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RIP: Netscape browser, 13

ANICK JESDANUN

Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 12:52 PM EST 02/01/08

Launch pad of the Internet boom will be pulled off life support Feb. 1 after AOL kills further development ...Read the full article

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  1. Gordon Murray from Canada writes: The fable of the Spartan boy that hides fox under jacket, quietly suffering its eating him alive, maybe like Firefox youth and Mozilla support...maybe like $20B to $10B there, half eaten...maybe more the AOL managed death in the cards. :)
  2. Andrew Pakula from Caledon, Canada writes: The Netscape browser died years ago, its current form was nothing more the a crappier repackaged mozilla browser.

    Netscape's true successor is Firefox.
  3. F T from Toronto, Canada writes: In a sense Netscape didn't die at all. It evolved into open source (firefox) and is still the best, most configurable and plug-in friendly browser today. So thanks Netscape. You leave a great legacy.
  4. Kevin Desmoulin from TO, Canada writes: Now if only we can put explorer by the way side, I started using FireFox years ago and will never go back to explorer.
    Their is this Beta from apple called safari I checking out. FYI
  5. wawa dave from Now if aol will follow, Canada writes: Seems aol can kill any thing. I agree with Kevin on firefox.
  6. Duane Freemantle from writes: Yes, in the historical sense Netscape became Firefox. Netscape over the past few years has really been a repackaged Firefox. However, the sad reality, too many websites are designed for IE (something you get when you buy a 'Windows' computer). To bad Microsoft was not forced to unbundle IE.
  7. Angry West Coast Canuck from Canada writes: Actually, Netscape was killed by Microsoft's illegal and anti-competitive actions. Actions for which the penalties it ended up paying were far outweighed by the profit it made from illegally using its monopoly to destroy another possible competitor.

    This latest event for Netscape was simply the putting to sleep of a horse that's been pretty much dead for several years.

    It will be a nice day when the USA and Canada realise just how much Microsoft has cost our countries due to its single-minded pursuit of dominance at any cost, and our governments unwillingness to actually enforce our competition laws.
  8. R Rrr from Canada writes: Netscape was not bundled with windows, IE was. Microsoft, got away with giving IE for free with their operating system. How can anyone compete with no charge, its free. Microsoft should have been forced sell their Internet, IE, browser unbundled from windows OS to create a level playing field. Microsoft, somehow, gets away with anti competitive practices. Hope Google can take them down a peg or two.
  9. Ryan Ginger from ottawa, Canada writes: I remember my excitement when I started to use NCSA Mosaic back in 94 or 95 in University. It was as though I found a window onto the internet. Mosaic lead to the massive wave of internet users, like me.

    It is interesting to see software now being put in museums.
  10. Mark Mitchell from London, Canada writes: My wife and I use Firefox. We connect through a router, with a firewall, and do not use anti-virus software. We have yet to have a problem with either of our laptops.

    Mozilla is the true successor to Netscape.
  11. Mark Mitchell from London, Canada writes: Speaking of Microsoft... the old man and I went to Best Buy on Boxing day to buy a laptop. Naturally, the first thing I asked the rep was if the laptop would cost less if we ripped Vista out of it. I was then informed that should we take Vista off we would void the manufacturers warranty. What a load of bull. It makes me wonder how much Microsoft paid to HP, Dell, Toshiba, etc etc, to get that sweetheart deal.

    I own a CPU company, and I love telling all of my clients to stay away from those big box companies and just have the computers custom built (Asus boards, etc etc).

    Now, my computer illiterate father is left using Vista, which trust me, is no good for me :) hehehehe
  12. THX 1138 from Victoria, BC, Canada writes: Firefox exists because of Netscape. It is far superior to Explorer. More secure, easier to navigate, etc. My PC runs quicker than using the artery-clogging Explorer.
  13. John Doe from Halifax, Canada writes: The US government allows Microsoft to flaunt anti-trust laws because the 95% global market share that Microsoft has helps the USA to dominate the world economy in that one sector. The fact that Windows/Vista comes pre-installed on every PC and cannot be removed constitutes a monopolistic practice which should be illegal. By agreement (!) with Microsoft, all PC manufacturers must pre-install Windows on every machine they sell or else they are not allowed to install Windows at all! What kind of free market is that ? This illegal practice prevents the consumer from choosing an alternate operating system at the time of purchase. Should the consumer choose remove Vista and install Linux, then no only will the consumer not get a refund for price of Vista but the manufacturers warranty will be voided. What kind of "free" market is that ?

