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Netscape

This article is about the company. For the web browser, see Netscape (web browser).
Not to be confused with Netspace or Medscape.
Netscape
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInternet, software, & telecommunication
FoundedApril 4, 1994 (1994-04-04)
FounderMark Andreessen and Jim Clark
DefunctMarch 1, 2008 (2008-03-01)
Headquarters
United States
Key people
James L. Barksdale (CEO)
ProductsInternet suite
Web browser
Internet service provider
Web portal
Number of employees
2,500 (1999)[1]
ParentAOL
Websiteisp.netscape.com

Netscape Communications Corporation (originally Mosaic Communications Corporation) was an American independent computer services company with headquarters in Mountain View, California, and then Dulles, Virginia.[2] Its Netscape web browser was once dominant but lost to Internet Explorer and other competitors in the first browser war, with its market share falling from more than 90 percent in the mid-1990s[3] to less than one percent in 2006.[4] An early Netscape employee, Brendan Eich, created the JavaScript programming language, the most widely used language for client-side scripting of web pages. A founding engineer of Netscape, Lou Montulli, created HTTP cookies. The company also developed SSL which was used for securing online communications before its successor TLS took over.[5]

Netscape stock traded from 1995 until 1999 when the company was acquired by AOL in a pooling-of-interests transaction ultimately worth US$10 billion.[6][7] In February 1998, approximately one year prior to its acquisition by AOL, Netscape released the source code for its browser and created the Mozilla Organization to coordinate future development of its product.[8] The Mozilla Organization rewrote the entire browser's source code based on the Gecko rendering engine,[9] and all future Netscape releases were based on this rewritten code. When AOL scaled back its involvement with Mozilla Organization in the early 2000s, the Organization proceeded to establish the Mozilla Foundation in July 2003 to ensure its continued independence with financial and other assistance from AOL.[10] The Gecko engine is used to power the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser.

In addition to browsers, Netscape developed a suite of award-winning server software, known as SuiteSpot, to power enterprise Internet and Intranet websites, forums, and email; e-commerce software; and a consumer web portal named Netcenter. Netscape's browser development continued until December 2007, when AOL announced that the company would stop supporting it by early 2008.[11][12] As of 2024, AOL continued to use the Netscape brand to market a discount Internet service provider.[13][14][15]

  1. ^ "AOL meeting to address Netscape integration". CNET News. March 23, 1999. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Swartz, Jon. "Company takes browser war to Netscape's lawn Archived November 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." San Francisco Chronicle. Thursday October 2, 1997. Retrieved on December 29, 2009.
  3. ^ Lawler, III, Edward E.; Worely, Christopher G. (2011). "Identity as a Guidepost to Strategy". Management Reset: Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118008447.
  4. ^ Mook, Nate (July 10, 2006). "Firefox Usage Passes 15 Percent in US". BetaNews. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  5. ^ "History of SSL at IBM.com". Publib.boulder.ibm.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  6. ^ "America Online Inc. Completes Acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp." Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Business Wire. March 17, 1999. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  7. ^ "What's $10 Billion to AOL?" Archived November 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Morningstar. April 5, 1999. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  8. ^ "Mozilla Stomps Ahead Under AOL". Wired.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  9. ^ "Netscape Launches Groundbreaking Netscape 6 Browser". netscape.com. December 13, 2001. Archived from the original on December 13, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  10. ^ "mozilla.org Announces Launch of the Mozilla Foundation to Lead Open Source Browser Efforts". Mozilla Foundation. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  11. ^ Tom Drapeau (December 28, 2007). "End of Support for Netscape web browsers". Netscape Blog. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  12. ^ Tom Drapeau (January 28, 2008). "Netscape Browser Support extended to March 1st". Netscape Blog. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  13. ^ "FORM 10-K". Sec.gov. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  14. ^ Netscape ISP home page of 2014 with link to Netscape ISP Terms of Service update of 15 September 2014.
  15. ^ "Netscape ISP Homepage". isp.netscape.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

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