1. Emissary: The Wollongong Group, Inc.
2. MS Internet Explorer 2.0: Microsoft Corp.
3. NCSA Mosaic 2.1.1: NCSA.
4. Netscape Navigator 2.0:Netscape Communications Corp.
5. Web-On-Call:NetPhonic Communications, Inc.
6. pwWebSpeak: Productivity Works
7. Panorama: The University of Toronto and SoftQuad
8. Prospector: Microtouch
9. Appian Kiosk: Appian Interactive Corporation
10. The Audible Web: Michael Albers and Eric Bergman

Emissary: The Wollongong Group, Inc.

Interesting Features

• Integrates e-mail and news modules so that a folder can contain newsgroups and messages as well as Web pages.
• Bookmarks can include a mixture of graphics and text.
• E-mail, news and HTML pages can be edited within the same viewer. This allows Web pages to be annotated. On further investigation: it makes copies of the page, thus you are editing source. Not exactly what I had in mind. c'est la vie. imagine if you went back to the page and edited it again it would most likely try to overwrite your edits/annotations.
• Once the software arrives we will be conducting tests as to the accessibility of these features. Update: our initial tests have been unsuccessful since Emissary has been unable to cooperate with OutSpoken.

MS Internet Explorer 2.0: Microsoft Corp.

• Allows user to tab into edit boxes, even those that are off of the current page.
• Favorites can be organized with folder/desktop metaphor.
• Supports client-side image maps.
• It progressively reduces the graphics resources available to Windows programs, so that a slow-down in screen drawing is noticeable after a while. MS says that it's preparing a fix.

1. When images are not loaded, the associated alt-text is only shown when Height and Width attributes are also speicified.
2. Alt-text of images that are links is not underlines, making it impossible for users with screen readers to find if searching a page by links.
3. Load Location erases previous entry, it would be nice if this was persistent.
4. Font size choices are, "Largest, Large, Medium, Small and Smallest" rather than point size.
5. No hot key to toggle toolbar, address bar, and status bar.
6. History is under File menu rather than Go, which seems the more obvious location.
7. Individual items on the Favorites list cannot be edited

NCSA Mosaic 2.1.1: NCSA.

• Can find out which of your HotList sites have changed or are no longer viable.
• Autosurf feature allows you to retrieve each of a home page's links, to a determined depth, and load into cache. If a log is kept of the Autosurf, can then browse documents off-line. (Like webwhacker although it doesn't appear to configure anchors to your hard drive).
• Presentation mode takes the File/Edit/View menu off of the browser window and makes it look like a slide show.
• Collaborate feature allows several NCSA Mosaic users to view the same session.
• Can highlight the "current URL" with either a button, a hatching or highlighting. When using the arrow keys, the highlighting will jump from link to link.

1. Although can configure links to be underlined, alt-text links are not.
2. Alt-text links appear in a different font.
3. Font is configured by using "magnification units" of +/- 1-5, although we could not get this to work. Again, does not relate to point size.
4. Really nice hot keys to navigate (ex: shift B = back), add URLS and change some of the options (like toggling tool bar, status bar and location bar).
5. Configuring user preferences requires the user to navigate through a manila file structure with 13 folder tabs.
6. Would be nice if could navigate by groups instead of having to tab through every per preference page.

Netscape Navigator 2.0:Netscape Communications Corp.

• Only browser thus far that supports alt-text in a consistent manner. Alt-text that are associated with Image anchors are underlined, are the same font as the rest of the document, and are consistently rendered. NOTE: this is no longer the case.
• Font sizes are adjustable by point size.
• Supports client-side images maps.
• Browser can go through entire bookmark list to see what pages have changed since last visited.
• Document Information available. Possible place for PNG description fields?

1. Short cut keys (hot keys) are not available for toggling between toolbar, location and status bars and other functions.
2. Have to use a mouse to place cursor in edit boxes, rather than being able to tab into them when first entering a page.
3. Several functions do not have keyboard controls and are only available through the menus

Web-On-Call:NetPhonic Communications, Inc.

