Thanks to the power of advertising, you thought that the only ones worth talking about were Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, right? You thought they were Gods gifts to the Internet, never mind their bulky presence filling out valuable hard disk space. As any surfer who’s ever used Opera (http://www.opera.com/) will tell you, you were wrong, and how!

So what’s Opera, you ask? Well, it’s a browser created in Norway, with over a million users worldwide. First, the downside: you pay for it -- $39 to be exact, and $20 at an ‘educational price’. Still worth the money though, considering its many assets. Opera can simultaneously open all pages you were viewing when you last logged off the Net, letting you ‘save’ yesterday’s work. You can also resize a number of pages and tile them together for a better view. Opera can also run on PCs as old as a 486. You can filter cookies, get a full screen presentation, redirect the output from one window to another, add all open documents with just two clicks, and even zoom in and out of pages.

Opera is a special gift for the handicapped, as it is navigable entirely with the keyboard! As for that all-important security factor, it features 128bit SSL encryption, version 2 and 3, and is also the first browser to support TLS 1.0. Opera takes up only 4MB of RAM, while its install program can fit on a 1.4MB floppy disk with ease. It loads pages as fast as any current big browser. Another interesting feature is the ‘multipane interface’ that lets users open a number of windows, and specify different settings for each. For example, your email site could open without graphics, while a news site could open with them, saving you time and loading speed.

Another good choice is iCab (http://www.icab.de/), straight out of Germany. Built specially for Mac users, it is fully customisable and runs on 4MB, almost one-fifth the memory taken by Netscape or IE. Programmers working on an HTML presentation can use the ‘kiosk’ mode that locks up the rest of one’s computer leaving just the browser visible. It can also generate error reports indicating syntax mistakes on an HTML source useful for those designing their own web pages. The cost? $29 at present, with additional features like cascading stylesheets level 2 (CSS2) and JavaScript being planned for its final release.

Talking about saving space, imagine a browser that can fit on a single floppy disc! That’s the 1X browser (http://www.scitrav.com/1X/) and, while it doesn’t run Java yet, its creators say that this is actually an advantage as Java slows down page loading. It is especially useful for students and researchers, thanks to a feature that enables one to drag text clips to an HTML file on a shared drive -- far better than photocopies or e-mailed links. You’ll have to cough up $15 to get it, which is still an attractive price when compared to most other options. The 1X Web Snippets facility lets you get online information fast; while the Previewer Paper Save mode lets you print compact hardcopies of web sites in a two column format.

Arachne (http://arachne.browser.org/) is another browser that fits on a single floppy disk. This is for those without a machine capable of running Windows; small (less than 1 mb), uncomplicated, almost completely DOS based, and very fast. Still, for the sceptics, it supports most HTML pages, and even gives users a mail client. There are toolbar icons for those who feel lost without them, while Arachne renders text and images like most browsers much bigger than itself. It’s navigable even without a mouse, and comes with its own built-in dialer, POP3 email client, Telnet client, and a drag-and-drop FTP client. The downside is that installing and configuring it may take a while. That, and the fact that you have to pay $30 to get it.

Those interested may note that past users haven’t been complaining. Rdesk (http://www.rdesk.com/), a slim browser with built-in text editor, is ideal for researchers and students. Users can drag and drop selected text on to a page at the lower half of the screen, and then save it all as a word document. Lots of other academic-research tools are also thrown in, for $26.95. Also called the ‘RDesk Mediator,’ the browser’s main aim is to help users perform academic research with ease, which pretty much puts its unique features into perspective.

HotJava (http://java.sun.com/products/hotjava/) from the Sun Microsystems’ stable, has potential, but needs working on. Built for Java, the best thing about it is its platform-neutrality that enables it to run on simply everything. Developers are also free to customise parts of it, though the sad news is it’s a lot slower than browsers like IE and Netscape Communicator. Everything is supported well enough; tables to colours to frames; while the HotJava renders HTML, accepts cookies and supports SSL-encrypted secure transactions as well.

Neoplanet (http://www.neoplanet.com/) is for those who prefer the look of a browser over everything else. It’s a small (under 2.5MB) ‘integrated browser’ with an e-mail client, instant messaging, chat, web directory, and search engine, all rolled into one slick package. And slick it definitely is, thanks to a choice of customisable skins. Best of all, it’s freeware, which should come as relief to those gasping after the prices just mentioned.

Though Amaya (http://www.w3.org/Amaya/) supports cascading style sheets and boasts an integrated HTML editor, it fails where most modern sites are concerned, thanks to no scripting support. Plus points, and there are few, should appeal mainly to web developers, as Amaya was created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to be a consistent platform on which official HTML developments could be viewed; and also comes with an authoring tool. What this means is that while the latest in HTML technology is a breeze on Amaya, additions like frames, JavaScript, and other enhancements simply fail to show up.

If you’re done your homework on the World Wide Web, Mosaic (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/NCSAMosaicHome.html) should be anything but news for you. It’s been around a lot longer than most browsers but, sadly, doesn’t come close to the ones around today. There is no Java or scripting support, neither does it support complex tables or even coloured text. Since it was made to view traditional HTML 3.2 based content, older pages load well enough to please; it’s newer sites that reveal the failures.

So why talk about it? Because it still has some special extras to offer, like simplicity of use. You can initiate a TCP/IP-based group environment, chat, pass links, and even drag-and-drop files with friends online. Its AutoSurf crawler automatically retrieves pages for offline viewing, while those with slow modems are offered an option that lets them load sites with text only, with Mosaic pulling images from the cache. Pros and cons considered, take your pick.

Then there’s Softerm Plus+ (http://www.softronics.com/lit_plus.html) which, though low-powered, still claims to be a total Internet tools suite that can be yours for around $35. It’s a web browser, Telnet and FTP client, and email app all in one; with the Telnet client emerging as its best component. That mentioned, there’s nothing much left to discuss. Standard email client, minimal features, basic newsreader, underpowered browser... and you’re not left with much to go on. Still interested? It’s your money.

Pros and cons, features and additions, there’s a lot more to those already mentioned. As with all other things online, the options never stop. What one needs to do is sit back, evaluate the need, and then set about finding a browser that fits the requirement. And anyway, if all else fails, there’s always good old Netscape and Explorer.