Although Netscape was once a mighty pioneer in the world of internet browsers, it didn't take long for Microsoft's Internet Explorer to overtake it and squash its dreams of market dominance. Granted, we highly (and we stress "highly") doubt any viewers reading this now are relying on Netscape Navigator as their primary browser, but seeing it finally bow out is a bit surreal. According to a post on the Netscape Blog, support (and subsequent updates) for it will no longer be provided by AOL (disclosure: AOL is our parent company's parent) after February 1, 2008. Sure, old versions will still be available for those who just hate to move on, but the team is suggesting that any remaining Netscape users (a show of hands, anyone?) make the leap to Firefox, and they even point you in the direction of a Netscape theme should you find yourself uncomfortable with change. Rest in peace, dear Netscape -- it's about time that last heap of dirt was finally flung.
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posted Dec 29th 2007 3:09AM
Rest in peace
amen to that
Wow.
I feel like I should be upset about this...
I to am saddened by this news but where was the outrage when the Original Browser "rude boy" disappeared?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)
Oh yea, there was no Engadget back then not even blogs just BBSs. "Does anyone remember laughter", I mean BBSs and 14.4 dial up?
Why though? Firefox is a direct descendant of Netscape (around 7.x) and Netscape 9.x is basically Firefox with a skin and a couple of extensions.
Why don't they give the Netscape brand to Mozilla and let them make it into a lightweight, super-easy version of Firefox (e.g. strip out the add-on functionality) with a better brand identity (at least to non-techies)?
it was my first internet browser since it was installed in school computers
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in one of the latest releases of Netscape, didn't they give you the option of rendering any website using either the Mozilla engine or the Internet Explorer engine? It seemed pretty cool to me.
*sigh* I remember the days of Netscape 1.xx
Seems like AOL just ran it into the ground. :(
The original Netscape was an excellent program. Well designed and very functional, but AOL ruined. I had to use Internet Explorer until I found Firefox, which is 10,000X better than Internet Explorer.
AOL did ruin Netscape, but they also spun off the Mozilla foundation which eventually made Firefox. I think Firefox is better than Netscape could have ever been by virtue of being owned by a giant company.
Never used it. I love FireFox. So R.I.P if it means anything at all.
Well, firefox is descended from mozilla, and mozilla is based on Netscape, so you ARE using netscape - and so am I.
The last time I used Netscape was during my 7th grade computer tech class. Back then, teachers were encouraging students to use Netscape and didn't even have IE installed on any of the school computers. Things sure do change.
I remember that. I also remember that in my computer class they were teaching us how to use WordPerfect. By the time I got to high school everyone had switched over to IE and MS Office...
This is truly sad news, friends. Never before have six people worldwide been so greatly inconvenienced as they are in these dark times.
Makes you kind of think, doesn't it? I mean, this is Netscape we're talking about! It survived for so long, despite the competition from Firefox and IE. Being my first browser, I will dearly miss it. Rest in peace.
GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE
As a long time web developer:
Yay!
Now if only IE would go the way of the dodo, I'd be ecstatic.
IE8 is going to be web standards compliant.
Hopefully every Windows user gets the chance to have it, and then you don't have to worry much anymore.
"IE8 is going to be web standards compliant."
I'm confused...when did Hell freeze over?
@John
Hell froze over at exactly Dec, 19 2007
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2007/12/19/internet-explorer-8-and-acid2-a-milestone.aspx
You do realize that Firefox 2.0 doesn't pass the Acid2 test right? Why blame Microsoft for being so late to the party when the so called superior browser isn't even there?
If you code your pages with strict DOCTYPEs and use valid CSS almost all the major issues go away. But I guess people would rather complain than actually get work done and make a website that renders in IE and FF very, very easily.
rip
Netscape was many people's first browser (including mine), so I guess this means the end of an era. I think its most distinguishing feature was its... throbber.
NOOOOOO! I can't believe Engadget is owned by AOL :(
WTF???
lol I hope this was sarcastic... there is AOL things all over the place on all of the Weblogs sites!
Yea. Deep down I knew about it, but kept denying it. Why does Engadget have to bring it up:(
This world is such a cruel palce.
Another first generation browser gone. R.I.P. Netscape, you served well.
I thought it was the second generation. The first was the Mosaic, which netscape practically ripped and enhanced.
Actually, the first generation browsers were WorldWideWeb (for NeXTstep), ViolaWWW (for UNIX/X11), and WWW - The Libwww Line Mode Browser (for UNIX/CLI). The second generation was NCSA Mosaic, and the third generation was Internet Explorer and Netscape, which were both originally derived from Mosaic.
I'll keep it around just for the Composer part of Navigator. If there is another application that is free and does a quick and easy job creating simple webpages I may reconsider.
Notepad.
