Netscape Browser - Definition and Overview

Netscape Browser is the name of a web browser published by AOL. It is a continuation in name of the defunct Netscape Navigator series.

Netscape 6 and 7 were based on Mozilla, but added support for AOL's Instant Messenger, and other built-in programs. Development of Netscape 6/7 was terminated when AOL abandoned Mozilla development to the Mozilla Foundation.

A new Netscape Browser currently exists as a limited beta test, released on November 30, 2004. This new version is based on Mozilla Firefox, but also offers support for the Internet Explorer Trident rendering engine. Netscape planed to release a shipping product some time in 2005.

Netscape Browser's development was not done in-house by AOL, but rather outsourced to a Canadian software firm Mercurial Communications [1] (http://www.mcomi.com).

The MSIE switch is being criticized for making the browser less secure, as the program may suffer from security problems that also exist in Internet Explorer. Other new features such as per-site security settings and user interfaces are also not welcomed by testers, as it is considered too clustered, overloaded, troublesome and complicated.

Netscape Browser's UI features a green theme with features such as weather and rolling news ticker. Notably, the UI does not have a standard chrome found in other applications, such as the standard title bar.

An interesting change from Firefox is the removal of the famous about:mozilla easter egg (which displays a text from "The Book of Mozilla" in Mozilla browsers). When this URL is typed in the location bar, it can be seen that the page still exists but the content of the body element appears to have been deleted by Mercurial.

The final version of the prototype will be referred as Netscape 8 with an emphasis on anti-phishing. Both blacklists and whitelists will be used to determine whether the visited site is a suspected site or a trusted site. The browser will be released on February 17 2005, together with a redesigned version of Netscape.com [2] (http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=5991).

Version history

• Version 0.5.6+ – November 30, 2004 (Based on Mozilla Firefox 0.9.3)
• Version 0.6.4 – January 7, 2005 (Based on Mozilla Firefox 1.0)

See Also

• Netscape Navigator
• Mozilla Firefox
• List of web browsers
• Comparison of web browsers

References

• MozillaZine. (2004). First Look at Firefox-Based Netscape (http://www.mozillazine.org/articles/article5691.html). Retrieved December 4, 2004.
• MozillaZine. (2005). New Netscape Browser Prototype Available (http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=5906). Retrieved January 17, 2005.

External links

• Netscape Browser Prototype (http://community.netscape.com/nscpbrowser/) (available to registered testers only)
• Netscape Browser Screenshots (http://gemal.dk/blog/2004/11/30/netscape_browser_screenshots/)
• Netscape Updates Browser Prototype (http://gemal.dk/blog/2005/01/18/netscape_updates_browser_prototype/)