AOL To Stop Support For Netscape Browser

Boston (dbtechno) - The Internet web browser Netscape at one point was the dominant force on the Internet, with 90 percent of all web browsing done with Netscape. But those days have long past. AOL announced that is planning to discontinue all support and active development for the Netscape Browser.

In 1996 Netscape had nearly the entire Internet dominated, with nearly everyone using Netscape. But the introduction of Internet Explorer in 1995 began a change. Microsoft began to bundle the browser with each new addition of Windows operating software.

Lawsuits filed in Anti Trust court in 1997 failed to stem the tide.

The Netscape Browser will pass into history, having been the original that helped to make the Internet accessible and popular. The browser Firefox, created by the Mozilla foundation, will continue. The Mozilla Foundation was created with active support from AOL in 2003, and the Firefox browser itself was a version of Netscape that was made open source.

“We have been using just a few engineers who had actually resorted to having Firefox with some basic extensions,” said Tom Drapeau. Mr. Drapeau is a Director of Development for AOL, who until recently was charged with supervision of the Netscape Browser Division.

Further development on Netscape had been reduced to using a version of the Firefox Browser and adding various skins and additions, AOL stated.

In the end, it has just not been possible for the Netscape Browser to recover the market share that it once had. Because of bundling with Windows, Microsoft seized the arena, and it has never looked back.

Instead, AOL is focusing it efforts into becoming more of a web business with advertising support. Many fans of Netscape will mourn its passing, as any competition with Internet Explorer will be left to Netscape’s little sister, Firefox.