The new Netscape 8.0 is more than just a browser; it's an information platform. Chief among this version's enhancements is the Multibar, a feature that lets you customize up to ten different browser toolbars that can be accessed within a click or two. Such toolbars can provide quick access to live news feeds, stock feeds, weather, shopping, or anything else that you add to them. You can also use them to view RSS feeds on the fly. Customization is easy and can be done mainly via Netscape's drag-and-drop interface.

Netscape's tabbed interface is plain-Jane in terms of organizing and working with tabs, but like Opera, it can be configured to open a group of tabbed pages at start-up. At installation, Netscape did a perfect job of importing bookmarks, history, and passwords from Firefox. The My Sidebar feature also returns, in much the same format as in earlier versions of Netscape. With tabs for News, Search, Bookmarks, History, and access to integrated AOL instant messenger, My Sidebar is another feature that puts a great deal of functionality right in the browser window.

From the "if you can't beat them, join them" department, Netscape offers a choice of the Gecko rendering engine (the same used by Firefox) or the IE rendering engine. You choose between them simply by checking a radio button. This feature is unique to Netscape and removes the problem of not being able to run ActiveX or VB script or to display pages with proprietary HTML tags.

One interesting feature is Netscape's Trust Ratings (displayed on a page's tab), a service that catalogs Web sites on a regular basis. Sites fall into the categories of "I trust this site," "I'm not sure," and "I don't trust this site"; security levels are adjusted accordingly. For example, some sites are verified for browsing and exchanging sensitive information, while others are placed on warning lists due to their malicious intent. This information is updated dynamically and can be manually overridden. Security settings, such as whether to allow ActiveX or JavaScript, can be set on a site-by-site basis.

Like Opera, Netscape offers password and form-data management. Where Opera uses its Wand feature, Netscape offers datacards and passcards. Datacards contain site-specific form information, and passcards contain username and password information. And of course, Netscape (as does Opera) lets you control which information is submitted and when.

With its multibar setup, Netscape becomes more of an information platform rather than a simple browser. This can be a drawback, as its interface can become cluttered and confusing—the exact opposite of Firefox. But if you want this kind of all-encompassing platform, it's a solid choice.