Editing Netscape (section)

==History==

===Early years===
{{quote box |quote=Netscape Communications wants you to forget all the highway metaphors you've ever heard about the Internet. Instead, think about an encyclopedia—one with unlimited, graphically rich pages, connections to E-mail and files, and access to Internet newsgroups and online shopping. |source=—''Netscape Navigator'', [[Macworld]] (May 1995)<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hawn|first=Mathew|date=May 1995|title=Netscape Navigator. (Netscape Communications World Wide Web browser) (Software Review)(Evaluation)|journal=Macworld|access-date=May 17, 2011|quote=Netscape Communications wants you to forget all the highway metaphors you've ever heard about the Internet. Instead, think about an encyclopedia—one with unlimited, graphically rich pages, connections to E-mail and files, and access to Internet newsgroups and online shopping.|url=http://lookups.com.au/wiki/1G1-16739494.php|url-access=subscription|archive-date=April 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409110108/http://lookups.com.au/wiki/1G1-16739494.php|url-status=live}}</ref> |width=40% |bgcolor=#c6dbf7}}

Netscape was the first company to attempt to capitalize on the emerging [[World Wide Web]].<ref name=LATimes2007>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-29-fi-netscape29-story.html |title=AOL will pull the plug on Netscape's tech support |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 18, 2014 |date=December 29, 2007 |archive-date=May 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519002700/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/29/business/fi-netscape29 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Fortune/> It was founded under the name '''Mosaic Communications Corporation''' on April 4, 1994, the brainchild of [[James H. Clark|Jim Clark]] who had recruited [[Marc Andreessen]] as co-founder and [[Kleiner Perkins]] as investors. The first meeting between Clark and Andreessen was never truly about a software or service like Netscape, but more about a product that was similar to Nintendo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The Geography of the Internet Industry: Venture Capital, Dot-Coms, and Local Knowledge|last = Zook|first = Matthew A.|publisher = Blackwell Publishing|year = 2005|isbn = 978-0-631-23331-2|location = Oxford|page = 104}}</ref> Clark recruited other early team members from [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]] and [[NCSA Mosaic]]. [[James L. Barksdale|Jim Barksdale]] came on board as CEO in January 1995.<ref name=Fortune>{{cite magazine |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/index.htm |title=Remembering Netscape: The Birth Of The Web |author=Adam Lashinsky |magazine=Fortune Magazine |date=July 25, 2005 |access-date=September 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427112146/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/index.htm |archive-date=April 27, 2006}}</ref> Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen originally created a 20-page concept pitch for an online gaming network to [[Nintendo]] for the [[Nintendo 64]] console, but a deal was never reached. Marc Andreessen explains, "If they had shipped a year earlier, we probably would have done that instead of Netscape."<ref name=SFGate.com>[http://www.sfgate.com/business/ontherecord/article/OPSWARE-INC-On-the-record-Marc-Andreessen-2525822.php#page-5/ "OPSWARE INC. / On the record: Marc Andreessen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310184538/http://www.sfgate.com/business/ontherecord/article/OPSWARE-INC-On-the-record-Marc-Andreessen-2525822.php#page-5/ |date=March 10, 2016 }}. SFGate. December 7, 2003. Retrieved July 24, 2012.</ref>

