Product Reviews

We were rather glad to see that Netscape's cancellation of its browser didn't mean Mozilla had to bite the dust too. However, the Mozilla suite looks likely to split into the Firebird browser and Thunderbird email and news client, so Mozilla 1.5 may be the final version that includes the entire package.

The browser, Navigator, is of most interest to Mac users. Comparisons with Safari are inevitable, and while Mozilla's user interface is somewhat lacking visually, with many non-standard interface elements, it works well and offers features at least on a par with any of its competitors.

Put it on my tab

One of Safari's most acclaimed features, tabbed browsing, began life some time ago in Mozilla, so it's no surprise its implementation feels more mature. For instance, when opening a group of bookmarks as tabs, you can choose to append the tabs to already open ones (although you have to change an option in the preferences to do so); the back button can be used to restore a previous tab set; and, perhaps most usefully, Mozilla also warns you prior to closing a window with multiple open tabs.

This level of maturity is apparent elsewhere. Standards support is first-rate, and only sites specifically coded for Internet Explorer on Windows trip up this browser. Even the most advanced CSS layouts are rendered without a hitch.

The preferences provide plenty of scope for customisation: pop-up windows can be blocked, but those

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from specific sites can be allowed; many types of script actions can also be blocked; and the browser's look and feel can be modified via built-in options and dozens of freely downloadable themes. Also, Mozilla has long advocated simplicity, and the main toolbar is refreshingly straightforward for an application that isn't solely Mac-based, displaying only the bare essentials.

However, it's this same interface that hampers Mozilla on the Mac. Due to its cross-platform nature, interface elements are identical across Linux, Windows and the Mac OS, creating a slightly alien feel for Mac users. The Sidebar - a collapsible window for displaying bookmarks, history, search, and pages related to the open one - is a case in point. It's customisable and useful - in fact, we preferred organising bookmarks here than in Safari - but it still feels clunky.

Mozilla is more than just a browser. It also includes an email and newsgroup client, Composer (a rudimentary HTML editor), an address book, and Chatzilla, an IRC client. While far from terrible, none of these were impressive enough to make us dump our tried-and-tested applications in each field, most of which are freely available anyway. They also add unnecessary bloat to the application, meaning the hefty download is much larger than it needs to be.

Keep it simple

Ultimately, Mozilla's got a fight on its hands, what with Safari lodging itself firmly in the collective consciousness of Mac users. The browser highlights the best and worst of Mac applications. It's fast and stable, works with the vast majority of Web sites, and is highly configurable. However, the look and feel is very windows-esque, which we find off-putting. You may want to hunt around for a Mac-like skin, or wait and see if a future release is more compliant.

Overall, though, while we feel Mozilla isn't quite good enough to usurp Safari's as the best Mac browser, it's still worth installing, particularly if you find Safari restricting or some of your favourite sites continue to trip it up.