Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Networking
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

AOL really kills Netscape this time

Final update released; users are told to move to either Flock or Firefox

February 21, 2008 12:00 PM ET

Active Comments
Anonymous says: I have used Netscape for a long time now. I really appreciate having a browser that allows me to edit...
Leigh S. Jones says: Not intending to minimize the real differences between Netscape and Firefox (etc.), I must comment that a large number of...


Computerworld - Several weeks after AOL LLC gave Netscape Navigator a one-month reprieve, the company yesterday released the last update for the browser and prodded users to switch to Flock or Firefox.

"Users will see the following major upgrade notice, released as Netscape 9.0.0.6," said Tom Drapeau, the director of AOL's Netscape brand, in a post to a company blog Wednesday. "When the Netscape 9.0.0.6 upgrade is accepted and run, the following notice will appear, denoting the end of support date and the recommendations of Flock and Firefox."

The pop-up Drapeau cited offers users download links to either Flock Inc.'s Flock browser, or Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox. Netscape's settings are automatically migrated to the new browser.

Users can stick with Netscape, added Drapeau, by clicking "Remind me later" and "Stay with Netscape" buttons. No new updates, security patches or otherwise will be provided, however, after this month. Netscape 9.0.0.6, Drapeau added, is patch-equivalent with Firefox 2.0.0.12, the browser Mozilla rolled out two weeks ago to fix a dozen vulnerabilities.

Netscape harks back to 1994, when Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark founded Mosaic Communications Corp. around Andreessen's browser. The first Netscape was released Dec. 15, 1994; by mid-1995, Netscape accounted for more than 80% of all browsers used. That same year, however, Microsoft Corp. introduced its Internet Explorer, which passed Netscape in market share within three years.

At the end of 2007, Drapeau stunned Netscape users when he stopped development of the browser and set Feb. 1 as the end-of-support date. In late January, however, he extended support another month, saying that Netscape, Flock and Mozilla needed more time to finish migration tools.

Back in December, Drapeau named "AOL's current business focus" and an inability to revive Navigator's moribund market share as reasons for ditching the browser. He didn't elaborate any further on the decision yesterday.

Most users who left comments on Drapeau's recent posts were appreciative for the one-month grace period. Some, however, felt abandoned. "I'm sad," said Alexis Kauffmann. "Flock still needs improvement and I am not happy with Firefox's interface. I'm [an] orphan!"

Read more about internet applications in Computerworld's Internet Applications Knowledge Center.



Jump to comments

Netscape Navigator

Additional Resources

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know
WHITE PAPER
Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.
Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009
WHITE PAPER
The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.
Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing
WHITE PAPER
Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

What People Are Saying

White Papers & Webcasts

Moving Beyond Monolithic White Paper
What's next for enterprise application architecture? Learn Now.  

The Workday User Experience Video
Watch Workday's Creative Director, Scott Lietzke, discuss the business-centered design philosophy at Workday.

The ROI of Software-As-A-Service - Forrester Research
Learn if SaaS has a long-term value. Read now.  

Virtualize Microsoft Applications on VMware
Register for this live webcast now!

Global at the Core White Paper
Learn the business and technology benefits of Workday's global approach to enterprise applications.  

The Workday User Interface White Paper
Read how Workday re-invents the user experience in enterprise applications.  

Aligning IT to Business: The Rising Importance of Application Delivery Networks
Application Delivery Networking (ADN) will play a vital role in helping enterprises incorporate strategic technologies to achieve business initiatives.

Measurement Specialties
Download this case study!  

Preparing Your Business Services for the Future
Would you trust your network monitoring tools enough to know when something is truly halting a business service?

Disaster Recovery & Cost Savings Zone
Thousands of customers world-wide have turned to virtualization solutions from Riverbed as a way to reduce costs.



IT Jobs