Clothe Your Browser

Free NeoPlanet adds messaging, clubs, and custom browsing interface.

Cameron Crouch, PC World

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NeoPlanet may be the answer.

Sparking up your window to the Web, NeoPlanet offers a downloadable browser interface that sits on top of Internet Explorer with customizable "skins" and search channels. NeoPlanet 5.0, available Monday as a free download, offers an even more versatile browser package. It adds compatibility with Netscape 5.0, as well as instant messaging and clubs.

Freedom of Choice

With NeoPlanet 5.0, you can toggle between the Microsoft browsing engine and a beta version of Netscape's next Mozilla engine. Because the NeoPlanet skins frame the browser, the switch option lets you choose which browser technology you prefer. But you can maintain your choice of colorful NeoPlanet interfaces. NeoPlanet even lets you take a side-by-side test view.

Using a beta version of NeoPlanet 5.0, I found browsing with the beta Mozilla engine to be extremely slow and unstable. This may be the result of beta version quirks in both Netscape's Gecko rendering engine and the 5.0 version of NeoPlanet. But the Microsoft rendering engine worked fine, so maybe Mozilla is to blame after all.

Like many desktop browser tools, NeoPlanet makes its money from partnerships and ads. When first launched, Lycos dominates one's initial browsing experience with myLycos as the default home page and Lycos as the default search engine. Still, this can easily be changed.

Another potential annoyance, the rich media ads, run only in the corner. They're compressed so they won't demand a lot of bandwidth, according to the company. The channel side bar, which also has some default sites, guides users to Web sites for shopping, news, entertainment, and other categories. That feature can be customized as well.

Fun New Features

NeoPlanet 5.0 incorporates instant messaging and clubs from Valent Software. Several community sites offer clubs and chat, and others provide instant messaging, but NeoPlanet offers both.

"We think we're unique in combining them with the custom browser," says Drew Cohen, NeoPlanet president and chief executive officer. NeoPlanet users "can create private clubs and even adult clubs, and the chat and browse feature can synchronize," Cohen says. This sync feature lets people look at the same Web pages while chatting.

Browser skins are not unique to NeoPlanet, but are the product's best-known feature. You'll find 245 free downloadable skins on NeoPlanet's Web site, most of which were created by users. You'll also find a choice of themes for your browsing environment, from borders and buttons to sounds and songs.

NeoPlanet has teamed with New Line Cinema to offer official "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" skins featuring video clips from the movie and even a "Fat Bastard" e-mail alert.

With America Online-like features such as instant messaging, chat and search channels as well as a choice of browsing technologies, NeoPlanet 5.0 moves beyond a mere custom browser interface to be more of an all-in-one browser service. Despite its ads and default settings, NeoPlanet 5.0 gives you more control over your Internet experience.

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