[Bungleau]

I'm helping out a friend who's having problems reading his netscape email. Ever since it merged with AOL's AIM stuff, he can't read it from his computer. He gets a message that AIM isn't compatible with his browser and OS version.

He happens to be running RedHat 8 (don't know the exact version) along with Mozilla 1.0. Yep, that's Mozilla, not FireFox. Suffice it to say that this is an old machine. He's also not a real IT guy or geek by background, either...

I've offered to help. After initial review and attempts, it's that he's got a browser that's too old. Surprise, surprise.

I tried installing FireFox 2.0, but it requires an update to a global library. I didn't write down the exact library, but the sources I referred to said that that library is so commonly used, it's far better to upgrade the OS than to try to upgrade just it.

So... that leaves me with two options at this point.

1. Tell my friend to drop Netscape email and go for another free email account, like gmail.

2. Tell him to upgrade the OS in order to use tools from this millennium.

3. Tell him to dump the PC and get a new one

4. Find a more modern browser that will work with his environment

5. Put in an email client that will read Netscape/AIMMail for him (on RH 8)

6. Wave the white flag and give up

7. Something else I haven't thought of...


Okay, so that's more than two options. But that's the list.

Anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm not particularly familiar with Netscape email or AOL, having avoided both of them like the plague.