Composer functions well as a basic HTML editor, but those needing a more powerful editor or advanced site management should look at other programs, such as Allaire HomeSite, Macromedia Dreamweaver, or Microsoft FrontPage. AOL's Instant Messenger lets users send and receive instant messages with people using AOL's proprietary client as well as other Instant Messenger users. Although Netscape is billing this as a maintenance release, Version 4.06 incorporates some of the features that will be included in Version 4.5 of Netscape's suite. By integrating these features directly into the browser, Netscape intends for them to drive traffic to its portal site Netcenter. Two of the new features are part of Netscape's Smart Browsing improvements.
Communicator now lets users type keywords into the URL address box.
Communicator checks a keyword against a list of sites in Netcenter's database and either routes the user to the site that makes the most sense or takes the user to a Netcenter index page. From there the user can choose the site to visit. In each case Communicator checked Netcenter's database and then routed us to the appropriate site. We never had to enter a URL, just the keywords. We found this to be extremely useful and a big time-saver.