Give SeaMonkey a try. It is basically the old Mozilla suite which was discontinued when Mozilla Corp. decided to focus on a separate web browser (Firefox) and e-mail client) Thunderbird) rather than an all-in-one Internet suite. Go to http://www.seamonkey-project.org/ to give it a try. I use it all the time at work. I also recommend downloading the Pinball theme from http://mozilla-themes.schellen.net/ so it looks better.
Or just get Nvu, its identical to composer and just one program, not a bunch.
http://nvu.com/
Notepad2 - Very lightweight, very simple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad2
Thanks for the tips, give it a try (Mac solutions). Also found Freeway Pro but can't get it to work in Leopard so far.
"It just works"
I salute you netscape, now let's give it a viking funeral by sending burning a power pc pyre across the river
R.I.P. Netscape
I remembered using it as my main web browser back in college.
I worked at Netscape during the development of 6 and 7. Sadly, Netscape died when AOL took it over in 2003, and laid off the engineers (many of whom went to mozilla.org).
yea, aol killed netscape.
I remember me and my father purchased Netscape Navigator 1.0 for $30 at Office Max back in the Windows 3.11 age. Wow .. what a reality check!
It didn't take long for MS to squash them? It took 4+ years by abusing their monopoly, that Microsoft had to pay $750 million to AOL over and even then barely managed to avoid being broken up.
Oh please. My company has been building and hosting sites since 96' (yes, my company has survived that long, TYVM). So I was there and watched it unfold.
If whats-his-face from the Mosaic project hadn't pissed off Microsoft with a way outta line public message about IE 3 & MS while he was at Netscape ('97? '98?), MS would not have turned around and poured many, many extra bukoo millions into development of 4,5, etc, and gone after Netscape's jugular.
This response from MS to that letter became known from an internal memo during the anti-trust proceedings.
Wish I could dig up the note he sent out right now. Perhaps someone else can... It was nasty, arrogant and condescending. It was the last thing you want to do when you have better product, but your competition has enough benjamins to burn to heat every house on the planet.
In the end, it was not AOL that killed Netscape. It was their lax administrative policy that put them on the road to death *before* AOL.
Is this the same Mosaic project which Microsoft fucked over by signing a contract giving them a percentage of the profits from Microsoft's browser for the code? Which then turned out to be zero since Microsoft gave its browser away for free?
Cheesecake:
You are 100% wrong.
First of all, it was NOT NCSA's Mosaic, which you may or may not have been meaning by using the word 'project'. It was the commercial firm Spyglass, who had collaborated with NCSA Mosaic to make a commerical browser for themselves called *Spyglass* Mosaic.
After the above happened, Microsoft made a deal with Spyglass Mosaic for the code. The deal was in two parts (as follows):
1) A quarterly fee for as long as MS produced a web browser based upon the *Spyglass* Mosaic code. This was paid up until IE 7, which MS had outside audited to ensure that there was no Spyglass code or derivatives within it.
2) IF Microsoft used the browser OUTSIDE of Windows, they then had to pay royalties in addition.
The only question is if MS ever used the browser _outside_of_Windows_. I do not know the answer to that. However, if they did, it must have been paid as I have no recollection of SpyGlass filing suit against MS for failing to pay the agreed upon royalty in the event of section #2.
It might seem strange to us today to think of a browser being used outside of an operating system. However, this was about '95 or so, and there was no doubt forward thinking on MS AND on Spyglass's part that a browser could possibly be a stand alone app with no need for an OS, such as possibly in an embedded enviroment.
So you see, no one cheated or swindled anyone. Spyglass was well aware that Microsoft had full rights to use the browser code as they saw fit *within* the Windows enviroment; again, without paying any royalty (contrary to what you said). To fulfill tht part of the bargain, all MS had to do was pay a quarterly fee, NOT a royalty.
Please do some research next time so that you do not inadverently add to the anti-MS hysteria.. . MS has had, and has, enough real problems that they created themselves to fulfill your implicit, yet unstated, desire to view them through feces-colored glasses.
And wash your mouth out as well. It makes you sound ignorant.
Wow, Netscape, haven't heard that in a while. I learned what the internet was and how to use it on that stupid browser... I asked my brother if he knew what Netscape was, all I got was a blank stare. Lo, how the years separate us and technology of our youth.
Rest in peace, Netscape, for you died long ago.
I didn't know that Netscape still existed... That's the real news in this story.
Well...it's been a long time sense the last time i've used you. The first browser i've ever used. And just like a first girlfriend you were easily replaced.
Peace and Love Netscape...Peace n Love...RIP
I always thought they had a nice logo...
Wait, what kind of words are those to say at its funeral? Err...
That's one less browser to worry about. Not that we ever worried about Netscape.
