Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
At its peak, Netscape had about 90% of the browser market but eventually lost
market share to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. This led to an antitrust suit against
Microsoft in 1998 since Internet Explorer was provided as part of Windows and
was not marketed separately.
Netscape was acquired by America Online (AOL) in 1999 for stock and equity
worth perhaps $10 billion.
In the first browser war, Internet Explorer achieved a dominant place, while
Netscape's usage declined. However, Netscape decided to make its browser source
code an open-source platform, and that helped create the Mozilla Foundation. The
later Firefox browser by Mozilla is a descendant of the original Netscape browser.
Note
The browser wars continue today and new players have joined the
fray. Current browsers include Apple Safari, Google Chrome, In-
ternet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, OmniWeb, Shira, and a
number of others. In today's world, browsers also operate on smart-
phones and tablets as well as on computers. The history and techno-
logy of web browsers are among the most complex but interesting
topics in the larger history of software engineering. The browser
wars are leading to rapid increases in browser capabilities and fea-
tures as the various browser companies seek to pull ahead of their
rivals.
Netscape itself went from being an independent company to being owned by
AOL to being closed by AOL in 2003. However, the name “Netscape” still con-
tinues, as does the browser. A search for “Netscape” on the web leads to the site
of an internet service provider (ISP).
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