The company's first product was the web browser, called ''Mosaic Netscape 0.9,'' released on October 13, 1994. Within four months of its release, it had already taken three-quarters of the browser market.<ref name=":0"/> It became the main browser for Internet users in such a short time due to its superiority over other competition, like Mosaic.<ref name=":0"/> This browser was subsequently renamed [[Netscape Navigator]], and the company took the "Netscape" name (coined by employee Greg Sands,<ref name=Fortune/> although it was also a trademark of [[Cisco Systems]]<ref>[http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/063010-cisco-cius-tablet.html "Cisco tablet not an iPad knock-off: Chambers"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328100326/http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/063010-cisco-cius-tablet.html |date=March 28, 2014 }}. Network World. June 30, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2012.</ref>) on November 14, 1994,<ref>{{Cite news| page = B3| title = Mosaic's Name Change| work=The San Francisco Chronicle| date = November 15, 1994}}</ref> to avoid trademark ownership problems with [[National Center for Supercomputing Applications|NCSA]], where the initial Netscape employees had previously created the [[Mosaic (web browser)|NCSA Mosaic]] web browser. The Mosaic Netscape web browser did not use any NCSA Mosaic code.<ref name="Netscape Time">{{cite book |title=Netscape Time: The Making of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up That Took on Microsoft |last=Clark |first=Jim |author-link=James H. Clark |author2=Owen Edwards |year=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0312199340 |url=https://archive.org/details/netscapetimemaki00clar |url-access=registration }}</ref> The internal [[codename]] for the company's browser was ''Mozilla'', which stood for "Mosaic killer", as the company's goal was to displace NCSA Mosaic as the world's number one [[web browser]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEFu-B1wj1E&t=7m35s | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615045013/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEFu-B1wj1E&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2013-06-15 | url-status=dead|title=Marc Andreessen Revealed (Bloomberg Game Changers) |publisher=YouTube.com |access-date=2019-06-13}}</ref> A cartoon [[Godzilla]]-like lizard mascot was drawn by artist-employee Dave Titus,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portfolio.davetitus.com/dave_titus_mozilla.html |title=Portfolio of freelance illustrator and animator, Dave W. Titus, Dave Titus Illustrations. Mascots, characters, children's product illustration, packaging and game illustration, and creator of Mozilla |publisher=Portfolio.davetitus.com |date=2010-07-22 |access-date=2019-06-13 |archive-date=October 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003085234/http://portfolio.davetitus.com/dave_titus_mozilla.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which went well with the theme of crushing the competition. The Mozilla mascot featured prominently on Netscape's website in the company's early years. However, the need to project a more "professional" image (especially towards corporate clients) led to this being removed.

===Initial public offering (IPO)===

[[File:Mozilla boxing.jpg|right|thumb|175px|The original green and purple [[Mozilla (mascot)|Mozilla mascot]], a [[Godzilla]]-like lizard which represented the company's goal of producing the browser that would be the "Mosaic killer"]]
On August 9, 1995, Netscape made an extremely successful [[initial public offering|IPO]], only sixteen months after the company was formed. The stock was set to be offered at US$14 per share, but a last-minute decision doubled the initial offering to US$28 per share. The stock's value soared to US$75 during the first day of trading, nearly a record for first-day gain. The stock closed at US$58.25, which gave Netscape a market value of US$2.9 billion. It was listed on the [[NASDAQ]] under the symbol NSCP. While it was somewhat unusual for a company to go public prior to becoming profitable, Netscape's revenues had, in fact, doubled every quarter in 1995.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.08/loudcloud.html?pg=4 | title=Going Public as Netscape Did, before making a dime in profits | publisher=Lycos | work=Wired 8.08 | author=David Sheff | access-date=July 14, 2006 | archive-date=June 19, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619101917/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.08/loudcloud.html?pg=4 | url-status=live }}</ref> The success of this IPO subsequently inspired the use of the term "Netscape moment" to describe a high-visibility IPO that signals the dawn of a new industry.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15464481 |title=Electric cars: A Netscape Moment? |publisher=Economist.com |access-date=May 18, 2014 |date=February 4, 2010 |archive-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804024736/http://www.economist.com/node/15464481 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2128/1 |title=Is commercial spaceflight's "Netscape moment" near? |publisher=The Space Review |access-date=May 18, 2014 |date=July 30, 2012 |archive-date=May 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519021005/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2128/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> During this period, Netscape also pursued a publicity strategy (crafted by [[Rosanne Siino]], then head of public relations) packaging Andreessen as the company's "rock star."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.drdobbs.com/programmers-bookshelf/184411146 |title=Programmer's Bookshelf |publisher=Dr. Dobb's Journal |access-date=May 18, 2014 |date=December 1, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519005626/http://www.drdobbs.com/programmers-bookshelf/184411146 |archive-date=May 19, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The events of this period ultimately landed Andreessen, barefoot, on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine.<ref name="Time">{{cite news
| url=https://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960219,00.html
| title=Netscape's Marc Andreessen
| access-date=February 3, 2007
| date=February 19, 1996
| work=Time Magazine
| archive-date=September 23, 2013
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923040646/http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960219,00.html
| url-status=live
}}</ref> The IPO also helped kickstart widespread investment in internet companies that created the [[dot-com bubble]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Letzing |first=John |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lycos-a-web-bubble-star-is-sold-to-indian-firm-2010-08-17 |title=Lycos, an Internet bubble-era star, is sold to Indian firm |publisher=MarketWatch |date=2010-08-17 |access-date=2019-06-13 |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407061548/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/lycos-a-web-bubble-star-is-sold-to-indian-firm-2010-08-17 |url-status=live }}</ref>

