http://www.macnn.com/articles/00/12/30/icab.2.3/
iCab 2.3 preview brings Prefetch feature
updated 08:30 am EST, Sat December 30, 2000
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iCab pre2.3 is a new version of the popular alternative Web browser, bringing a new "Prefetch" feature that loads linked pages in the background when iCab is idle, better support for JavaScript and more JavaScript filters. The Mac OS X version is also "more stable under Mac OS X PB" and now works with Mac OS X. English, German, and Japanese versions are available online and expire in April 2001.
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Prefetch is a Bad Idea
While prefetching in the old world of static pages may seem desirable, I believe that it is dangerous in the current world of dynamic pages and e-commerce. As a web-based application developer, I would hate to have to account for a non-standard behavior which, in effect, clicks every link and then goes back to the previous page. Backtracking is already an issue to be dealt with by disabling page caching, but without the person really leaving the original page, this yields a non-standard and unpredictable state in the user's browser.
In a more general sense, I would worry about user's prefetching through a link that says "Confirm this Purchase" or "Add My Name to this Mailing List, too!" without seeing the results of that action. While a user's info cannot be sent without a form submit (as opposed to the hyperlink used to prefetch), there may be some info already sent to the server for more innocent purposes.
We must keep in mind that http is really just a form of remote procedure call. That is why companies can do such clever things as embedding "tracking" web images in pages. Every time you ask for the page with the embedded image, you also tell some advertiser's server that you've been there. Prefetching may add a new and more sinister aspect to this. We must be careful what we ask for or we just may get it (in our email or on our credit card bill!).
-Carlos D.