//  this little object is used in many places to provide information about the browser and platform. 
function Browser() {
	var b=navigator.appName;
	if (b=="Netscape") this.b="ns";
	else if ((b=="Opera") || (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Opera")>0)) this.b = "opera";
	else if (b=="Microsoft Internet Explorer") this.b="ie";
	this.version=navigator.appVersion;
	this.v=parseInt(this.version);
	this.ns=(this.b=="ns" && this.v>=4);
	this.ns4=(this.b=="ns" && this.v==4);
	//this.ns6=(this.b=="ns" && this.v==5);
	this.ie=(this.b=="ie" && this.v>=4);
	this.ie4=(this.version.indexOf('MSIE 4')>0);
	this.ie5=(this.version.indexOf('MSIE 5')>0);
	this.ie55=(this.version.indexOf('MSIE 5.5')>0);
	this.ie6up = ((navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 6")!=-1)||(navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 7")!=-1));
	this.opera=(this.b=="opera");
	var ua=navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();
	this.mac = (ua.indexOf("mac")!=-1);
	this.win = (ua.indexOf("windows")!=-1);
	this.safari = (ua.indexOf("safari")!=-1);
}

//instantiate for global use
var objBrowser = new Browser();