It is alleged that several Microsoft executives visited the Netscape campus in June 1995 to propose dividing the market (an allegation denied by Microsoft and, if true, would have breached antitrust laws), which would have allowed Microsoft to produce web browser software for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] while leaving all other operating systems to Netscape.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1998/oct/10-20-98/news/news14.html| title=Government alleges illegal campaign by Microsoft| access-date=July 14, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708210502/http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1998/oct/10-20-98/news/news14.html| archive-date=July 8, 2006| url-status=dead}}</ref> Netscape refused the proposition. Microsoft released version 1.0 of [[Internet Explorer]] as a part of the [[Windows 95]] [[Microsoft Plus!|Plus Pack]] add-on. According to former [[Spyglass, Inc.|Spyglass]] developer Eric Sink, Internet Explorer was based not on NCSA Mosaic as commonly believed, but on a version of Mosaic developed at Spyglass<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biztech.ericsink.com/Browser_Wars.html|title=Memoirs from the Browser Wars|access-date=July 14, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517004421/http://biztech.ericsink.com/Browser_Wars.html|archive-date=May 17, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> (which itself was based upon NCSA Mosaic). 

This era would become known as the [[browser wars]]. Netscape Navigator was not free to the general public until January 1998,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/netscape-cuts-prices-on-retail-products/|title=Netscape cuts prices on retail products|author=Alex Lash|date=January 30, 1998|newspaper=[[CNET]]|access-date=February 23, 2008|archive-date=August 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812192650/http://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/netscape-cuts-prices-on-retail-products/|url-status=live}}</ref> while Internet Explorer and [[Internet Information Server]] have always been free or came bundled with an operating system and/or other applications. Meanwhile, Netscape faced increasing criticism for "[[Creeping featurism|featuritis]]" – putting a higher priority on adding new features than on making their products work properly. Netscape experienced its first bad quarter at the end of 1997 and underwent a large round of layoffs in January 1998. Former Netscape executives [[Mike Homer]] and [[Peter Currie (businessman)|Peter Currie]] have described this period as "hectic and crazy" and that the company was undone by factors both internal and external.<ref name=twsOctE23>{{cite news
 |author=Alan T. Saracevic
 |title=Silicon Valley: It's where brains meet bucks
 |work=San Francisco Chronicle
 |date=October 23, 2005
 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Silicon-Valley-It-s-where-brains-meet-bucks-2600193.php
 |access-date=May 18, 2014
 |archive-date=November 22, 2012
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122075513/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Silicon-Valley-It-s-where-brains-meet-bucks-2600193.php
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> In January 1998, Netscape started the [[open source software|open source]] [[Mozilla]] project.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Freeing the Source, The Story of Mozilla|url=https://www.oreilly.com/openbook/opensources/book/netrev.html|last1=Hamerly|first1=Jim|date=January 1999|access-date=April 27, 2021|last2=Paquin|first2=Tom|editor-last=O'Reilly|editor-link=O'Reilly Media|archive-date=January 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129214543/https://www.oreilly.com/openbook/opensources/book/netrev.html|url-status=live}}.</ref> Netscape publicly released the [[source code]] of Netscape Communicator 5.0 under the [[Netscape Public License]], which was similar to the [[GNU General Public License]] but allowed Netscape to continue to publish proprietary work containing the publicly released code. 

