Netscape Communications Corp duly introduced Netscape Navigator 3.0 yesterday. The new release includes corporate administration and security features, real-time collaboration and support for Java. A public beta release of Navigator 3.0 for Windows, Mac OS and Unix operating systems is available now for downloading from the Netscape Internet site, and the final version is due this quarter at $50. Netscape reckons that its Java implementation is the first open implementation usable across Windows95, Windows 3.1, Mac OS and Unix. The integrated multimedia capabilities of the new Internet client software include support for Internet telephony using CoolTalk from InSoft Inc, acquired by Netscape earlier this year, and new video and audio capabilities. The new Internet client also supports VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) 2.0, and has enhanced Mail and News readers. The company also signed with Apple Computer Inc to make the core QuickTime and QuickTime Conferencing technologies available in Netscape’s LiveMedia cross-system multimedia offering. Key features of the new release are designed to appeal to corporate users building intranets, with improvements in security and performance. A new Enterprise Kit enables data processing managers to customize Navigator to stop their users doing undesirable things; digital certificates and Version 3.0 of Secure Sockets Layer provide client authentication and better encryption of the network link. First word from the field is that the beta release is already solid.
