There are some drawbacks to this plug-in but it's free. Read on.



Text below and a link to Plug-in located at:



http://www.pcmag.com/iu/helper/propriet/scsbalpi.htm



or go directly to the plug-in's site at:



http://www.softcom.com/sir/index.html.



The download is 193K.



Microsoft and Netscape continue to add proprietary features and functionality

to their respective browsers. Because both browsers have their strong points,

many people are reluctant to choose one over the other. SoftCom Inc. has

created Sir Browse-A-Lot Plug-in, which combines the best of both worlds; it

allows users to enjoy Web sites enhanced for Internet Explorer the way they

were designed.



To use Plug-in, you'll still need to have an installed copy of Explorer 3.0

on your hard disk. As soon as you get to a Web page that has Explorer-only

features, Plug-in kicks in. You'll experience a delay as pages load, but the

delay is worth it. You'll finally be able to run ActiveX controls and

VBScript from within Navigator. If you happen upon a control that you haven't

already downloaded, Plug-in will automatically do it for you, adding it to

Explorer 3.0 (it's done from within Netscape).



There is one drawback to Plug-in, though. Once you get to an ActiveX-enabled

site and Plug-in starts working, you'll notice that several Navigator options

and functions will stop working. The most noticeable problem involves the

browser's Back button. If you click Back, you'll go to the last page you

visited before Plug-in began operating. So if you had gone to an ActiveX page

and then followed the links ten pages deep, you'll lose all of that history

and be transported to your first starting site. Other functions that are

disabled while Plug-in is running include Forward and Print and View Source

(from the View pull-down menu).





Emil Huston

Royal Ontario Museum

Toronto, Ontario

[log in to unmask]



"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is very wasteful".

Dan Quayle