Netscape finally bows out, browsers no longer supported

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.

[Via BlogRunner]

[Harkeerat Bedi @ Dec 29th 2007 3:14AM]

Rest in peace

[Aman @ Dec 29th 2007 3:24PM]

amen to that

[someaudioguy @ Dec 29th 2007 3:20AM]

Wow.
I feel like I should be upset about this...

[Frankenstein Black @ Dec 29th 2007 2:48PM]

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?

[Ethan @ Dec 29th 2007 6:45PM]

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)?

[Ryan @ Dec 29th 2007 3:22AM]

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. :(

[Asha @ Dec 29th 2007 12:16PM]

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.

[robotrock @ Dec 29th 2007 1:40PM]

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.

[adobochicken @ Dec 29th 2007 3:22AM]

it was my first internet browser since it was installed in school computers

[Johnny @ Dec 29th 2007 3:23AM]

Never used it. I love FireFox. So R.I.P if it means anything at all.

[thethirdmoose @ Dec 29th 2007 10:50AM]

Well, firefox is descended from mozilla, and mozilla is based on Netscape, so you ARE using netscape - and so am I.

[TMF @ Dec 29th 2007 3:23AM]

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.

[audiodrumm @ Dec 29th 2007 5:43AM]

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...

[MEAT! @ Dec 29th 2007 3:27AM]

This is truly sad news, friends. Never before have six people worldwide been so greatly inconvenienced as they are in these dark times.

[darren @ Dec 29th 2007 3:28AM]

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.

[derek @ Dec 29th 2007 3:35AM]

GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE

[Mark @ Dec 29th 2007 3:42AM]

As a long time web developer:

Yay!

Now if only IE would go the way of the dodo, I'd be ecstatic.

[michael @ Dec 29th 2007 1:20PM]

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.

[John B. @ Dec 29th 2007 1:34PM]

"IE8 is going to be web standards compliant."

I'm confused...when did Hell freeze over?

[linumax @ Dec 29th 2007 3:08PM]

@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

[Jeremy @ Dec 29th 2007 4:22PM]

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.

[skel @ Dec 29th 2007 3:50AM]

rip

[Khoa Khuong @ Dec 29th 2007 3:58AM]

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.

[Engadget Fanbois @ Dec 29th 2007 4:08AM]

NOOOOOO! I can't believe Engadget is owned by AOL :(
WTF???

[rlc:tk @ Dec 29th 2007 4:16AM]

lol I hope this was sarcastic... there is AOL things all over the place on all of the Weblogs sites!

[Engadget Fanbois @ Dec 29th 2007 5:40AM]

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.

[Dan @ Dec 29th 2007 4:12AM]

Another first generation browser gone. R.I.P. Netscape, you served well.

[NovaLand @ Dec 29th 2007 6:22AM]

I thought it was the second generation. The first was the Mosaic, which netscape practically ripped and enhanced.

[Eric @ Dec 29th 2007 1:36PM]

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.

[Mikofox @ Dec 29th 2007 4:17AM]

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.

[Brian @ Dec 29th 2007 4:58AM]

Notepad.

[Douglas Brace @ Dec 29th 2007 9:51AM]

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.

[Vinn @ Dec 29th 2007 12:27PM]

Or just get Nvu, its identical to composer and just one program, not a bunch.
http://nvu.com/

[CubeGuy @ Dec 29th 2007 12:58PM]

Notepad2 - Very lightweight, very simple.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad2

[Mikofox @ Dec 29th 2007 2:44PM]

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.

[Jagster @ Dec 30th 2007 1:41AM]

"It just works"

[sam @ Dec 29th 2007 4:18AM]

I salute you netscape, now let's give it a viking funeral by sending burning a power pc pyre across the river

[bachviet @ Dec 29th 2007 4:30AM]

R.I.P. Netscape

I remembered using it as my main web browser back in college.

[Syd @ Dec 29th 2007 4:35AM]

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).

[mtorabi @ Dec 29th 2007 1:42PM]

yea, aol killed netscape.

[cheesecake @ Dec 29th 2007 4:45AM]

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.

[hypereric @ Dec 29th 2007 8:40AM]

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.

[cheesecake @ Dec 29th 2007 1:48PM]

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?

[hypereric @ Dec 29th 2007 7:48PM]

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.

[Hangebokhan @ Dec 29th 2007 4:51AM]

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.

[Richard @ Dec 29th 2007 5:11AM]

I didn't know that Netscape still existed... That's the real news in this story.

[Dante_Solvang @ Dec 29th 2007 6:31AM]

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

[671GD @ Dec 29th 2007 6:33AM]

I always thought they had a nice logo...

Wait, what kind of words are those to say at its funeral? Err...

[Billy Horbelt @ Dec 29th 2007 6:53AM]

That's one less browser to worry about. Not that we ever worried about Netscape.

[Mark @ Dec 29th 2007 7:15AM]

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