In addition, more preview release channels will be rolled out on an ongoing basis. Netscape Netcaster rounds out Netscape Communicator's open messaging, groupware and browsing suite by allowing users to receive the most timely information pushed to their desktops, while giving content publishers and corporate IS groups an easily manageable mechanism for distributing dynamic information. Like all Netscape Communicator components, Netscape Netcaster is based on open standards and provides a cross-platform architecture. This standards-based architecture allows content providers and developers to create channels using HTML, Java and JavaScript, and the underlying technology in Netscape Communicator. Because channels are created using 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 existing 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 Netcaster. Netscape Communicator brings users some of the best content on the Internet absolutely free through such programs as Netscape In-Box Direct and now several exciting new channels. Other channels accessible via the Netscape Channel Finder, which allows users to access the best channels on the Internet, 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.