Yes, I remember Netscape well. The Composer was great for making simple websites. RIP.
Netscape Navigator 3 totally blew Internet Explorer 2 out of the water when I first dip my toes in and experienced an internet banner ads, Youtube and Lolcats... I've not used it since the overly buggy version 4. But I might install the latest version now just for nostalgias sake
You might also try http://dejavu.org/ for emulation of some other old browsers.
You will find composer as part of the Mozilla SeaMonkey project. http://www.seamonkey-project.org/doc/features Enjoy!!
But thank God we have IE and Vista and Zune. These paradigms of excellence will surely lead us into the 21st Century and a Golden Age of....Ohwhatabunchahorsesh*t.
ya, netscape has been able to use firefox themes and extentions for as long as I've used it.
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/
They don't mention email. I guess I'm one of the few people still using Netscape Communicator 4.8 as my email program - though I long since switched to Firefox for the web. This news won't make much difference to me as 4.8 hasn't had an update for years anyway. But it's still a bit sad.
Netscape was great back in the day. But I stopped using it after a version 4 installer wiped out half my hard drive. Then came the dark days of IE, followed by the renaissance that was Firefox.
RIP Netscape (but not version 4. It can burn in the infernal regions for all I care).
I saw Netscape on someone's computer the other day and was like Woah theres something I havent seen in years. I almost ran it for old times sakes.
Ah I still remember when Netscape was putting up a good fight against MS.
Wow, this brings back memories.
Always holds a special place in our hearts, yeah?
Nostalgia tugs at the lower left corner of my heart.
I'll never forget Asking Jeeves or being overtaken with windows when trying to find naughty pictures.
Can anyone believe that was 11 years ago?
Netscape killed its own self, with the version 4 release it became bloated, buggy and slow while IE was small, light and fast. I remember downloading Netscape which was around 13 MBs while IE was something like 6 MBs, there you began to see which product became the better choice. With version 5 and later it was old shaky code that was just not as snappy as it use to be and with IE 5.0 everything just seemed set in stone from there on. AOL was indeed partly responsible for Netscapes demise, but the lack in concentration on the core product 'Netscape Navigator' led to its fall, the focus on adding more junk, the dead set game on beating Microsoft instead of innovating doomed them ultimately from the beginning.
Still, Netscape will live on through Firefox which I am now writing this entry from. Mozilla is in the right direction of focusing on innovation instead of the focus on besting Microsoft. Looking forward to Firefox 3.0 'and' Internet Explorer 8.0.
Why AOL bought Netscape, but kept using Internet Explorer? Netscape was never interlaced with American Online.
ah netscape, my first browser. it was the best at the beginning, but it soon got slower and slower. then i discovered tha fast monster that is opera (6.0 at the time) .since then i never used another browser as my main browser. shure, i have played around a bit (firefox, netscape, mozilla, iceweasel, konqueror, safari, shiira, sunrise, camino, lynx, ephiphany) but i always got back to opera quickly. its the first thing i install when i have to use a computer for a longer period of time.
i have never used ie, apart from that few sites that refuse to work with anything else.
qwert
I think it's quite disgraceful that AOL allowed Netscape to be run to ground. AOL didn't even include Netscape on it's own installation CDs in favour of it's competing browser Microsoft Internet Explorer!?!
This is a very sad day for competition and innovation and AOL will have blood on it's hands.
the memories of using navigator, messenger, and composer... the buzz of push technology... how pics were downloaded... how you had to dial diff numbers for diff modems... flex vs. X2...
ty netscape, you've served us well. rip.
To be honest, Netscape 8 was the default navigator in one of my home computers. Long live Netscape.
Yeah, I remember the days when Netscape was THE browser to use and IE was considered 2nd place... then, a couple years later, IE took over. :( Now as a Web developer, I hate IE with a passion.
(disclosure: AOL is our parent company's parent)
AOL is your grandparent
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
(Epic Star Wars interlude over)
Damn, I knew this day would come. Netscape wasn't too bad, even when it started to get bloated, but before Firefox and Opera went free it was still a better alternative. The last version I used was 8 I think. It was okay, but buggy in some places. Kinda pissed me off.
RIP Netscape for opening us up to different browsers.
Wow, this really is kind of a sad day for the internet. I expected a lot of the younger people to be in here saying things like "Good Riddance", but for those of us who remember, Netscape was the best browser there was for a long time. Like all good things, their time had come and gone though. Thanks for everything Netscape, we'll always remember you as probably the first decent web browser.
I'm really disappointed to see some of you "old timers" say "about time" and the like; Netscape is where we've come from. I'll admit that my first browser wasn't Netscape (it was Lynx and, admittedly Mosaic), but it was the first popular browser EVER, and it opened the web to so many folks, so I have a sentimental feeling towards it.
