Netscape Backs Away From Browsers

gutier writes: "It seems that Netscape has recognized that it has lost the browser battle, and has decided to restructure itself into an "Internet Media Hub". Information here." The article does not say that Netscape will stop making browsers in favor of various media-integration tools and business offerings, but it does hint that strongly. I don't think this is the first time that an analyst has said "It's not going to be Netscape, but rather Netscape.com," either.

Comments

The browser wasn't where Netscape made its money

[SiliconJesus]

The server is / was. The Netscape browser was just that, a browser. Since IIS doesn't run on UNIX, the two choices are Apache and Netscape iPlanet server (yes, I'm aware there are other servers out there, but iPlanet and Apache are the two market dominators). This isn't the invitation to start a flame-thread about Apache vs iPlanet, but realize for Fortune 100 companies still want a commercial entity behind their web server.
Again, please rediresct all flames to /dev/null

Secret windows code

LOST the browser war?

[Omega]

gutier writes: "It seems that Netscape has recognized that it has lost the browser battle, and has decided to restructure itself into an "Internet Media Hub".

I don't understand what you mean by Lost the Browser War. It's not something you can win or lose, unless you're talking about giving up from the frustration caused by the monopolistic, anticompetitive tactics of a certain company.

As I see it, Netscape is still unopposed when it comes to web browsers. Opera may be gaining, but no other company provides browsers that run on the wide variety of platforms like Netscape does. Netscape runs on AIX, HP-UX, SCO, SunOS, Solaris, Digital-Unix, Irix, Linux, Mac OS, and Linux. Konqueror is making inroads, but nobody has as complete a market as netscape.

Re:LOST the browser war?

[babbage]

Psst! Hey! Guess what? Apparently no one told you, but Netscape has long since become irrelevant. Roughly 89% of users are still running some version of IE, while only 7% are using Netscape. The same source tells us that well over 90% of people are using some version of windows, with only 1% running Macintosh, and all others combined don't even merit a mention.

Looking at another site, I find roughly similar numbers -- an 80/10/5 split on IE/Netscape/AOL(that is, IE again) usage, and a 95/4/1 split on Win/Mac/Other usage. I know there are lies, damn lies, and statistics, but I think these numbers are pretty valid -- look anywhere and you'll find roughly similar figures.

I hate to break it to you, but the list of platforms you describe is basically irrelevant. So Netscape has cornered the dark back alley of the internet. Big deal, they can have it. The browser war, as you seem not to understand, was (past tense) a fight over which software would become the de facto standard access point to the web for the average user, and the result of that war has been settled & done with.

Having better cross-platform support is a trump card if & only if the other platforms are statistically significant, but they aren't -- just ask anyone that was hoping to see something come of the BeOS. Netscape is finished, IE is in control of the web now. There are fringe browsers out there that might help keep IE honest (Opera, Lynx, W3M, Omniweb, Mozilla, and Netscape), but the're nothing more than fringe players, and for most purposes insignificant.

Netscape was alright back in the day, but let's not treat this dead horse too badly, ok?

Re:The Death Knell

[sheldon]

Microsoft has already promised to release the source to a reference implementation of C# for Unix as part of their standards compliance process.

What an insight

[drfalken]

There was a time when netscape.com was the most popular destination on the Internet b/c it was the default start page for almost every browser. This was back in the days when a lot of people didn't understand how the Net worked and were willing to be guided by the hand. Amazingly Netscape did absolutely nothing to capitalize on the opportunity to become the critical portal on the web. Yahoo etc wouldn't have stood a chance.

I guess they can try to play catch up, but I'm beginning to think that whatever brand-equity is left will quickly be transformed into a negative image. If they can't make this reorganization work, the name will become synonymous with Betamax (if it isn't already).

For my money 'though, I'm glad that Netscape missed the boat on the web portal opportunity. I don't think the web would be half as interesting a place if everyone had to go there to do anything. The competition and innovation inspired by leaving room for this to be done by others has produced countless successes and failures over the past few years.
----------------------------

Not fantastically interesting.

[handelaar]

Without a reasonably strong browser in popular use, how on earth can Netscape.com attract visitors? It doesn't work to simply have other AOL-TW companies plug Netscape.com on air or in print because users associate (for example) CNN with CNN.com. Which, if memory serves, is why Pathfinder was such a roaring success.

The premise of this posting is wrong. AOL cannot get mega-traffic without browser integration. How else do you think MSN gets so much traffic? It sure isn't the killer search engine.

Re:Thankfully...

[MrEfficient]

Is it really protected, I mean in terms of it continuing to be worked on. Aren't the majority of developers Netscape employees? Sure the source will be there, but unless someone fixes it, I don't consider it to be a viable browser. On windows, I'd rather stick with IE. On linux, I'll probably use Konq.

Re:Why?

[referee]

First they ignore you...
Then they laugh at you...
Then they fight you...
Then they become a portal?

The Tech Company Life Cycle

[tenzig_112]

1. Start-up -> Overnight Success
Start telling everyone that the old economy is dead and that you're the only one with any new ideas. When your stock options mature, put your hand over your winnings and tell the dealer, "let it ride, my man!"

2. Failure of the Core Business
Your competition has eaten your lunch. Those bridged you burned in step 1 are starting to look like mistakes. Maybe your mom was right, giving stuff away is no excuse for a business plan.

3. Bring in the Cavalry
If your customers abandoned you, perhaps the federal government will be more sympathetic. It may take years to reach any kind of legal satisfaction, but hey, at least history will remember you better this way.

4. Become an Internet Portal
During your hard road to financial catastrophe, you may not have garnered much cash, but you have earned a commodity far more important in today's economy: name identification. Parlay your fame into portal success until the money runs out completely. This is also a great way to lay off large numbers of employees quietly- in the same way that letting the air out of a balloon slowly makes less noise than a pop.

I think I know the next big dot-com to go under.

Re:The Death Knell

[mr_goodwin]

Actually this probably isn't the case. The vast majority of java development (for a couple of years now) has been server-side. For many companies, the main strength of java as a language is not platform independance, but the comprehensiveness of the APIs available for it.

Let's all be monolithic

[pkesel]

The browser war, Microsoft versus software vendors, Microsoft versus OSS, these are all variations on the idea of a monolithic computing environment versus the standard computing model of an OS and apps. Microsoft wants to make its Windows environment a complete system where users are not inclined to add or replace components. Like a car today. Few people replace the radio or the seats, or even wheels and tires. It comes as a unit. Microsoft wants your computer to work this way. That's why it's bundling everything in XP. The rest of the world, especially the Linux/OSS camp, wants to have the computer be a skeleton on which they hang all their neat toys.

I can't imagine why a browser will remain a viable tool in the next few years. Microsoft and others will be putting little pieces of net content into very app, serving small pieces of data content rather than pages and links. The browser and page-based content is a cumbersome way to do business. It's going away some time soon, I'd bet. It's another step to the monolithic computing environment.

No, Netscape doesn't back away from browsers.

[leifb]

It takes a community browser and builds services on that infrastructure, almost as though the company had realized that software is not a product, not an end in itself, but rather a tool, in this case a means of distribution.

Isn't that how they're supposed to make money with open software?