| Biochemistry in 3D - Why Do I Need Communicator? |
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Compatibility Issues
The Biochemistry in 3D interface uses sophisticated JavaScript and DHTML to power its animations and interactive controls. Unfortunately, not all browsers support this level of programming. Among these browsers are Netscape 6.x and Internet Explorer. We are working to make Biochemistry in 3D compatible with as many systems as possible, but it is a complicated process and not entirely under our control. We hope that the valuable educational resources provided at this site offset the inconvenience of downloading the proper software. Requirements Mac PPC or Win 95/98/NT. Netscape Communicator 4.5-4.7x. Chemscape Chime 2.x plugin. Java, Javascript and style sheets must be enabled. [Page updated 03 October 01.] |
1. Why not Internet Explorer?
"The problem with Internet Explorer is that Microsoft has never provided full plug-in support. Chime is a plug-in; Netscape invented plug-ins and defined the plug-in interface. Microsoft provided partial plug-in support in IE, so you often get molecular images in Chime in IE. This is very confusing -- people assume that because they see the molecule, everything is working. Some simple Chime websites will work properly in IE. More complicated ones...don't work properly. Some controls fail or give incorrect results or incorrect images. The biggest thing that Microsoft has not implemented is the best way for the browser to control Chime, called LiveConnect." "The incompatibility of Chime 2 with Internet Explorer is the result of Microsoft never having provided full plug-in support in IE. ...future changes in Chime or javascript programming methods may allow better use of Chime in IE, but these are problematic and uncertain." "On both Windows and Macintosh, it is perfectly OK to have both Internet Explorer and Netscape installed, or even multiple versions of each. You can then use whichever is better for a particular application."
2. Why not Netscape 6?
3. Why not older versions of Netscape?
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