John Murrell at Good Morning Silicon Valley elegantly summed it up:
"The younger and colder-eyed among you might say good riddance or about time, but for those whose first experiences with the Web took place inside a Netscape window, who eagerly jumped to download (on dial-up) each new point release, the passing still evokes some fond nostalgia for those early, heady days. So here's to you, old friend -- your last years weren't pretty, but your legacy is intact."
Well put, John.
Ah, my first web browser, circa '93. So long, Netscape. You will always be fondly remembered.
Well surprisingly I still use Netscape, in fact this comment is being posted thru netscape (I got screenshots to prove it). Netscape shares code with Mozilla firefox and in turn can use most to all of the firefox extensions (in fact when you got to get extensions you are directed to addons.mozilla.com). The one thing that really made Netscape the ideal browser for me is the fact that the nasty backend memory leak on Firefox is fixed in Netscape. Taking up only 20Mb with all the same addons as firefox (which comes in at over 100), and after running netscape since this morning it is still only using 89K of memory. I had been planning to switch over to Firefox when firefox 3 was released but not it looks like I will be heading over to Firefox sooner than expected.
Good riddance to this piece of rubbage.
For those wishing to lay the blame for the death of Netscape at the hands of AOL, you are really rose tinting history. Granted, the spiral of death may have been enhanced by AOL, but that was only because the arrogance of of Netscape Leadership (does anybody remember the talks of a "Netscape OS" or how Netscape was the death and end of Microsoft?) was taken over by the even more arrogant Steve Case who thought his "magic touch" could turn it all around.
The real damage was done with the release of Navigator 4.0 (or more precisely "Communicator"). The bloated mess that was communicator, and the poorly attempted integration of Netcaster (because of the popularity of Pointcast), was more than many people could bare (and far more than many were willing to pay for), and the die was cast with that release in the summer of 1997. By the fall of 1998, IE 5 had a clear and clean lead over the 4.5 release (which was bug fixes, and contained no new enhancements), and it was only because Case and the folks at AOL were riding the bubble so high and thought they could buy the world (for stock) did they pay as much as they did for Netscape, but in reality the company was already on its way out.
It is worthwhile to remember (with a chuckle) that much of Microsoft's anti-trust woes started because of Real and Netscape. Remember how Netscape made such a fuss over the "anti-competitive practice" of giving a browser away for free? Only to many years later have its own decendant cut into Microsoft's marketshare by... giving away the browser for free!
It was my first browser on my family's very first computer. In 1996, Windows 95 Plus!, connected through the slow dial-up service of Physicians Online (no longer exists), I used Netscape Navigator. I never used any browser but Netscape from then until early 2004, when I heard about Firefox 1.0.
Yata! One less browser to test.
Actually, there are an alarmingly high number of US government agencies that rely on Netscape, due to its support for "soft" certificate; they're so cheap, they won't upgrade applications to support more modern certificate/authentication systems...
When I was in seventh grade there were no computers or browsers or internet. We used charred sticks and animal skins to write our lessons. You kids today have it too soft.
WOW it takes me back some yrs netscape, i used to love it but then moved onto ff, i just downloaded it onto my mac pro to find its not as good as it used to be, perhaps thats why they aren't making it anymore or maybe they just gave up. Ill have to find that old netscape cd to bring back those memories :P
Hey, goodbye!
I used Netscape from 1996 to 2004 when Netscape 8 came out and was basically a floated version of Firefox- I switched to Firefox and continue to support Mozilla based browsers... Netscape will forever remind me of hitting reload repeatedly for web-chat until I found IRC. :)
I never used NS ever since IE3. NS should be died long time ago. As a web developer, NS gives the most problem even to some simple HTML tag.
Wow, this brings up memories. I remember tinkering around with my first computer(50mhz pentium, something like 16mb of ram and windows 95) I ended up installing Netscape because that's what my dad used. I remember it didn't work right with my favorite websites, and it took a long time to load. ended up uninstalling it. Still, it's an end of an era.
Netscape 8 took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to create, but it was a very rewarding effort. I consider myself very lucky to have worked on it.
It's a shame that Jason Calacanis ruthlessly took over the brand and destroyed it before the Netscape Team in Columbus, OH could make (their version of) Netscape 9 a reality. It would have been something REALLY special, not just another Firefox fork.
Instead, "Netscape 9" was, indeed, Firefox with a lousy theme and stupid features tacked on, and the Netscape portal, despite its many millions of viewers, was unceremoniously unplugged in favor of a Digg clone. As a result, everyone at AOL Columbus is now gone, and the brand is pretty much dead. Jason Calacanis is also gone from AOL, along with Jon Miller (former CEO), who was the only person sad to see him go.
Nice job, "New Netscape" guys. Not even the Bubonic Plague worked so quickly.