Throughout the homes, offices and universites of America, two parties are waging war. And if you're connected to the Harvard network, there is a good chance you're part of the battle.

The combatants are Microsoft and Netscape, and each company is fighting to convince you to use their software.

In 1994, Netscape Communications hit commercial success with its World Wide Web browser software for Internet endusers, and 80 percent of all Web browsers used around the world came out of the company's Mountain View, Calif., offices.

In the last few months, however, Netscape has found itself in open combat with Microsoft, the Goliath of the software industry. Microsoft has released its own browser, Internet Explorer (IE), to go head-to-head with the upstart Netscape.

There are no holds barred in the war rhetoric. Microsoft founder Bill Gates likened Netscape's sudden success to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. And Netscape president James Barksdale said his company was "in a heightened state of awareness."

Ec majors might find the battle a little silly--both companies are spending millions of dollars developing products they largely give away. But it shows the importance of dominating an industry: almost every IBM-compatible computer comes with DOS and Windows, and many have application programs, like Word and Excel.

These programs are all owned by Microsoft. Every time a new computer ships, Microsoft makes money--and they collect again when you upgrade your software. It is this same universal market share that each company is after.

With both companies fighting to give away their software, users on the Harvard network have to decide which is the better program for their needs.

The decision is an unconscious one for many--HASCS's software installers automatically put Netscape on connected computers. And most users have stuck with Navigator, now available in version 2.01.

One big advantage for Netscape is the extra features of its browser. Unlike IE, Navigator supports two emerging technologies: frames and Java.

Java is a programming language that allows small programs to be transferred from a Web site to your computer. And frames give a Web designer more flexibility by giving a page multiple sections that function independently from each other.

Netscape also has integrated mail and news programs which are similar to Eudora and NewsXpress, giving you the flexibility of accessing your e-mail and the Web with the same program.

But all of these features have a heavy cost--Navigator has become a huge program, and it takes a Pentium or Power Macintosh processor and 16 megabytes of memory to get good performance.

IE, on the other hand, is small and quick--pages often take half the time to load on the Microsoft browser. Its small size also allows the user to run more programs simultaneously. It doesn't support frames or Java, but does support features like background images and tables.

IE displays all the text on a page before adding the graphics, a basic feature that makes browsing much more efficient. Microsoft's browser also lets you change the size of screen text from its toolbar, which makes text-heavy pages much easier to read and print out.

Your choice of web browsers ultimately depends on what features you need. Netscape is the de facto standard, but bring a good book to the computer lab--you'll need something to do while you wait for sites to come up. IE is much faster, but more limited in what it can do.

A turning point in the Battle of the Browsers may come this summer with Microsoft's release of IE 3.0, which includes support for frames and Java. Not to be outdone, Netscape is testing Atlas, its "second-generation" browser.

By the time Cambridge welcomes students back in September, the battle might be over--and you just might find yourself using a different Web browser.

Kevin S. Davis '98 is the Currier House User Assistant and HASCS's Networking Advanced Support technician. His e-mail address is ksdavis@fas.harvard.edu.