Beonex Communicator
{{Short description|Internet application suite}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Beonex Communicator
| logo = Beonex-icon.png
| screenshot = Beonex.6-book-of-mozilla.png
| caption = Beonex Communicator 0.6 displaying the Book of Mozilla
| author = Ben Bucksch
| developer = Beonex Business Services
| released = Never
| latest_preview_version = 0.8.2-stable
| latest_preview_date = 21 March 2003
| operating_system = Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD
| genre = Internet suite
| discontinued = yes
| license = MPL/Netscape Public License{{cite web|url=http://www.beonex.com/communicator/legal/|title=Legal notices|first=Ben|publisher=Beonex Communicator|access-date=28 January 2011|last=Bucksch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203045459/http://www.beonex.com/communicator/legal/|archive-date=3 February 2011|url-status=dead}}
| language = English, German
| programming language = C++, XUL, XBL, JavaScript
| website = {{URL|http://www.beonex.com}}
}}
Beonex Communicator is a discontinued open-source Internet suite based on the Mozilla Application Suite (MAS) by Ben Bucksch, a German Mozilla developer.{{cite web|url=http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Mozilla-Entwickler-mit-eigener-Browser-Distribution-27527.html|title=Mozilla-Entwickler mit eigener Browser-Distribution|date=14 November 2000|language=de|access-date=29 January 2011|publisher=Heinz Heise}} It was intended to have a higher security and privacy level than other commercial products.{{cite web|publisher=LinuxUser|url=https://www.linux-user.de/ausgabe/2001/02/007-software/software-02.html?print=y|language=de|access-date=1 February 2011|date=February 2001|title=Frische Ware|first=Andreas|last=Huchler}}{{cite journal|journal=Personal Computer Magazine|language=nl|date=February 2004|pages=96, 97|title=Alternative Browsers|first=Peter|last=D'Hollander|issn=0772-8077}} The Internet suite contains a Web browser, an email and news client, an HTML editor (based on Mozilla Composer) and an IRC client (based on ChatZilla).{{cite web|url=http://kefk.net/Open_Source/FS/Beonex/index.html|title=Beonex|access-date=1 February 2011|date=4 June 2002|publisher=Kefk Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723172807/http://kefk.net/Open_Source/FS/Beonex/index.html|archive-date=23 July 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.useragentstring.com/pages/Beonex/|access-date=1 February 2011|title=Beonex User Agent Strings|publisher=UserAgentString.Com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126084507/http://www.useragentstring.com/pages/Beonex/|archive-date=26 January 2011}}
Beonex Business Services offered the suite for free and provided documentation, easy install routines for third-party plug-ins, and tried to sell support and customer-specific changes on the browser.{{cite web|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041016061010/http://www.blindschleiche.de/shownews.php3/258|url=http://www.blindschleiche.de/shownews.php3/258|archive-date=16 October 2004|title=Vielversprechender Netscape 6 Konkurrent|access-date=29 January 2011|date=26 November 2000|publisher=Blindschleiche.de}}{{cite web|url=http://www.computeruser.com/articles/just-browsing-thanks.html|access-date=4 April 2011|date=30 November 2003|title=Just browsing, thanks|first=Eric|publisher=IDG|work=ComputerUser|last=Foster-Johnson|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720173155/http://www.computeruser.com/articles/just-browsing-thanks.html|archive-date=20 July 2011}} The main goal was to implement Kerberos, OpenPGP, and LDAP in Beonex,{{cite web|url=http://mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=1745|access-date=29 January 2011|work=Mozillazine|publisher=Mozilla|title=Announcing Beonex|date=29 November 2000}} but that was marked as failed in mid-2004.{{cite web|url=https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=124026|title=Bug 124026 – Roaming – funding via Beonex|publisher=Mozilla|date=24 May 2004|access-date=30 January 2011}} It was discontinued before reaching production release stage.
