Are there any modern web browsers for MacOS 9?

The short answer to this question is "not really." Although the number of users dependent on MacOS 9 no doubt is getting smaller by the year -- as MacOS X was released years ago -- some readers in education environments in particular may continue to use MacOS 9 every day at least on some computers.

For those running MacOS 9, it is a fairly safe assumption that most are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, as it was the default browser available at the time. MSIE 5 for the Mac isn't the worst browser ever released, and it supports a good deal of CSS for "modern" website designs. However, it renders web standards poorly, often requiring webmasters to spend a great deal of extra time "hacking" code to get their designs to display properly or at least acceptably.

As more-and-more Mac users migrated to MacOS X and upgraded to Safari or Firefox, many webmasters began to ignore MSIE 5 for the Mac. When Microsoft discontinued support for MSIE 5 for the Mac on December 31, 2005, and no longer offered it for download starting January 31, 2006, it was the "final nail in the coffin" for the browser. However, MSIE 5.1.7, the last version offered for MacOS 9, is still available for download in some corners of the web.

Although none still are under active development, there are three other browsers that are better choices for using with MacOS 9.

The last browser developed for MacOS 8.5-MacOS 9.2.2 was iCab 3.0.5, which as first noted by the always excellent LowEndMac, was discontinued on January 1, 2008. iCab describes their product as "the taxi for the Internet" and promotes that it offers a variety of modern features -- including "tabbed browsing", "pop up/pop under" advertisement blocking, "cookie" management, and more. iCab 3.0.5 renders standards-compliant CSS so that many "modern" site designs work properly. It is shareware, and should be registered for US$25/EUR25.

Another fairly "modern" browser for MacOS 8.6-MacOS 9.2.2 is WaMCom 1.3.1, "Web and Mail Communicator", a modestly enhanced and bug fixed version of Mozilla 1.3.1. This browser was last updated for MacOS 9 on July 23, 2003, but supports tabbed browsing, and due to better standards support of CSS, is more likely to render websites correctly than MSIE 5.

Released on February 18, 2003, Netscape 7.0.2 is a bit older than WaMCom 1.3.1, but still newer than MSIE 5. This is the last version of Netscape released for MacOS 8.6-MacOS 9.2.2. It tends to be a bit more "bloated" and slower than MSIE 5, but like WaMCom, provides better CSS support and is far more likely to render websites correctly. It features tabbed browsing as well.

Go ahead and download iCab 3.0.5, WaMCom 1.3.1, and Netscape 7.0.2. The vast majority of the time iCab 3.0.5 probably should be your browser of choice, but the other two browsers may come in handy if you encounter a troublesome site. All three may have trouble with some websites, but each is far more likely to work with more than MSIE 5. It is hoped that this is helpful to keep your MacOS 9 system productive for a while longer.

For more on keeping a MacOS 9 system productive, please visit site sponsor Operator Headgap Systems. OHS specializes in Macs capable of running MacOS X as well as MacOS 9/Classic.