NetscapeBrowser
Netscape Has Been Declared Dead
Netscape was the first commercial web browser. It was released in 1994. Although Netscape was commercial software, it also offered free versions that could run on operating systems such as Unix, VMS, Macs, and Microsoft Windows.
In April 1997, Microsoft began rolling out the IE 4.0 series. This version was almost universally criticized, while Netscape, which had also developed to version 4.0, was advancing triumphantly. However, Netscape's good days did not last. By the Windows 98 era, Microsoft played its trump card by bundling IE with Windows 98 and offering it for free; by then IE had also gradually become better. Since a browser came with the operating system, why would anyone buy a separate one? The vast majority of users thought this way, and as a result, Netscape's user base quickly shrank and its market share dropped sharply. Under competition from IE, Netscape gradually lost its market share.
Facing the strong threat from Microsoft, in November 1998 Netscape decided to make its software free and open source all of its program code, focusing its main efforts on the commercial market. Before this measure could even be implemented, Netscape was acquired by AOL.In 1998, AOL acquired Netscape for $4.2 billion.In 2003, the Mozilla Foundation split off from Netscape. AOL, its former parent company, provided $2 million as a parting gift.
December 28, 2007: Netscape developers announced that due to low market share, AOL (America Online) would stop developing its web browser on February 1, 2008.
Netscape's director of development, Tom Drapeau, wrote: "AOL turned its focus to the ad network business, resulting in no more funds being invested in research and development, which caused the Netscape browser to fall short of users' expectations."
Further Reading:http://blog.netscape.com/2007/12/28/end-of-support-for-netscape
Netscape's Problems
Netscape's 4.x series browsers had poor CSS support and did not support XML.
After 4.0, Netscape spent nearly three and a half years developing its next-generation browser. This delay significantly reduced Netscape's chances of monopolizing the browser market.
Netscape Versions
Netscape Navigator 9- Released in 2007.
Netscape 8- Released in 2006.
Netscape 7- Released in 2002.
Netscape 6- Released in 2000. Supports CSS and XML.
Netscape 5- Netscape skipped version 5.
Netscape Communicator 4- Released in 1997.
Netscape Navigator 3- Released in 1996.
Netscape Navigator 2- Released in 1996.
Netscape 1- Released in 1994.
Other Extensions