The light at the end of the tunnel

With the announcement of a new version of XFree86 that incorporated a font-server that supported scalable fonts, I felt a surge of hope that my Netscape-ugliness problem might soon be a distant memory. So I downloaded and installed the latest XFree86 — but for some reason, it didn't seem to help Netscape.

The real breakthrough came with the arrival of Red Hat 7.1 which, of course, includes up-to-date versions of GNOME, KDE, XFree86 (including a working font-server), and — as I was about to discover — a later version of Netscape than the one I'd been struggling with for the past year.

To be sure I hadn't created any bogus problems, I backed up my valuable data and performed a “new install” of Red Hat 7.1. This way, I'd be clearing away the residue of all my previous experiments and starting fresh.

The installation process went smoothly, and my system booted crisply with the new Linux 2.4 kernel that is a standard feature of RH 7.1. Wanting to be sure networking and the Internet were installed properly, I tried out my “favorite” browser — Netscape. Not expecting anything to be different, since Linux Netscape seemed frozen in time like some prehistoric mammoth buried in ice at the North Pole, I configured and tested Netscape's email client and checked it out.

I tried sending an email. Imagine my delight when I stumbled on the fact that Netscape's address book — the major obstacle to using its otherwise capable email system — actually worked! Thank heaven for Netscape 4.76 (included with RH 7.1).

My heart began beating faster, as it dawned on me that I was tantalizingly close to the object of my year long quest for a fully functional Linux system suitable for work-day use!

But I was still faced with the horrible fonts and otherwise ugly appearance of Netscape — the only browser and email software that currently met my functional requirements. What was I to do about that?

Solving the last problem

Though I had searched several times before for font solutions simple enough for a non-programmer like me to implement, I decided to have another go at finding something useful through a search on Google.

This time, I hit the jack pot! I happened upon a refreshingly well-written Web page entitled Netscape Customizations. There, I found straightforward, easy-to-follow procedures that would supposedly produce some highly appealing changes in the look of Netscape 4.7x. There was also some useful information about getting scalable fonts working.

It seemed too good to be true! Nevertheless, with so much to gain and so little to lose, I went ahead and tried the author's simple suggestions.

The result? SUCCESS!! I quickly got Linux Netscape 4.76 looking just about as good as its Windows cousin. And the fonts? Even the fonts are now a delight! I even added a find-in-page button to the top of my browser and email screens, as suggested by the author.

• Part 1: The vacation
  
• Part 2: Early scorecard
  
• Part 3: Turning the corner
  
• Part 4: The light at the end of the tunnel
  
• Part 5: Look ma: no Windows!

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.