The browser wars are back! Or are they? Netscape has released a preview of the 6-point-0 version of their browser, jumping ahead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer -- at least in name. Sporting an entirely new look and feel, Netscape 6 has been completely rebuilt from the ground up.

There are a slew of new features in Netscape 6, some of which directly tie into America Online, which bought Netscape last year. AOL Instant Messenger users can chat with their buddies right in the browser.... and in a significant leap, you can now check your AOL mail as well as any other mail accounts you might have. For me, this means I don;t have to launch the AOL application to check my AOL.com address, and then Netcape to check my work email.

Other enhancements include a tool called My Sidebar, which appears as a neat little set of file folder-like tabs along the left hand side of the browser window. There are tabs for stocks, news, instand messenger, and search, among others -- all of which can be customized.

Since this is a preview release, not everything works quite right, and the browser is full of bugs. And one promised feature isn't included yet -- the ability to put a whole new skin (or look and feel) on the browser. Imagine being able to make Netscape match your home's decor, or adding a 1950s retro look to the buttons. That's what skins will do for Netscape 6 users. In my experience, these skins only end up maiing the application uglier and harder to use. But these skins are all the rage on the internet right now, so for better or wrorse, they're part of Netscape 6.

The real excitement -- if there is any -- about the new Netscape is not in what you see -- its what's under the hood. There is a new page-rendering engine called gecko which is supposed to make web pages load faster. And Netscape says this engine is so small and so well-built that it'll power all sorts of new so-called web appliances.... like palm pilots, cellphones, and tocuhscreens that are embedded in yourrefrigerator or dashboard.

If all that sounds like a less-than-compelling reason to spend an hour downloading Netscape 6, you're probably right. Prepare yourself for a little blasphemy here, but Internet Explorer 5.0 is still a better browser. netscape 6's minor and frankly at times annoying changges simply do not warrant a change from Microsoft's browser. Even AOL says they'll continue to ship Internet Explorer as the default browser for America Onbline subscribers.

So although the release of Netscape 6 is a significant move for the company from a business persepctive... and will lead to all sorts of exciting new web-enabled products... for most people this news is just another big yawn.