How "Best Viewed With" Became "No Longer Viewed With" - The Story of Netscape

The early pioneers of the Internet, Compuserve, Prodigy, and America Online all had their own web browser. These browsers came with the Internet service. If you changed providers, you also had to change to a new browser. In addition, Mac users had problems rendering Web pages with graphics since none of the popular Internet services really catered to this smaller group of computer users.

By 1993, the Mosaic browser had become the most popular on many websites. It allowed users to access graphics files that were included in Web pages, using the hypertext markup language (html) protocol. However, every computer platform needed a different version of this software.

As the Internet grew rapidly, so did the demand for a more user-friendly and customizable browser. There was also a growing sentiment against proprietary browsing software. When Marc Andreessen formed the Netscape Communication Corporation in 1994, it seemed to be the answer to many issues. The browser's open source code made it easy for developers to contribute to the improvement of the Netscape browser's features.

In 1998, America Online purchased Netscape. The founder's decision to sell the software's license is one factor that led to its demise. Although AOL owned the code, expanding the browsers capabilities did not fit its business interests. The Netscape development team was already working on a newer integrated browser software. They named it Mozilla, a reference to the programming language under the hood. AOL supported and funded the launch of Netscape 6, the first Mozilla browser suite.

With AOL's backing, the Mozilla Foundation took the lead in 2003 to continue the development of the Mozilla open source browser suite. Netscape development at AOL dwindled to nothing because it was unable to attract enough users to overcome Internet Explorer's domination of the Internet browser market. All company support for the Netscape-branded browser ended on March 1, 2008. Enthusiasts on the Internet continue to host Netscape Netscape's Unofficial Frequently Asked Questions forums and the Netscape archive. Browser alternatives include Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Flock, Chrome, and Opera.