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HP to Install Netscape on all new PCs

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the bring-back-the-browser-wars dept.

TJ Parisi writes "News.com is reporting that HP / Compaq will begin to install all PCs sold in the US and Canada with Netscape. Users will be prompted with the option to set either Netscape or IE as the default browser." From the article: "The agreement, which the companies are set to announce Monday, is the first browser distribution deal with a major PC maker since the end of the browser wars in the 1990s, according to Netscape, a division of Time Warner's America Online subsidiary."

22 of 401 comments (clear)

  1. Why did Microsoft allow this? by soft_guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess they aren't worried about Netscape anymore.

    --
    Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
  2. More Pre-Bundled Software! Yay! by kubevubin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know, HP, it's hard to market a computer as "fast" or "productive" whenever it's bogged down with excessive pre-installed software. I'm sure that Netscape will also be set to load at startup with everything else that's installed, eh?

  3. WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Must've been paid to do so or they would've chosen Firefox & Thunderbird.

  4. its just AOL by hobo+sapiens · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would be suspicious. I can't tell you how much AOL crapware I had to uninstall and/or purge from the registry when I bought a Dell (don't). The fact that AOL has Netscape now would just make me wonder...

    Just give me IE. I guarantee the first two pages I'll visit are mozilla.org and opera.com. Then, no more IE. No crapware for me!

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    blah blah blah
  5. Meh by phatwuss · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's like asking someone to choose between two pieces of excrement. Why not a choice between Opera and Firefox instead?

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    web design experiments
    1. Re:Meh by piecewise · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Netscape is one great marketing effort.

      I love how people loathe Microsoft and use something Netscape because they think IE is tied to a corporate monster. Well, I'd take Microsoft any day of the week over Time Warner + AOL. Holy shit. The greatest evil in our democracy is media consolidation like this. Netscape is a tool for cross-marketing. It's hardest the "Truist" browser for the enthusiast that it used to be.

      I'm more than happy on Safari anyway. Fantastic browser and, honestly, I feel like it's faster than Firefox.

      --
      The next comment I write will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
  6. Right idea. by NoMoreNicksLeft · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wrong browser.

    1. Re:Right idea. by Halfbaked+Plan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Uh, Netscape is Firefox under a different skin.

      Or, rather, it's Mozilla. (which I personally prefer strongly over Firefox anyway).

      A lot of the tweaks and configs for Mozilla can be manually patched into Netscape, even if not in the Netscape 'options' menu. Actually, it's one step toward Mozilla/Firefox to get users onto Netscape. And a Netscape friendly Web is by design an identically friendly Firefox friendly web.

      Think about it.

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      resigned
  7. So how soon until... by azureice · · Score: 1, Insightful

    ... a major vender includes FireFox? Wouldn't that be better?

  8. Why Netscape? by BobWeiner · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm surprised HP chose Netscape over Firefox. What was the rationale behind their decision?

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    The PC Weenies: 11 Years of Online Tech 'Too
    1. Re:Why Netscape? by ErikRed1488 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I'm guessing, like most things, it was all about money. Do you really think HP approached Netscape looking for a browser?

      It's far more likely that Netscape/AOL came to HP and offered them a ton of cash to include their browser. Why would they do that you ask? Again, just another guess, but my money says that it's AOL's way of getting their portal and search on a large portion of the PCs out there.

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      I was not touched there by an angel.
    2. Re:Why Netscape? by lordofthechia · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Any browser choice is still awesome. As soon as people start to see choice they'll slowly stop equating "the internet" with Internet Explorer and realize that they've had choices all along. I applaud HP with their decision to open their customer's minds and give them an option. They've really earned my respect with by still selling AMD processor PC's and now this.

      Now if their all in one wireless printer/scanners didn't require 380-700mb of software/drivers (And no I'm not kidding...).

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      Georgia Tech, the leader in Chia(tm) technology.
  9. Changing perceptions of the internet... by CCelebornn · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is good news; I'm guessing that the threat of HP making a BIG fuss will stop Microsoft from changing any of the OS discounts that HP get. Even if Netscape isn't used; the fact that the icon is there is good; The netscape icon represents another way to view the internet... too many people right now think IE IS the internet. Just that slight change in perception is a start.

  10. Good decision by rjdohnert · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Im so happy Netscape is being preinstalled. Opera or Netscape would have been a significant choice

  11. About Mozilla by Saxerman · · Score: 2, Insightful
    And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror.

    from The Book of Mozilla, 7:15

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    A steaming cup of soykaf would be real wiz right now.

  12. Look, mom! Mom! Mom! Look!! Mom! Look!! Look, mom! by fuckface · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This may have been a coup 6 or 7 years ago, but this is a waste of bandwidth on today's internet.

    H-Paq is a company on its way down.
    Netscape lost the war and continues to lose market share even to its own offspring.

    Sounds to me like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel for any press coverage they can drum up. Cuz god knows you can't download and install it yourself. And the OS doesn't have its own default-browser setting menus. Oh wait, you can. And it does.

  13. Re:Why not Firefox? by plazman30 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Netscape is a AOL product and I am sure AOL is paying HP to put a copy of Netscape on every PC. The Mozilla Foundation could never afford that kind of deal.

  14. Re:Will someone please explain by Nobley · · Score: 3, Insightful

    AOL does not have financial ties to any other browser, this will be a paid off add tie in with AOL I am guessing

  15. Before the harsh criticism by matt72186 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think this is actually a step in the right direction for computers. I mean we're geeks, so we know about Linux and alternate browsers, etc... but the regular home user still lives ignorant of anything outside of the Microsoft Box. At least something different is being done.

  16. Re:Default Selection by CeleronXL · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yes, I got that. What I mean is, when the window for the selection comes up, will one of them already be selected? Will one say (recommended)? Or will they both be unselected by default to actually force a user to choose before blindly hitting "Next", "Next", "Next".

  17. Re:No linux though - its too hard to use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    geezus god; how many times do you have to copy and paste this shit and sit there waiting for someone with -good- points to respond to it so you can flame them and get more karma i've seen the same one about 5 times

  18. No, but.... by Belial6 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Since they are installing IE and a second browser anyway, they could have installed Firefox as the default browser with the "IE View" extension. Then the user would have a good browser, AND be able to use the IE engine at will. Heck, they could even easily set specific pages to use the IE engine by default while getting Firefox for everything else.