 WebEx
is one of a new category of "off-line" Internet browsing software.
This offering by Traveling Software, Inc. is a tool that allows users to "take the web with them". This product is directed toward people on the move such as business travelers and those of us who hate getting dropped off from our Internet connection during peak hours. With WebEx, you can download important web site information to your hard drive and read it at your convenience. The dream of surfing the Web without an Internet connection is attractive to anyone, but don’t raise your eyebrows too high just yet. Since this is a relatively new technology, it has a lot of promise and will evolve and certainly get better. System Requirements:
What? A what into my browser, you ask? A floating toolbar that can be customized to your preferences. This is an intuitive interface, but this reviewer is under the impression that a user with a small video display (I have a 17" Display) may feel their browser space is a bit cluttered. The documentation is a small 30+ page booklet that gives you the "nuts and bolts" of the application. The thing to remember is that this software is designed to dial up your Internet connection at specified intervals (I set it to run at 2AM when I am fast asleep). You can capture the sites that you specify so you can "take them with you" and view them at your leisure without connecting to the Internet. Some of the confusion may be in the way it captures the sites. You specify a "depth level" meaning a number of links into a page you want to go. The depth level ranges from 1-9. A 1 means you would capture only that page and no links on it. A "2" would capture that page and the link pages that are on that page. Sound confusing? You can go as deep as you want, but keep in mind the deeper you go the longer your download session will be. My first attempt started at 2AM and was still downloading at 5:30AM (needless to say, I was learning.) The on-line help is sufficient and you can feel your way around. Since the information is stored on your local drive, you have the option to place a space limitation on the amount of Hard Drive space you will dedicate to this. Beware of graphically heavy sites! They can fill up your space fast. When viewing my sites offline, It felt like I was connected. I did appreciate the speed when viewing my news sites (Ziff-Davis, CNN, and Washington Post). I was impressed with the amount of control you have over the function of the application (meaning the settings, even down to what you will allow or disallow). As I stated before, this is an evolving technology (as is everything Internet related) and I look forward to seeing future versions of this software adapting to the newer Netscape and Explorer web browsers. If you are "on the road" constantly and know where to get your information, this is a useful tool. If you are chained to your desktop, this is not the product for you. WebEx lists for $49.95 street price is around $30.00.http://www.travsoft.com; 18702 North Creek Parkway, Bothell, WA 98011; Phone: (425) 483-8088) Ed Rios is a Novell LAN Engineer for CITICORP here in San Antonio. He is also co-owner of Informweb.com and one of the HTML SIG Instructors for Alamo PC. |