Sony Brings the Bling with Swarovski Photoframe

Tag Archive: Netscape

Marc Andreesson and Ben Horowitz Launch New VC Firm

Marc Andreesson and Ben Horowitz Launch New VC Firm

The current recession and general economic turmoil might make it seem like the wrong time to empty out one’s pockets on a bunch of speculative ventures, but Marc Andreessen—co-founder of Netscape and one of the developers of the Web browser that started it all, NCSA Mosaic—has partnered with Ben Horowitz to launch a new venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, with a $300 million starting fund. Andreessen and Horowitz have extensive experience in the tech industry, having founded three companies and acted as angel investors in dozens of outfits, including companies like Digg, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Aliph.

Netscape Founder Joins Facebook Board

Netscape Founder Joins Facebook Board

Remember Netscape? At one time it looked as if it would eclipse Microsoft’s Internet Explorer as a browser. Those days are just a hazy memory now, but the man who dreamed them, Marc Andreessen, is still very much alive and kicking – and the newest member of Facebook’s four-member board.

It will be a change for Andreessen, who has plenty of experience with startups – after Netscape he was involved with Opsware and Ning.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive, said:

Bye Bye To Netscape

Bye Bye To NetscapeThese days it’s hard to believe that Netscape Navigator was once the dominant browser, with over 90% of the market – in fact you have to be of a certain age not to say “What?”But in the days before Internet Explorer consolidated its position, Netscape was the one.   Times change, however, and now Netscape is vanishing slowly into the sunset. As of Saturday its owner,AOL, stopped support for the browser, which now has a share of 0.6%, according to the BBC.   The people behind Netscape haverecommended that users migrate to either Firefox or Flock, which are both built on the same technologies.   The firstversion of Netscape appeared in 1994, authored by Marc Andreessen, the man behind the Mosaic browser. Shawn Hardin, President and CEO of Flock, recalled for the BBC,   "Netscape had acritical role in taking all of these zeros and ones – this very academic and technical environment – and giving it a graphical user interface where an average person could come online and consumeinformation. During its halcyon days it really felt like the internet and Netscape were really the same thing."   But then Microsoft began bundlingInternet Explorer with Windows, and the eventual end was in sight.

AOL Ends Support for Netscape Browser

AOL Ends Support for Netscape Browser

Although very, very few people are using it anymore, there was a time early in the popularization of the Internet when the Web was absolutely dominated by the Netscape browser. So much so that many people didn’t speak of looking at something “on the Internet,” they spoke of looking at something “on Netscape.” It was the kind of name recognition and branding technology companies only dream about today…and, of course, it eventually captured the attention of industry titans like Microsoft, who—through OEM deals, manipulation and neglect of standards processes, and monopolistic abuse of its position in the operating system market—drove Netscape into the ground. Netscape—the company, brand, and browser—were eventually purchased by AOL for some $4.2 billion back in 1998; now, almost ten years later, AOL has announced it will altogether cease support for the Netscape browser as of February 1, 2008.

AOL Drops Netscape’s Social News Features

AOL Drops Netscape

In June of 2006, AOL announced it would be adding social news features to its Netscape portal, aiming to tap into the popularity of sites like Digg, Slashdot, and Google News in which the rankings assigned to news stories by the site’s users can determine (in part) what news items are most prominently displayed. The result is supposed to mean the most interesting and relevant items float to the top; the reality is usually that niche stories with a significant “fan” following—or organizations which can successfully “game” the sites—usually reap the benefits in terms of increased Internet traffic.

Users to Netscape: We Want Our Site Back!

Fans of the old Netscape blast Jason Calacanis, an executive at the company, for changing Netscape into a user submitted news site.

The once proud Netscape brand has been losing traffic numbers over the past year and something had to be done to get the portal back on its feet. But to everyone’s surprise, the executives at AOL decided to turn the news site into a viral community in which users submit their own news links and vote on the importance of each others submissions. The popular site Digg.com has grown into a net phenomenon using a model like this, so it only makes sense for Netscape to adopt the idea right? Wrong.

Netscape Reborn as Community News Service

You probably know the story: Netscape wasn’t the first Web browser on the Internet, but it was the one which made the World Wide Web take off, for a few years making the entire technology industry <blink>, striking fear into the hearts of Microsoft and other computing giants, and making lofty claims about the Netscape platform as an all-encompassing net-based operating system. A few years, an aquisition, and a massive antitrust trial later, Netscape was a shadow of its former self, relegated to a vague “portal” and “brand” status within the AOL/Time Warner media empire while browser development largely fled to the Mozilla foundation and, eventually, to Firefox.

Your Next PC Could Use Netscape

It sure is a sign of the times. Firefox is growing in popularity and one of the largest PC manufacturers decides to distribute Netscape’s web browser alongside Internet Explorer.   Usersof the new systems will be able to choose Netscape 8 or Internet Explorer as their default browser during the setup process. Netscape 8.0 is based on the popular Firefox code and will automaticallyadjust its safety and security settings to protect users.   "HP is pleased to offer our customers a choice with the addition of the Netscape browser to our consumer PC line up," saidNick Labosky, Director of Worldwide Consumer PC Beyond-the-Box group at HP. "By including Netscape 8.0 on our PCs, HP is providing people a more secure computing experience via the browser’scutting-edge security features and other functionality that make being online safer for our customers."

Netscape Browser 8.0 Beta Goes Live

“America Online’s Netscape team has opened its doors to the public, releasing the first beta of the revived Netscape Web browser. Based upon Firefox, Netscape version 8 focuses on security and protecting user privacy, and supports rendering with both Mozilla’s Gecko and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser engines.

A source close to development told BetaNews Netscape 8 will be upgraded to Firefox 1.0.1 before the final release. The source also noted that because most of the phishing sites with Internationalized Domain Names are blocked through blacklists, the Firefox vulnerabilities are not as relevant to Netscape 8.”

Read more at BetaNews

Netscape Updates Browser Beta

“The original release was built atop Firefox 0.9.3; although the interface sports Netscape’s traditional green, the underlying code is based on work from the Mozilla Foundation. But several potential security vulnerabilities have been discovered in Firefox releases prior to version 1.0, prompting Netscape to update the prototype.

“There won’t be any new features or new design in this release, but performance and size have been greatly improved,” AOL’s Netscape product team wrote to testers of the browser. “

Netscape developers are promising a drstic change to their web browser in their next update.

Read more at BetaNews

Page 1 of 212»

Join The Digital Trends Community

DT RSS Feed

Everyone wants to be an insider, and you can be one too! Choose your poison: sign-up for our Newsletter, join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. Do all three and you'll be swimming in the the latest news, reviews, videos and more gadget goodness!

DT Newsletter Sign-Up

Sign-up for the Digital Trends newsletter and find out about the latest contests, the hottest content, and the most popular videos. Let us keep you up-to-date!

Our Facebook

Become a DT soldier! Join us on Facebook and share the best news, guides, videos and other cool information directly with all your friends. Some might even thank you for it!

Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Facebook.

Twitter Us

Do you like information in small snippets? Then our Twitter feed is just for you. Follow Digital Trends and you'll be able to catch up daily on our latest content, or even interact directly with our team. Tweet Tweet!

Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Twitter.

That’s Right, Sign-up For Our Monthly Random Prize Drawings and You Could Be That Winner.