History
{{quote box|width = 200px|Overall, this project seems most interested in staying as true to Mozilla as possible.{{cite web|archive-date=14 November 2002| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021114125904/http://linuxberg.surfnet.nl/x11html/preview/154164.html|url=http://linuxberg.surfnet.nl/x11html/preview/154164.html|title=Beonex Communicator 0.6 Pre|publisher=Tucows|date=30 November 2000}}}}
Mozilla Organization stated that the Mozilla Application Suite was only for developers and testing purposes and was not meant for end users.{{cite news|url=http://www.cybersecurity.ru/net/40269.html|title= технологии – Mozilla празднует 10-летие|date=23 January 2008|publisher=CyberSecurity.ru|language=ru|access-date=30 January 2011}}{{cite web |title=Über Mozilla |url=http://www.holgermetzger.de/faqabout.html |access-date=30 January 2011 |first=Holger |last=Metzger |language=de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719041457/http://www.holgermetzger.de/faqabout.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}; shorten English version available [http://www.holgermetzger.de/eabout.html here] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719041511/http://www.holgermetzger.de/eabout.html |date=19 July 2011 }}{{cite journal|title=Zahmes Monster|year=2002|language=de|volume=13|page=218|journal=C't|publisher=Heinz Heise|first=Karsten|last=Violka}}{{cite journal|title=Surfen ohne e – Mit Opera und Mozilla sicherer ins Netz|year=2002|language=de|volume=25|page=106|journal=C't|publisher=Heinz Heise|first=Jo|last=Bager}}
On 5 January 2001 Beonex was included in the Linux distribution kmLinux version S-0.4, but was removed in version S-0.5 released on 23 March 2001.{{cite web|url=http://www.lernnetz-sh.de/kmLinux/changes.html|access-date=1 February 2011|title=Entwicklungsgeschichte|date=6 December 2004|publisher=Schleswig-Holstein|archive-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819141858/http://www.lernnetz-sh.de/kmLinux/changes.html|url-status=dead}} Beonex 0.8 was released in June 2002 received positive reviews about its speed.{{cite web |url=http://www.linux-magazin.de/Heft-Abo/Ausgaben/2002/12/Jagdgesellschaft/(offset) |title=Jagdgesellschaft |first=Oliver |page=2 |last=Kluge |year=2002 |issue=12 |access-date=29 January 2011 |language=de |publisher=Linux-Magazin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928110158/http://www.linux-magazin.de/Heft-Abo/Ausgaben/2002/12/Jagdgesellschaft/%28offset%29 |archive-date=28 September 2011 }}
Beonex Launcher (BeOL, spoken B-O-L), was an additional upcoming product that never left alpha status; it was a stripped-down version of Beonex Communicator: a Web browser combined with an email client and a chat client.{{cite web|first=Ben|last=Bucksch|publisher=Beonex Communicator|url=http://www.developer.beonex.com/beol/|title=BeOL|access-date=7 February 2011}}
With a few preview releases of version 0.9 in mid-2002, Bucksch showed some new features he wanted to integrate, but before this version gained a stable status, he announced on 2 March 2004 that no new releases were planned until the Mozilla Foundation decided its future policy.{{cite web|publisher=LinuxUser|url=http://www.linux-magazin.de/Heft-Abo/Ausgaben/2005/09/Soll-der-Fuchs-ihn-holen|language=de|access-date=7 February 2011|date=September 2005|title=Soll der Fuchs ihn holen|first=Oliver|last=Kluge|volume=9}} In 2005, the Mozilla Foundation officially changed its policies and created the Mozilla Corporation to provide end-user support.
Beonex Communicator 0.8.2-stable has several known security issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/7363|publisher=Security Focus|access-date=29 January 2011|title=Mozilla Browser Cross Domain Violation Vulnerability|date=16 April 2003|archive-date=6 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006045847/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/7363|url-status=dead}} Beonex never received much market share.
In October 2020, the distributor of Beonex joined the Coalition for App Fairness, which defends the rights of app developers.{{Cite web|title=Coalition for App Fairness, a group fighting for app store reforms, adds 20 new partners|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/21/coalition-for-app-fairness-a-group-fighting-for-app-store-reforms-adds-20-new-partners/|access-date=2020-11-25|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}}
Comparison with Netscape and MAS
The browser does not transmit referrers by default and has the possibility to create a fake referrers.{{cite web|title=Digitale Spuren – Surfer hinterlassen im Netz Spuren|language=de|url=http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/14/14052/1.html|access-date=1 February 2011|date=31 January 2003|first=Christiane|last=Schulzki-Haddouti|publisher=Heinz Heise|work=Telepolis}} The browser deletes all cookies upon exiting and disables several JavaScript functions which could have served as attack vectors.{{cite web|url=http://www.golem.de/0206/20223.html|title=Beonex-Browser: Mozilla 1.0 mit mehr Sicherheitsfunktionen|date=7 June 2002|publisher=Golem.de|access-date=30 January 2011}}{{cite web|publisher=LinuxUser|url=http://www.linux-community.de/Internal/Artikel/Print-Artikel/LinuxUser/2001/03/Sieben-aktuelle-Web-Browser-im-Vergleich|language=de|access-date=8 February 2011|date=March 2001|volume=3|title=Tore zur WWWelt – Sieben aktuelle Web-Browser im Vergleich|first=Andreas|last=Huchler}} Beonex also allows changing the user agent.{{cite web|url=http://www.computerra.ru/hitech/32389/print.html|first=Константин|last=Лепихов|date=17 March 2004|script-title=ru:Прыткая ящерица|publisher=Computerra.ru|language=ru|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927014052/http://www.computerra.ru/hitech/32389/print.html|archive-date=27 September 2011}}
In the following comparison table not all releases of Netscape and MAS are included. For a more complete table see Gecko (layout engine).