• allows user to navigate site by using touchtone phone.
• Does not require any training. users just pick a number (1. to navigate to the doc of your interest, 2 to identify a doc by its number...." once a caller reaches the doc, it can be read, faxed, sent as an e-mail attachment or send via postal mail.
• Useful to people in and out of the office. ex: driving, off-site meetings, etc. don't have to boot computer, wait for download (ex to get stock quotes)

1. We have not actually used this browser, but have read this from their literature.

pwWebSpeak: Productivity Works

• Navigation functions are based on HTML constructs rather than simply reading what is on the screen. As a result, users can easily access links, images, image maps, forms, titles, and paragraphs, without having to scroll from one screen of information to another.
• Page Summary. Provides a summary of the information on the page (number of links, images, image maps, and forms).
• Hot-key navigation to links, images, image maps, forms, titles and paragraphs is easily accomplished. The user can either be presented with lists of elements which can be selected, or can be taken directly to an element on the page where he or she can review the context of the element.
• Audio, Video, Real Audio, and Special Viewers are not supported in this beta, but will be supported in the first release. Update: Release XXX supports these now. As of our most recent tests JavaScript does not appear to be.
• "Read full page" function allows the user to hear the entire page without having to manually scroll to successive screens. The "full page" mode can be paused at any time.
• Searching the Web Page. This function allows the user to search the entire page for a text string.
• Searching the Internet. A front end search engine is provided which actually links to an Alta Vista search. The results from the search are the standard response pages produced by Alta Vista and are browsed in the same way as any other web pages.
• Large character display is available, in several font sizes, for persons with low vision.

1. Because the browser is primarily designed for persons who use speech or Braille output, the visual presentation of the page is not always maximized for persons who see. This will be improved in successive versions.
2. To keep current in it's support of new constructs, such as Java, the manufacturer will be possibly working to develop strategies which will allow the browser to work in conjunction with Netscape. This would allow the user to have all thefeatures of Netscape while keeping the interface with the HTML construct which pwWebSpeak(tm) currently supports.

Panorama: The University of Toronto and SoftQuad

• everything has a keyboard equivalent
• a position marker, to avoid the difficulty screen readers have in tracking a document which has no insertion pointer. (will function hierarchically: you will be able to highlight an entire group and then move into smaller portions of that group)
• SGML and HTML aware
• "move through important item" keys. user decides what constitues an important itme. ex: link to link, input field to anohter, titles, paragraphs, images, skip images, forms, etc.
• Navigation keys will also take you to some of the above mentioned things as well as to other things, like word, line, etc., but they will take you directly to these items without having to set them up to do so.
• An outline window which will give you an overview of the. This is especially nice for persons using magnification software.
• The level of detail of the outline is adjustable
• a "fish eye" view is also available such that whereveryou have your "important item" cursor, that area of the document can be presented in greater detail. Thethings which are further and further away will have lesser and lesser detail.
• Display options
  • Changing size of scroll bars to make them easier to find, etc.
  • Item suppression. Ability to suppress certain things like flashing text if you did not want it on the screen.
• Feedback options
  • What sounds do you want associated with certain actions or with what elements in the document
  • What are the automatic speech routines, for example, what will the browser say when the document has just finished loading
• Control options
  • Magnet mouse option availability. When your mouse comes close to an object, it is attracted to that object so you don't have to be as accurate with the mouse
  • Is word prediction desired

Prospector: Microtouch

Interesting Features:

• Attach movie or music to a link as it loads. ex: theme song, commercial for a page.
• At bottom of screen, have seven large buttons: back, forward, home, (page) up, (page) down, print, help.

1. Will we have to turn images off to get alt-text for speech mode or do something like the speed list.
2. Can configure it so that users can only view certain sites. It can either display the message, "This site is blocked" when an unauthorized site is accessed, or unauthorized sites are not underlined and blue.
3. Can use the system capabilities such as screen savers, for attract screens.

Appian Kiosk: Appian Interactive Corporation

Interesting Features:

• Also has attract mode, simplified navigation, blocked surfing capability (like prospector)
• Pop-up 'virtual keyboard' for typing into forms. If your kiosk has a touchscreen but no keyboard, this feature allows the user to enter information into forms.
• Precise layout. allows you to lay out text and images at exact X,Y positions.

The Audible Web: Michael Albers and Eric Bergman

Interesting Features:

• Uses auditory feedback to enhance Mosaic's user interface. It is embedded with non-speech auditory cues intended to aid user monitoring of data transfer progress, provide feedback for user actions, and to provide content feedback to aid navigation of the WWW.