Netscape's initial Netcaster channels are already live and accessible to developer's who have downloaded Netcaster from DevEdge Online, the Netscape Developers Internet site. In addition, Netscape has hosted more than 400 content providers, developers and distributors at special east and west coast Netcaster technology briefings. Netscape Netcaster technology enables thousands of content providers and distributors who already use HTML, Java and JavaScript to easily repurpose existing content to create dynamic Web content. Netscape Netcaster, based on open-standards, allows content providers and developers to create channels using HTML, Java and JavaScript. Because channels are created using existing Internet standards, content developers require no additional formats to create channels, and Netscape Communicator users require no additional client software to subscribe to channels.
Content providers can quickly create channels by making simple modifications to their Web sites.
This simplicity lays the foundation for thousands of new channels to be created quickly on the Internet. Content providers or corporate IS managers requiring additional functionality can also push information via the Castanet tuner, from Marimba Inc., which is integrated into Netscape Netcaster. Also accessible via the Netscape Channel Finder are Lycos Direct and The Sporting News. Netscape Netcaster users can subscribe to preview channels via the Channel Finder, or select any existing Web site to be viewed as a channel. Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet.