NetPositive 3.0d3

This page makes available a development version of NetPositive, which features JavaScript support. NetPositive is the fast and compact web browser included with the BeOS.

NetPositive 3.0d3 was released on March 29, 1999.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A fully supported version of NetPositive is available online at BeDepot.com. We recommend you use the supported version of NetPositive unless you have a specific need to access web sites which use JavaScript.

Description

This page describes and offers for download a development version of NetPositive, the web browser included with the BeOS. The major features of this version of NetPositive are:

• Preliminary JavaScript support
• Experimental HTML filtering New in 3.0d3
• Two new icons in the toolbar, a Link icon and a Search button New in 3.0d3
• A couple new preferences
• Many bug fixes
• Some new bugs
• No longer plays QuickTime movies

Much more detail about what is new in NetPositive 3.0 is in the Release Notes file included with the application. Be sure to read it, it's quite interesting and useful.

As you can see, there's interesting stuff and omissions in this new version. You will want to keep your old version of NetPositive on your system, for use when this version does not suit your needs. You can download the latest supported version of NetPositive from BeDepot.com:

http://www.bedepot.com/Products/Be/NetPositive.asp

IMPORTANT NOTE: This software is considered to be a development release. This means it is very early in the development process, before beta, before alpha. It is virtually guaranteed to have problems, some of them of the fatal variety. Proceed at your own risk.

Who Can Use NetPositive 3.0d3

Anyone running the BeOS Release 4 can download and install this application.

This update is for the BeOS Release 4 running on the Intel Architecture and PowerPC platforms.

IMPORTANT NOTE: NetPositive 3.0d3 requires BeOS Release 4; you cannot use it on any previous version of the BeOS.

Getting and Installing NetPositive 3.0d3

Downloading and installing NetPositive 3.0d3 is very simple. Please read the below instructions completely before beginning, however, so that you are certain to follow the correct installation procedure.

The software is provided in a cross-platform SoftwareValet package. Installing is as simple as double-clicking the package and then clicking the Begin button. There is some housekeeping you might want to do afterwards, though, so read the instructions completely.

1. From your BeOS system, download the NetPositive 3.0d3 package.

   NetPositive 3.0d3 is contained in a SoftwareValet Package, and can be downloaded from the following locations:

   Via HTTP: http://www.be.com/support/updates/r4/NetPositive_3.0d3.pkg
   Via FTP: ftp://ftp.be.com/pub/beos_updates/r4/NetPositive_3.0d3.pkg

   Be sure to transfer the package file in binary mode; if you receive a checksum or other error when trying to use the package, that's almost certainly the problem.

2. Open the NetPositive 3.0d3 package with SoftwareValet.

   Depending on how you downloaded the package file, you may be able to do this by double-clicking the package file. Otherwise, simply Control-drag the NetPositive 3.0d3 package onto the SoftwareValet application icon to open it with SoftwareValet.

3. Click the Begin button and then the Continue button to install NetPositive 3.0d3.

   The NetPositive 3.0d3 application will be installed into the /beos/apps/ directory of your boot volume, and a Release Notes HTML file onto your Desktop. Symlinks to the NetPositive 3.0d3 application will be created in your /apps/ and /home/config/be/Applications/ directories. You can choose an alternative installation disk, if you wish, from the volume pop-up menu.

4. Close SoftwareValet and read the Release Notes.

   The Release Notes contain considerable information about this version of NetPositive, and you'll definitely want to read it at some point.

Housekeeping Issues

Older NetPositive 3.0d Versions Will Be Deleted

The NetPositive 3.0d3 installer automatically removes previous NetPositive 3.0x versions to prevent clutter. If you would like to save off a copy of the previous 3.0x release in case the new version doesn't work out for you, do so before running the installer.

Dragging the application out of the /boot/beos/apps folder is sufficient.

Launching the Right Application

The NetPositive 3.0d3 installer does not delete your copy of NetPositive 2.x when it installs NetPositive 3.0d3. This means that you will have a supported, stable web browser you can use. It also means that you have two versions of NetPositive on your system, which may lead to unexpected results.

Specifically, if you double-click an HTML file when no web browser is running, the Tracker will most likely launch the old version of NetPositive. If you want to use the new version, you'll need to launch it manually first.

This happens because the Tracker caches MIME information, and the old MIME information says that text/html files should be opened with the application at a specific location. You can set the Tracker's default behavior to launching the new version of NetPositive by changing the information in this cache. Here's how:

1. Right-Click on an HTML file to bring up the context-sensitive menu for the file.

   On Macintosh hardware, use Control-Click instead of Right-Click.

2. Choose the "Open With..." option from the menu.

3. In the list of applications that appears, select NetPositive 3.0d3.

4. Click the "Open and Make Preferred" button.

Playing Movies

Another housekeeping issue is that the new NetPositive does not play QuickTime moves, unlike older versions of NetPositive. Movie support was removed in anticipation of a movie player application which makes use of the Media Kit. This application will ship before NetPositive 3.0 becomes final, but it isn't ready yet. So you'll want to keep the old NetPositive on your system, so you can play movies.