RIP Netscape Navigator (1994 - 2008)

I heard about this yesterday and have to admit it made me more than a bit sad. I haven't used Netscape in years, but during the first browser wars I was one of the few that didn't let go until it really became to crashy for me to take... and even then I didn't want to let it go :(

Firefox (which is kind of Netscape's grandson/daughter) is now my default browser and has been since early betas. Still it's sad to see Netscape fade out with barely a whisper.

Ah, the early days...

I totally remember Spyglass Mosaic, and Netscape. And yeah Netscape was based on Mosaic (as was IE). By the time IE rolled around, it's integration with the operating system made for a better browser (faster), while Netscape bloated and became somewhat frustrating to use during those AOL years. Prior to then Netscape was the defacto browser along with their other web products. Netscape was later notable for starting the Mozilla project, which has since lead to Firefox.

I haven't thought about Netscape in years. It simply faded away, after losing the browser wars to Microsoft.

Still, other alternatives have appeared and prospered to varying degrees. There's Opera. And Apple's Safari.

What I do remember distinctly about Netscape is that it was first commercial browser that introduced the masses to the web.

I remembered using Netscape, think it was the first browser that I used actually. Sorry to see it go but MS killed it off with IE way back when.

Addendum for those few among us who enjoy internet history: More information about Netscape's origins (including an early release called "Mosaic Netscape") can be found in the Wikipedia article titled "Netscape."

Actually, Netscape *IS* Mosaic. The University of Illinois group that wrote Mosaic went on -- with the university's blessing -- to found Netscape which, in fact, was based entirely upon its progenitor's code. So there's really not a question of which came first. Netscape (i.e., Mosaic-renamed) was indeed the first viable browser, and some of us cast a downward reverent glance at its passing. R.I.P.

my first mac was a Performa 6200 !!! lol, I dunno about it being the worst mac never had any problems with it, but i was also like 10 so, i dunno. but yeah I used netscape on it when I got aol the following year, but for some reason i think I ended up switching to internet explorer when I got my Powermac G3 a few years later. Now I'm a loyal firefox user, I'm running the 3.0 beta, right now. it's smoking fast, I can't wait til the actual release comes out. technically that is Netscape though, so I don't feel that sad to see it go.

Yeah! IE next!

It is also worth remembering that Netscape Navigator came as part of a suite of applications that included a full-blown email client (Communicator), which explains the "bloat" effect often pointed out by both fans and detractors of Netscape.
However, IMHO this would have been progressively ironed out by continued R&D had the devastating effects of MS strong-arm tactics not taken such a toll on Netscape as a company. I realise this is all moot and hypothetical, overtaken by events, yaddayaddayadda....
What I will never forget is that odious photograph of Bill Gates and his cronies cracking open a bottle of champagne and toasting the dramatic fall of Netscape's share price when the market absorbed the implications of their bundling strategy - talk about "schadenfreude" (vicarious pleasure in the demise of others).

Really sad to hear this, as I returned to my good old 'Gator (with my favourite SkyPilot theme by Sailfish) ever since the 9.x series came out, and have faithfully installed every update so far (9.0.0.5 to date). This dirge is actually being typed in NN9.
However, this is not the first "rumour of Netscape's demise" there has been, and I for one hope that it is greatly exaggerated.
It could be an idiosyncracy of my PC (Dell Dimension 9100, 3.4Ghz, 2Gb RAM etc) and I haven't bothered to investigate why or how, but it beats the pants off Firefox and IE7 for speed and runs every plug-in that I need to use.
Will be greatly missed. Aw, shucks (sound of grown man crying follows...).

The very nice thing about Netscape: Jim Clarck, the CEO, bought a few sailing boats in Holland. Tha last one is navigating on Seascape. You get it?
Here is the specification page: http://www.royalhuisman.com/p_mi_athena_spec.htm
Picture Page: http://www.royalhuisman.com/p_mi_athena_photos.htm

And there is even a book about it: http://www.athenabook.com/

And by the way: Jim Clarck boat that boat by himself wich means that that boat is the biggest private sailing boat in the world.