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left" |
| rowspan="2" | Mozilla Application Suite
! rowspan="2" | Netscape ! colspan="2" | Beonex Communicator |
|---|
| Version
! Release date |
| 0.6
| 6.0 | 14 November 2000 |
| 0.9.2
| 6.1 | | |
| 0.9.4
| 6.2 | | |
| 0.9.4.1
| 6.2.2 | 8 November 2001 |
| 1.0
| | 5 June 2002 |
| 1.0.1
| 7.0 | 19 September 2002 |
| 1.0.2
| 7.01 and 7.02 | 10 March 2003 |
| 1.1
| | 0.9pre |
=Differences from Netscape=
In contrast with Netscape, Beonex has included nearly the same features except the proprietary parts like the integrated Net2Phone,{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021203134841/http://www.giga.de/dbout/reporter5/fullstories/nr20925.html|archive-date=3 December 2002|url=http://www.giga.de/dbout/reporter5/fullstories/nr20925.html|publisher=GIGA Television|title=Zweiter Ableger vom Mozilla|language=de|access-date=29 January 2011}} and the AOL Instant Messenger. For online chatting, ChatZilla was integrated{{cite journal|title=World Wide Web|year=2001|language=de|volume=1|page=26|journal=iX|publisher=Heinz Heise|first=Henning|last=Behme}} and the sidebar and the search engines are also pre-configured.{{cite web|access-date=29 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020612045509/http://www.linux-community.de/Neues/story?storyid=691|url=http://www.linux-community.de/Neues/story?storyid=691|archive-date=12 June 2002 |title=Slimfast für Mozilla|first=Fionn|last=Behrens|publisher=Linux-Community.de|language=de|date=2 December 2000}} Beonex is less resource-intensive than Netscape.{{cite web|url=http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Netscape-6-Fett-aber-schnell-Update-27315.html|title=Netscape 6: Fett, aber schnell (Update)|date=14 November 2000|language=de|access-date=29 January 2011|publisher=Heinz Heise}}
Beonex includes a migration tool to import old profiles from Netscape Communicator.
=Differences from MAS=
Beonex Communicator was not a fork of MAS; rather, it was a separate branch, so no significant changes were made.{{cite web|title=We are accepting patches|url=http://www.developer.beonex.com/communicator/patches/|access-date=30 January 2011|publisher=Beonex Communicator|first=Ben|last=Bucksch}} HTML email and JavaScript are turned off by default and thus, it displays email only in plain text with bold and cursive additions{{cite journal|url=http://www.heise.de/ct/hotline/Nur-Text-Mails-im-Mozilla-312910.html|title=Nur-Text-Mails im Mozilla|year=2002|language=de|volume=17|page=188|journal=C't|publisher=Heinz Heise|first=Karsten|access-date=7 February 2011|last=Violka}} which were added later in MAS 1.1.{{cite web|url=http://www.golem.de/showhigh2.php?file=/0206/20285.html|publisher=Golem.de|language=de|access-date=7 March 2011|date=12 June 2002|title=Mozilla 1.1 Alpha ist da}} The search engines is compatible with the Mycroft project and is located in the sidebar providing more features.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5413?page=0,1|title=Browser Comparison|access-date=29 January 2011|date=1 March 2002|first=Ralph|last=Krause|magazine=Linux Journal}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.beonex.com Beonex]
- {{Freshmeat|beonex-comm|Beonex}}
- [https://www.flickr.com/photos/49332462@N06/sets/72157625968797122/ Beonex Communicator Screenshots], Flickr
{{E-mail clients}}
{{gopher clients}}
{{Internet suites}}
{{Mozilla}}
{{Timeline of web browsers|2000s}}
{{web browsers|desktop}}
Category:Cross-platform software
Category:Discontinued internet suites
Category:Discontinued web browsers
Category:Free software programmed in C++