America Online has released its first external beta of Version
3.0 for the Macintosh and it draws high praise from early users.
According to a published report earlier this month, the final
Macintosh version is due in September.
Improvements noted in the new version include:
  The disparity between the Macintosh and Windows software has been eliminated.
  The correct software will be installed; therefore, your processor will run in
“native” mode no matter what type of Mac you have.
  A redesigned email interface, which includes a spell checker. This area is still
being tested.
  You no longer have to wait for the art to completely appear before navigating AOL.
If you move on before the art is done, it will resume next time you return to the
area.
  A bookmarks version, called personal filing cabinet/favorite places. Still under
development is a feature to have email automatically stored in personal filing
cabinets.
  Drag and Drop which eliminates the need to retype long Internet mail addresses.
  A buddy list which flashes the names of your friends who have just signed on.
  A scheduler which will run flashsessions automatically as long as the Mac is turned
on. AOL software need not be running at the time.
  Version 3.0 for Macintosh is expected to include a completely integrated version
of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
by Elizabeth Martin
  
Claris has served up the first beta version of its new web page
editor for public trial. The new beta allows you to select plain-
English options from a pull-down menu or the toolbar and HTML
codes are added automatically. You can preview pages and switch modes
(from WYSIWYG to raw code for direct HTML editing) with one click.
HomePage also has support for some features that PageMill owners are waiting for in version 2.0: Table support and a “frame” builder feature allow development of heavy duty web pages. For convenience the program lets you store page templates and other frequently-used custom items. According to Claris, advanced users can quickly integrate applets and scripts created in Java, CGI, and Perl.
The beta version of HomePage is available now at http://www.claris.com/products/ homepage/enquirer/, although Claris offers no tech support and provides no manual.
by Alex Narvey 
  
DataViz is offering a free download of the beta version of
Web Buddy, a boon for anyone who likes to browse web
pages but is put off by the time and expense involved.
With Web Buddy, according to DataViz, busy sites or busy
schedules are a thing of the past. The software, which will
sell for less than $50 (US), offers, in other words, “the
web to go,” when you want it and where you want it.
Web Buddy lets users:
  Collect web pages and entire sites from the web for convenient “offline” browsing:
Using the “Page To Go” and “Site To Go” utilities, users can take selected pages and
entire sites from the web down to their hard drive and view them when it is more
convenient—like on a laptop while travelling. The pages look exactly the way they
did online.
  Schedule Web Buddy to deliver web pages and sites to you: Web Buddy can be
scheduled to take pages from the web anytime. High-traffic web sites can be
accessed during off-peak hours, saving time and money by avoiding lengthy
dial-up sessions.
  Translate and reuse web pages and graphics in your favorite word processor: With
the “Convert” utility, users can convert a web page or graphic and use it in a
word processing or graphics program. Virtually all formatting features are
retained in the resulting file, including graphics, tables, and character styles.
URLs can be included as footnotes.
  Organize all the information you find on the Internet in one central place: Web
Buddy allows users to copy pages and sites with all necessary files to other
locations on their computers, networks or disks. Users can save an entire site to a
floppy disk and allow colleagues or clients to browse the pages right from the disk.
To download the Web Buddy beta, visit the DataViz web site at http://www.dataviz. com/webbuddy. 
by Elizabeth Martin
  
Working Software has announced a version of its Spellswell 7
spelling checker that works as if it is a built-in feature of the
Netscape Navigator web browser—this, after adding Eudora Light
support earlier this month.
The company is extending their $14.95 Spellswell 7 upgrade offer to users of Netscape Navigator.
The new Spellswell 7 version 2.0.4 comes with an AppleScript which is placed in the Mac OS's Apple Menu Items folder. “Spellcheck Netscape Navigator” then appears in the Apple menu. When this menu item is selected, Spellswell 7 spellchecks the active email or news message window just as if it is built into Netscape Navigator's, automatically returning the corrected text to the same Netscape Navigator email or news message window.
The “Spellcheck Netscape Navigator” AppleScript is available free from
Working Software's World Wide Web site located at http://www.working.com. 
According to Working Software, Spellswell 7 also uses the AppleScript to build itself directly into the menus of InfoDepot, Eudora, HyperCard, BBEdit, ClarisWorks, WordPerfect, Omnis 7, Writeswell Jr. and other programs that use AppleEvents.
Spellswell 7 comes bundled with Eudora Pro, InfoDepot, Web Server 4D and will also be built into the upcoming America Online 3.0 and Quarterdeck Mail 4.0.
by Alex Narvey
  
Maxum Development Corp. has shipped
Phantom 1.1, an upgraded version of AKTIV
Software's Macintosh-based Web crawler
formerly known as Duppies.
Phantom scans web sites and allows seamless searches of multiple servers. The site being scanned can be running any HTTP server software and be based on any platform, including Macintosh, UNIX, or Windows NT. Any number of Web sites can be indexed and searched by a single Phantom server.
Other Phantom features include:
  Independent server or CGI execution.
  Fully customizable HTML end-user interface.
  Multi-page query responses.
  Meta keyword supports.
  Username and passwords for protected sites.
  Automatic updating of search indexes.
  "Noise word" filtering.
  Full activity logging.
The Phantom search engine provides keyword searching, Boolean operators and phonetic searching as well as the ability to provide custom HTML headers and footers to totally integrate the search engine into a Web site. It will also automatically update its indexes at predefined times and flag any pages that have been updated.
Maxum Development’s home page is http://www.maxum.com/  
