the fancy menu bar at the top of the page? Are the dropdown menus hidden behind the frame? That is because you are not using an up-to-date version of either Internet Explorer or Netscape.

There is no excuse not to upgrade. Remember, these browsers are free! Go ahead and download them as soon as you're done reading this article. Both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are available on the Downloads page, under the Resource section of this website. For your convenience, both links are listed below.

Microsoft Internet Explorer
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie

Netscape Navigator
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp

You can download them now, and soon you'll be seeing our website in a whole new way.

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About the Author

Tim O’Toole is the Director of Marketing, Education, and Information Technology for the MCAA. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Webster University and has worked in the masonry industry since 2003.