    I hope Google use its enormous financial resources to create its own distribution of Linux, (Goggle-OS?), which has a desktop as simple to use as Windows and Mac and which also has all the necessary basic software programs and basic applications pre-installed for free, including an Open Office which is 100% compatible with MS-Office. A free O/S with free apps ! If that happened, Microsoft would squeal like a stuck pig and sue Google for being "communists". Microsoft is nothing but a giant profit sucking machine designed to enrich a few owners and completely dominate the world software market for the benefit of the US economy. It is time for a revolution.
  14. Dennis X from Regina, Canada writes: Stick to Mac and you won't have to worry about IE ever again. Netscape will still be around for those who want it and of course Firefox is now the superior product (even better than Safari). It's a strange world out there when most people seem to be anti-Microsoft yet continue to purchase systems designed and preloaded with their products...
  15. Addie Bundren from Shtall, Canada writes: Don't forget Opera as an alternative to Firefox and voracious IE. It can breed fierce loyalty on continued use as well.
  16. Steven L from Calgary, Canada writes: Choosing a browser is a personal choice, but I guess very few really like IE. They use it because they don't have a choice or lack of the knowledge to choose. To me the problem of IE (and all Microsoft products!) is that they keep on making decisions for you on how to use a software. No matter how technically superior you are, in which Microsoft is not, it is simply annoying if you keep on telling people what is the right way to use a browser. IE 5 or maybe IE 6 is pretty OK, but IE 7 is so different that I simply don't have the interest to learn to use it, given that we have Firefox!
  17. stan bink from Tee Dot, Canada writes: I use Firefox, Safari, Netscape and Opera... but not IE. Get a Mac and you will be free.
  18. R L from Calgary, Canada writes: Netscape lives on through Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird.
  19. Greg Brown from Canada writes: Both Netscape and IE were "free" back in the day so that wasn't an issue. The battle was actually over the advertising revenues from their respective portals, or browser start pages. Microsoft got the page views from the majority who were too ignorant or lazy to download Netscape. Netscape never did anything special with their browser, while Microsoft poured a ton of R&D into IE and quickly made it the better product.

    Now I find it hard to feel sorry for Netscape. They got legitimately beaten. They let their browser get long in the tooth and didn't provide any compelling reason to use their portal. Microsoft hasn't stopped the Mozilla Foundation from producing a superior browser from Netscape's source code, nor has it stopped google from eating its lunch in the online services arena. Every OS these days includes its own web browser, so I'd call that an innovation.
  20. E M from Vancouver, Canada writes: As a web designer, IE is by far the worst browser to code for. It always has some issue where as firefox/safari always work properly.

    More over, IE is slow, it crashes a lot and just sucks!

    Firefox is by far the best browser.
  21. EJ L from Markham, Canada writes: I started my internet tenure with Netscape, but once I discovered Opera, then Mozilla, Netscape became a waste of space on my computer. I tried dl recently, to see if they made significant changes, but they did not, nothing that will compare to firefox. I just hope mff keeps up with their progress, and one day bring ie down.
  22. Daniel M. Ryan from Toronto, Canada writes: I once tried Netscape 7, in part because anti-IE complaints like those above made me curious, and found that the Netscape browser was slower on my machine than IE had been. So, I switched back to IE.

    Of course, hinting that Microsoft has beat Netscape legitimately is politically incorrect, but there you go.
  23. Edgar Swank from San Jose, CA, United States writes: I lost interest in Netscape when it became a browser only. But now there is SeaMonkey, also produced by Mozilla, which provides an integrated browser and email client. The Email and bookmark databases are compatible with the old Netscape Web/Email client. It is freeware, and is undergoing continuing development. It is my principal browser. It works fine on most websites. There are a few that require IE. Why has no-one mentioned SeaMonkey here?
  24. andy c from Canada writes: for the last 10 years i've always used the fastest and most stable browser at the time. for a while it was netscape and during my university days it was IE. i've been a firefox user for the last 3 years and it's the best browser i've used by far. i will continue to use firefox unless something else comes along that is faster, stable and more secure.

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