LampreySoft
NetSuck - A real browser for a real net
© 1999 LampreySoft Technologies

The NetSuck Concept

LampreySoft NetSuck is written with you in mind!  It's a browser that allows you more control over your browsing experience.

Design Goal of LampreySoft NetSuck

NetSuck is about choice.  What do like about the web?  What gets in your way?  The primary objective of NetSuck is to allow you to disable "features" of the web that annoy you, that invade your privacy, or that you don't want to waste bandwidth on.

NetSuck Features

NetSuck has most, if not all features users of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator expect in a browser.  This includes features such as Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, Dynamic HTML, disabling and enabling cookies, etc.

Here are some that are unique to NetSuck or are less common:

Customization:  Any feature that can be disabled can be disabled globally, disabled for specific sites, or disabled globally except for specific sites through an easy to use drag-and-drop interface.  Most features can be enabled and disabled via customizable hotkeys so if you find you need to toggle a feature you don't have to dive through a preferences interface to do so.

Banner ad image disabling:  Ad banners can be disabled.  NetSuck detects an ad based on its size (which has several common defaults and is customizable) and the anchor tag properties.   NetSuck won't disable pictures unless it meets both criteria, so you won't miss any important graphic elements that might have the same size as a banner graphic.  If you disable banner ads, you will instead see an outline box the shape of the graphic labeled with the ALT text.  The ALT text can be disabled for banner ads, too.  This ensures the page will format correctly.  Holding down the ALT key and clicking on the outline will force it to load if you wish to view it while banner ads are disabled.

OnClose and OnOpen disabling:   NetSuck can be configured so that it will never open another page when you close and/or open another page.  Some pages are written to open another page immediately upon opening or closing, usually an advertisement, an associated site, or a "top sites" list.  Visiting a few of these sites in a row can quickly result in dozens of different browser windows open at once, needlessly wasting system resources and bandwidth.

Animated GIF disabling:  You can configure NetSuck to react in one of three ways when it encounters an animated GIF:  display it normally, display a blank outline box with any ALT information displayed (just like banner ad disabling), or to load only the first frame of the image.  Holding down the ALT key and clicking on the outline will force it to load if you wish to view it while animated GIFs are disabled.

Interlaced GIF disabling:  You can configure NetSuck to react in one of three ways when it encounters an interlaced GIF:  display it normally, display a blank outline box with any ALT information displayed (just like banner ad disabling), or to load only the first pass of the image.  Holding down the ALT key and clicking on the outline will force it to load if you wish to view it while interlaced GIFs are disabled.

Remote image disabling:  Some pages use images that are linked to various other sites.  The problem with this is that the site you want to view might be accessible, but the site that the image exists on might be slow or inaccessible, causing you unnecessary delays.  If remote images are disabled, NetSuck displays a blank outline box with any ALT information displayed (just like banner ad disabling).   Holding down the ALT key and clicking on the outline will force it to load if you wish to view it while remote images are disabled.

Sound disabling:  Sound can be disabled so that NetSuck will ignore background sounds and MIDI music sounds that are included in some web pages, whether they're played automatically or via a plugin.

Java applet and javascript disabling:  You can disable Java applets and/or Javascript for any page.  A Java icon will be visible on the NetSuck toolbar, and clicking it will re-load the page with Java applets/Javascript enabled.

Blink tag disabling:  If BLINK (example) tags are disabled, blinking text will be displayed as normal text.

Dialog box and marquee disabling:   Some pages have marquee text in the status bar, and some have dialog boxes that open up when you view them.  Either or both can be disabled.

SmartLook backgrounds and text:  Some pages are designed poorly.  Sometimes text is hard to read because of clashing backgrounds or color patterns.   Ctrl-clicking on a background image will cycle the background as follows:   background image / black / white / grey.  The SmartLook text feature is enabled by clicking the SmartLook icon on the NetSuck toolbar, and will change the background color, font, and text color to a setting of your choice.  Settings can be changed and saved.  When clicked, it will view an outrageous page with clashing backgrounds and multicolored text as a page with a consistent font and color scheme.   This setting can be saved so that it is automatically re-applied when the offending page is viewed in the future.

Link or frame to new window:  Some browsers allow you to open a link in a new window by right clicking the link and selecting "Open in new window".  Some browsers (too few, unfortunately) allow you to open up a currently displayed frame in a new window.  These are great features, but they're clunky.  NetSuck allows you to open up a link or frame in a new window simply by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking in the frame or on the link.  No more navigating through menus when you want to open up several pages at once.

Annotation:  If you use the Annotation feature, NetSuck will display a text window as you browse.  You can enter notes about this page which will be displayed every time you view it.  If you're on a different page in the same domain that you have annotations for, a short list of annotation headers can be displayed.  The appearance of the text window is configurable.  You can share your annotation files with other NetSuck users.

LinkFilter:  LinkFilter allows you to highlight or hide links to certain sites.  For instance, you might want to view links on your favorite site as highlighted, or hide links that lead to sites that are frequently mislabeled or don't interest you, such as "top sites" links that are disguised as content links.

The Sad Truth...

NetSuck doesn't exist.  Certain features listed here are available in separate plug-ins and add-ons, but are limited in scope.  The net sucks - the net needs NetSuck.

© 1999 LampreySoft Technologies
All Rights Reserved