The [[United States Department of Justice]] filed an [[United States v. Microsoft|antitrust case]] against Microsoft in May 1998. Netscape was not a plaintiff in the case, though its executives were subpoenaed and it contributed much material to the case, including the entire contents of the 'Bad Attitude' internal discussion forum.<ref name="wired">{{cite magazine| url=https://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,14743,00.html| title=Microsoft Subpoenas Bad Attitude| access-date=July 14, 2006| magazine=Wired| date=September 1, 1998| archive-date=June 19, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619101431/http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,14743,00.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Acquisition by America Online===
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2008}}
On November 24, 1998, [[America Online]] (AOL) announced it would acquire Netscape Communications in a tax-free stock swap valued at US$4.2 billion.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-218360.html| title=AOL buys Netscape for $4.2 billion| access-date=September 8, 2010| archive-date=March 27, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327080317/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-218360.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Building a Company on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape|last = Yoffie|first = David B.|date = April 1999|journal = California Management Review|volume = 41|issue = 3|pages = 8–28|doi = 10.2307/41165995|jstor = 41165995|s2cid = 153810278}}</ref> By the time the deal closed on March 17, 1999, it was valued at US$10 billion.<ref name=AOL1999/><ref name=Morn1999/> This merger was ridiculed by many who believed that the two corporate cultures could not possibly mesh; one of its most prominent critics was longtime Netscape developer [[Jamie Zawinski]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/aol.html | title=netscape and aol | access-date=January 12, 2012 | archive-date=July 3, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703204116/http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/aol.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Disbanding ===
During Netscape's acquisition by AOL, joint development and marketing of Netscape software products would occur through the Sun-Netscape Alliance. In the newly branded iPlanet, the software included "messaging and calendar, collaboration, web, application, directory, and certificate servers", as well as "production-ready applications for e-commerce, including commerce exchange, procurement, selling, and billing."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sun-netscape-alliance-announces-new-iplanettm-brand-and-marketing-campaign-73653107.html| title=Sun-Netscape Alliance Announces New iPlanet(TM) Brand and Marketing Campaign| access-date=July 7, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919141754/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sun-netscape-alliance-announces-new-iplanettm-brand-and-marketing-campaign-73653107.html| archive-date=September 19, 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref> In March 2002, when the alliance was ended, "iPlanet became a division of Sun... Sun retained the intellectual property rights for all products and the engineering"<ref name="SunNetscape">{{cite web|url = https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/52214/sun-netscape-alliance|title = PCMag|access-date = November 14, 2015|archive-date = November 17, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117020008/http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/52214/sun-netscape-alliance|url-status = live}}</ref>

On July 15, 2003, [[Time Warner]] (formerly AOL Time Warner) disbanded Netscape. Most of the programmers were laid-off, and the Netscape logo was removed from the building.<ref>{{cite news |title=AOL Cuts Remaining Mozilla Hackers |url=http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=3422 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |work=MozillaZine |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721054435/http://www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?article=3422 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the Netscape 7.2 web browser (developed in-house rather than with Netscape staff, with some work outsourced to [[Sun Microsystems|Sun's]] [[Beijing]] development center<ref name=Beijing>[http://www.tgc.com/hpcwire/hpcwireWWW/03/0808/105701.html "Sun Micro To Double Beijing Software Center"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041116015304/http://www.tgc.com/hpcwire/hpcwireWWW/03/0808/105701.html |date=November 16, 2004 }}. HPCwire. August 8, 2003. Retrieved July 1, 2012.</ref>) was released by [[AOL]] on August 18, 2004.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=62001| title=Netscape Internet Software Updated| access-date=July 14, 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623074531/http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=62001 <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->| archive-date=June 23, 2006| url-status=dead}}</ref>

After the [[Sun acquisition by Oracle]] in January 2010, Oracle continued to sell iPlanet branded applications, which originated from Netscape.<ref>[http://www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/application-server/050735.html Oracle Web Tier"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101091514/http://www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/application-server/050735.html |date=January 1, 2016 }}. Oracle. Retrieved July 7, 2012</ref>

===Final release of the browser===
[[Image:Netscape-logo.png|thumb|128px|Netscape logo 2005–2007]]
The Netscape brand name continued to be used extensively. The company once again had its own programming staff devoted to the development and support for the series of [[Netscape (web browser)|web browsers]].<ref>[http://www.ufaq.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=23612#23612 UFAQ. org – "Announcing Netscape 9" by Jay Garcia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928195043/http://www.ufaq.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=23612#23612 |date=September 28, 2007 }} Retrieved on February 5, 2007</ref> Additionally, Netscape also maintained the [[Propeller web portal]], which was a popular social-news site, similar to [[Digg]], which was given a new look in June 2006. AOL marketed a [[#Netscape Internet Service|discount ISP service]] under the Netscape brand name.

A new version of the Netscape browser, [[Netscape Navigator 9]], based on [[Firefox]] 2, was released in October 2007. It featured a green and grey interface. In November 2007, IE had 77.4% of the browser market, Firefox 16.0%, and Netscape 0.6%, according to Net Applications, an Internet metrics firm.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205204433 |title=AOL Kills Netscape's Future, Leaves Firefox to Battle IE |access-date=December 29, 2007 |author=Gonsalves, Antone |date=December 28, 2007 |website=Informationweek.com |publisher=CMP Media LLC |archive-date=December 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230044400/http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205204433 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On December 28, 2007, AOL announced that it would drop support for the Netscape web browser and would no longer develop new releases on February 1, 2008.<ref name=BrowserEndFeb/> The date was later extended to March 1<ref name=BrowserEndMar/> to allow a major security update and to add a tool to assist users in migrating to other browsers. These additional features were included in the final version of [[Netscape Navigator 9]] (version 9.0.0.6), released on February 20, 2008.