Netscape 9 announced

Why oh why oh why oh why oh why

[Hester]

What a pointless release. Why are they bothering? When will this browser be relegated to the history books for good? What possible future is there in a new version? For who? Die-hard Netscape users?

[mozillazine.org...]

[edited by: Hester at 2:26 pm (utc) on Feb. 5, 2007]

[Robin_reala]

To be honest this looks better than 8. In fact, it seems to be more of a Flock than a Firefox, with heavy netscape.com integration. If you're a netscape.com user I can see you using this, but otherwise it's a bit pointless. At least this version is back to being Mac + Linux compatible.

[encyclo]

> this looks better than 8

... which isn't too hard. ;)

Actually, why not release a new version? OK, I'll never use it, but the framework from Mozilla which has led to Firefox, Seamonkey, Camino... is buit in such as way that you can build a customized verion which uses the same rendering engine. As developers, we have it easy because it is only the interface which changes, so our sites will work (or break) equally across all variants.

I was a Netscape diehard until Mozilla 1.0, but I'd never bother with them now, they're an irrelevance these days compared to Firefox.

[Robin_reala]

Oh no, not much point in testing in it. But for users a customised version could be good if they've got specific needs, so really I'm all for it.

[mep00]

There is one thing of value which Netscape brings to the table: its name. 10 years ago its name was so big that even those who barely knew how to turn on a computer, use a word processor and spread sheet, recognized it. Today, some of those people are still around. They may be so out of touch with the Web that they may not even know what Mozilla or Firefox are, but they remember the name Netscape. Some of them may even be in positions of power where despite there ignorance, they have a major influence over what browser thousands of others use. Now, do you want them to start using IE and never know that there is anything better, or use a name they'll trust because it's familiar and and thereby see IE for the piece of junk it is? (IE may have been good in its day, but so was the Model-T)

[4serendipity]

There is one thing of value which Netscape brings to the table: its name. 10 years ago its name was so big that even those who barely knew how to turn on a computer, use a word processor and spread sheet, recognized it. Today, some of those people are still around. They may be so out of touch with the Web that they may not even know what Mozilla or Firefox are, but they remember the name Netscape.

I really didn't believe that Netscape still had name recognition much greater, or even equal, than Firefox/Mozilla. But I just was talking to my 73 year old father and asked him about:

Mozilla
A: whatZilla?

Firefox:
A: Yeah, I think they're out in Arizona, although they're almost extinct due to excessive hunting and trapping.

Netscape:
Yeah, isn't that what Internet Explorer used to be called, and didn't it's inventor father Anna Nicole's baby?

Ok, these answers are made up, but he only recognized the Netscape brand, so I guess, in this one case, your thought has some basis in reality.