14 DAY TRIAL // I can't imagine a day without Internet. In cases of emergency, let's suppose I can survive three days at most, but probably after that, I'll be like a zombie looking for a computer connected to the World Wide Web, and no matter how close this may be to reality, all of you must agree with me that Web browsers are a very important software family, and today, the time has come to discover another of its members.
The Web browser I have here is called Deepnet Explorer, its latest version is 1.5.3 Beta 2 and, best of all, it's completely free! The setup package has 4.7MB in size and the program is very easy to install, but I must tell you that what I have here is the Advanced Edition. If you want, you can get the Standard Edition, its setup package having only 4.1MB in size. The only difference between these two versions is that the Advanced Edition also includes a P2P Client.
Before moving on to the program's interface and features, I must tell you from the start that Deepnet Explorer is one of its kind, because it offers more than most Web browsers. Apart from the Web browser and the file sharing client that I just told you about, both versions of the program include an excellent RSS Reader, and that's an excellent addition.
The program starts inside the Home tab with the News Browser open. This News Browser is the RSS Reader that I was telling you about earlier, and next, we should find out a little more about it, don't you think?
First of all, I must tell you that Deepnet Explorer's news reader supports XML, RSS, RDF, ATOM and OPML syndication formats, and I haven't seen many RSS Readers to do so until now.
When adding new channels, your steps are guided by a wizard that makes everything a lot easier, and what I like the most is that you can search for news channels on the Internet, and this is another feature that some RSS Readers don't have, despite the fact that it's extremely useful.
Organizing your news is very easy, and I must say that this news reader built into this Web browser blew me away with its features. News can be filtered, updated manually or automatically, sorted into groups, archived, and the best part of it all is that the reader includes a browser window that allows you to view the news at once.
The P2P client can be used to exchange files with other users on the Internet and includes a media player and a file library, Deepnet Explorer being the first browser ever to include such a feature.
Apart from these, what we have here is a good Web browser, fast and reliable. The amount of system resources taken isn't excellent, but it won't make your computer crawl either. Deepnet Explorer's browser may not be the best one around, but it doesn't lack advanced features such as mouse gestures, auto login and forum completion. Of course that you can open as many pages as you wish, because - needless to say - this is a tabbed browser.
At last, I'll add that Deepnet Explorer also supports skins and customizable keyboard shortcuts for every action you can think of. These being said, I'll move aside to clear the path for you and move on to the conclusions.
The Good
Deepnet Explorer is a very good alternative to any browser, RSS Reader and P2P Client trio you may use, and its ease of use and wide range of features make it an excellent choice, and the cherry on the top is that the program is completely free to download and use!
The Bad
The browser and P2P client still need some work, as well as the Help file.
The Truth
Every time I get to think that I can't have any more surprises from a category of programs, something happens and turns my world upside down. Today, Deepnet Explorer did that, and I can only advise you to get this program as soon as possible, because it's worth your time, I can guarantee you that!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
