Equip your browsers with the Ideal Surfing Tools  

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Think of your browser as a car with no extras--not even an AM radio; while it'll get you from point A to point B, it won't be as much fun as it could be. To see and hear everything the Internet has to offer, you'll need to extend your browser's capabilities with a variety of plug-ins, helper applications, and utilities. That's why I've listed desirable add-ons which, you'll be happy to know, can be found easily and for free on the net. Note, however, that your browser may already be equipped with some of these, so check your helper app configurations and your plug-in folder first before doubling up. And if you don't know a MIME-type from a mime troupe, don't despair; the  links listed will help you cut through all the confusing terminology and get to the good stuff. 

Netscape users will find both the Unofficial Netscape FAQ [http://www.sousystems.com/faq/] and Netscape's own help pages [http://help.netcape.com/] useful. IE users should bookmark the Microsoft IE technical support page [http://www.microsoft.com/iesupport] for whichever version they use. 

Once you've got yourself all tricked out, you'll be ready to roll in earnest. Here's a list of plug-ins that will greatly add to your surfing pleasure: 

AnimaFlex [http://www.rubberflex.com/] from RubberFlex Software plays high speed animations (approx. 20-30 frames per second). The files are typically less than 30 KB and the plug-in runs on Mac, Win3.x, Win95, or WinNT. 

Grab your popcorn! Apple's QuickTime [http://www.apple.com/] Plug-in plays animations, music, MIDI files, audio, video, and virtual reality while downloading. It's available for Mac, Win3.x, Win95, and WinNT. 

Hey, hep cat--Beatnik [http://www.headspace.com/] is Headspace's audio plug-in that plays RMF (Headspace's proprietary Rich Music Format), MIDI, MOD, WAV, AIFF, and AU audio files within your browser with high-fidelity sound quality on Mac, Win95, WinNT. You will simply love the grphic equilisers which come with this plug-ins. Now you can see the musical notes as they play.

If you want to see what virtual treats Silicon Graphics [http://www.sgi.com/] is offering these days, get Cosmo Player, a browser for experiencing VRML 2.0 environments on your Win95, WinNT, or IRIX system. 

Enjoy your coffee while you talk. The ichat [http://www.ichat.com/] Plug-in from ichat lets you participate in online chat through Netscape Navigator on ichat-enabled sites or IRC. Chat via your Mac, Win3.x, Win95, or WinNT machine. 

Want to walk or fly through 3D VRML worlds with Netscape Navigator on your Power Mac, Win3.x, Win95, or WinNT? Live3D from Netscape will let you do just that. Only Mac users can benefit from Knowledge Engineering's MacZilla [http://maczilla.com/] plug-in. This comprehensive Netscape Navigator plug-in plays QuickTime; MIDI, WAV, AU, and AIFF audio; MPEG; and AVI. 

Everyone wants to be good mbed. mBED Player from, you guessed it, mBED [http://www.mbed.com/] will help you. Interactive "mbedlets" contain video and audio content and are designed to use available bandwidth more efficiently. It's for Mac and Windows 3.1, 95, and NT. 

Don't wear your pajamas to the board meeting! OnLive! Talker from OnLive! Technologies [http://www.onlive.com/] lets users with Win95 Netscape 3.0 (or later) join voice conferences in real time on the Web. 

Get real. RealPlayer from Progressive Networks [http://www.prognet.com/] lets you access streaming RealAudio and RealVideo content live or on demand. It's available for Mac, Win3.x, Win95, WinNT, OS/2, IRIX, Sun OS, and LINUX. Move it. 

RealVR Traveller [http://www.livepicture.com/] from RealSpace lets you view panoramic images, VRML2.0 3D rendering, graphics, and video with audio playback on Power Mac, Win95, or WinNT. 

Shock it. Macromedia's Shockwave [http://www.macromedia.com/] is considered the industry standard for experiencing interactive multimedia, animations, vector-based graphics, and streaming audio on the Web. Install the plug-in on your Mac, Win3.x, Win95, or WinNT machine to experience the shocking truth. Flashy animations are what you'll get with Shockwave Flash. This Macromedia product is available for Mac, Win3.x, Win95, and WinNT and is for viewing multimedia content in real time. Flash's smaller file sizes improve download times for slower connections.

VDOLive from VDONet [http://www.vdonet.com/] displays compressed video in real time at 10 to 15 frames per second with a 28.8 kbps modem on Power Mac, Win3.x, Win95, or WinNT. 

Be sure to use the latest versions of browsers, be it Navigator or Internet Explorer, for the ultimate surfing experience.