Netscape Finally Put Down

Slashdot ^ | 2/22/2008 | ScuttleMonkey

[sionnsar]

Stony Stevenson writes to point out that Netscape has finally reached end of line with the release of version 9.0.0.6. A pop-up will offer users the choice of switching to Firefox, Flock, or remaining with the dead browser, but no new updates will be released.

"Nearly 14 years after the once mighty browser made its first desktop appearance as Mosaic Netscape 0.9, its disappearance comes as little surprise. Although Netscape accounted for more than 80 per cent of the browser market in 1995, the arrival of Microsoft's Internet Explorer in the same year brought stiff competition and surpassed Netscape within three years."

[sionnsar]

Geezer Geek ping.

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[mkjessup]

"...Netscape has finally reached end of line with the release of version 9.0.0.6. A pop-up will offer users the choice of switching to Firefox, Flock, or remaining with the dead browser, but no new updates will be released."

Maybe one day Windows will offer a pop-up that invites the user to switch to Linux or even the current Apple OS? LOL

R.I.P. Netscape, I still have the original Version 3.0, Installation CD and huge manual. I will wrap it up, place it on an old 386 motherboard, and burn it in my backyard ala Viking Funeral Pyre.

TO VALHALLA!!! ;)

[TomGuy]

On dial-up, Netscape Gold was a good browser.

But, by the time it has upgraded to 4.5, 4.7, etc., it had strong competition from the unstable IE3 and IE4 (which was a bit more stable). And Netscape got to where it was always phoning home, and that caused a clog in the dial-up connection. 4.9 was very unstable.

About that time, I found an IE based browser called Fastbrowser Pro. It was one of the first tabbed browsers and it had built in use of the MS Agent — the feature that reads text aloud. It was (and still is) nice for primarily-heavy-text websites such as FR. For those long, long articles, I just click a button and let MsAgent read it to me. (The computerized voice takes some getting used to, however.)

[Genesis defender]

Wow. I remember working a weekend job at college in 1996, and the computer there had Netscape 0.96 beta installed. Pictures online were terrible with that browser; text was all you could see. There weren’t many options besides Netscape then.

[Sam's Army]

"I still have the original Version 3.0, Installation CD and huge manual. I will wrap it up, place it on an old 386 motherboard, and burn it in my backyard ala Viking Funeral Pyre."

I have heard of other similar relics fetching some dough on Ebay and such.

[Digital Sniper]

This brings back memories. I remember evaluating Netscape back in 1994 for my employer. Ah, those were the days...writing policy and procedures for using Archie, Email, FTP, Gopher, Usenet, and the World Wide Web. I wonder if they're still using the BBS software I built for their customers who didn't have direct access to the 'net? Hmmm...

[Digital Sniper]

I have heard of other similar relics fetching some dough on Ebay and such.

That's why I'm holding onto my bundled distro of Solaris 2.3 signed by Bill Joy himself. :-)

[Biggirl]

When I attended community college and started to get interested in the internet, I was drawn to Netscape Communicator. But as time when on and with my home Apple Mac, switched to IE. Since going on to OS X, been more into Safari and Firefox. Will only use the IE 5 on Classic OS 9 when needed.

RIP Netscape.

[Dumpster Baby]

I still have a computer with MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.11 on it. Just for grins I sometimes get on the Web with antique versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer. They are easily confused by modern Java and can’t use any of the current slew of applets. Various stuff on Web pages doesn’t display at all, hyper links don’t work, etc. It’s hilarious.

[sionnsar]

I still have a copy of Compuserve “Internet In A Box” Special Edition V2.0, 5/1995, with Spry Mosaic browser — box, manuals and floppies.

[Larry Lucido]

I still have the original Version 3.0, Installation CD and huge manual. I will wrap it up, place it on an old 386 motherboard, and burn it in my backyard ala Viking Funeral Pyre.

Don't do that!

I might want to upgrade.

[Huck]

Wow. I haven’t even thought about Netscape in years. I remember starting out on the Net with Netscape in 1995.

[randog]

Wow. I haven’t even thought about Netscape in years. I remember starting out on the Net with Netscape in 1995.

Same here.

[2111USMC]

LOL! Compuserve. Brings back memories. (Although they are not necessarily good ones.)

[2111USMC]

That’s back in the days when we had to memorize DOS commands. And we LIKED IT!

[Williams]

Used to love Netscape, hated IE, then Netscape did an “upgrade” that was just terrible, kept freezing up my computer. I had to go back to the earlier version and soon ended up using IE.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

That’s pretty sad. I was a die hard Netscape user for many years before Microsoft incorporated annoying little incompatibilities in Win 98 and 2000 that made it frustrating to use the browser. I was especially fond of Netscape Communicator, which I used for both email and basic college-level webpage design. It was a really good browser package before Microsoft buried it with IE.

[JoanVarga]

Now that makes me feel old.

[humblegunner]

That’s back in the days when we had to memorize DOS commands. And we LIKED IT!

.dir!