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Netscape-Branded ISP Launching February 2004
Guppy06 writes "I'm too lazy to change my homepage in Netscape 7 to something else, and that's where I discovered an ad leading towards what appears to be a trial run of a new Netscape-branded ISP. While this isn't as momentous as, say, Netscape bundled with AOL would be, they seem to be aiming at Juno and NetZero with their price of $9.95/month ($1.00/month to participate in the trial run ending in February). This may just end up being a fizzle, or it could be part of a two-pronged attack on MSN by AOL."
I know that Netscape is merged with AOL (AOL bought it actually *rolls eyes*). I think that if this ISP was made, it would be good. But ONLY if it was cable or DSL. Dial-Up is too slow, and has been around for too long. And hopefully it wouldnt be as crappy as the AOL browser is.
I came. I saw. I got the T-shirt
It just cheapens the Netscape name, one for which many of us still have fond memories. I would guess some of the key original Netscape programmers are pretty sad too.
I already posted a comment about this once, but I'll never forget how sad jwz's resignation letters were.
This one predates the recently slashdotted article about myths in open source by many years, and probably was the first one to call attention to the fact that (his own words) "you cannot just take a project, sprinkle it with the magic pixie dust of 'open source' and make it magically work".
And this one made me so sad when it came out I threw away all plans of making a career in computer engineering. Again his own words, "sometimes the only way to win is to not play".
Yes, he's kinda dramatic in a mexican soap opera way, but then I was 17, and was deeply struck.
Given the outright incompetence in the overall strategic vision at AOL/TW, there's no telling if this new plan is an act of foresight or of desperation.
Still, I have to say that it makes sense to leverage both the Netscape and AOL brands. They're obviously positioning Netscape as the low-cost bare-bones option for dialup ISP service, and I bet that subscribers will be incessantly prompted to upgrade to the features found on AOL.
I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
More likely like Juno Premium Service, compression of the HTML and the pictures are redone to a lower bit depth.
Do you ready need 32 bits to see a 8 bit picture?
Nothing?
Dial-up ISP's are a dime a dozen, and if the customer base isn't shrinking already it probably will be soon. Rather than competing against MSN, it's likely to canabalize people that are looking for a low cost alternative to their AOL account.
i bet none. AOL outsourced mozilla to the mozilla foundation a while ago. All the people with netscape.com email addresses got dropped so joe schmoes could sign up for netscape.com email addresses. Netscape is a portal and an ISP. Not a browser.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
AOL is getting hit from the top and the bottom. High Speed Access is erroding their customer base from the top, and Low Cost Dialups are attracting customers from the bottom. Having their own low cost Dial Up will allow them to at least get some money from people who are leaving them for a cheaper alternitive. Using the AOL brand name for the cheaper service would cause confusion (Why am I being billed 23.95? I saw an ad for 9.95!) so they needed a different name for it. They already own the rights to a well known name associated with the Internet, Netscape, so it was a natural choice.
Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
AOL is losing money to companies that are offering a cheaper service so now when a customer calls and wants to cancel they can offer them a cheaper service and still keep their customer.
Get Movie Posters
THis is merely a way for AOL to try to keep a few of the customers that it has been losing recently. Standard AOL is too expensive and/or too slow. People have been jumping ship for faster or cheaper service.
So, if they can offer a cut down service (that may appear somewhat faster) they can keep a few of those jumpers, and stave off the financial debacle for a while.
Oh, I am really happy that I let AOL, " We may optimize your computer settings to enhance your Netscape experience. If you have any questions regarding your Netscape account, please call 1-866-541-8233." Wow. Happy to hear that AOL won't make any changes to my computer that will be to my detriment. Any guesses on what "enhancements" AOL will add? I'll start the guessing with some easy ones:
1) Change default email program.
2) Change default email account
3) Change default browser.
4) Change browser home page (all browsers)
5) Add a load of bookmarks to your current settings.
6) Add **at least** 10 shortcuts on the desktop, start bar and quick launch menu for various AOL crap.
What are the slimier things you think AOL will do? Would they dare add AOL to "safe-sites" for pop-up blockers?
'course, I'm just paranoid. I'm sure the only "optimization" they will make will be too automatically set-up your dial-in account.
Ergo: The mac is not supported.
Is it fascism yet?
Nobody seems to have pointed this out yet, so I will.
Imagine for a moment that you're a phone-support tech working at, say, Dell or some other consumer PC manufacturer. You get a call from a customer who says they can't "get on the Internet".
You ask this customer, "What Internet service are you using?" and the customer responds "Netscape".
Until now, anyone hearing such a response could immediately recognize that the user was talking about their browser, not their ISP (which is what the question referred to). Now, that conclusion can't be made.
With the introduction of this service, someone who is "using Netscape" is either:
Needless to say, this makes it difficult to ascertain which is the case when talking to a user who doesn't know the difference.
Overall, sounds like a step backwards to me. I'll stick with my Shaw 300KB/second cable-Internet for $30 Canadian a month.
Exactly! I currently have TWO 6.5 GB torrents open, they're going quickly but it'll take a couple of days to complete. I shudder to think how much waiting I'd have to do on a "dialup, but with compression" connection, considering it's already video data and doesn't compress well.
Ok, so forgive me for saying so.. but instead of fighting fire with fire, doesn't anyone think that perhaps AOL should refrain from branding their bundled version of netscape? It seems to me that the only way to truly get more customers/computer users interested in using a product is to offer non-branded, fully functional applications and utilities?
It seems to me that more and more people are searching for alternatives to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. This is mostly users who browse with GUIs under linux, and people who use browsers like Mozilla and Mozilla Firebird. We will always miss the days of Phoenix, and browsers that offered interfaces that had neat bells and whistles that are built on every year.. but let's not forget where they came from..
I think one of the only reasons that most people even still use Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, is because it's the familiarity and reliability that it's going to be there. Not only that, but with IE being integrated the way it is with Windows, it generally works faster, regardless of the number of errors. Additionally, the plug-ins for javascript and flash are built in, and easier to install and maintain than in other 'advanced' browsers.
I think the smart thing is this.. find out from the consumer what they'd like to see in their browser menubar. If they say they like the AOL brand, keep it.. but I am relatively certain that the majority of users will agree having an option would be best.. give the user a menu option to determine what icon they're going to be looking at for the next 10 hours while they surf through site after site.
Just my US$0.02. ~nahemah~