"Had Netscape had an OS, it might have survived the Microsoft onslaught." WTF?

[Train]

IE only gained dominance because it was bundled with windows....

And because Netscape was really, really bad.

 

[Train]

So, if I make a calculator app and charge for it, I can SUCCESSFULLY SUE Microsoft for bundling a calculator with the operating system?

Where it gets really hairy is antivirus/malware protection. What if MS bundles free antivirus with windows? Can they?

Can they be sued for "fixing" a deficiency in their own product?

Some companies think yes, fixing pre-existing vulnerabilities in windows would be anti competitive. Crazy huh?

 

[dawp]

And because Netscape was really, really bad.

it only got bad at the end when it tried to do every thing, email, newsgroups. Before it incorporated all the crap, it wasn't too bad. when it started calling itself Netscape Communicator was when it went over the edge. I was using it from when it came out until then.

basically after AOL bought it was when it died.

 

[CallMeJoe]

If my uncle had tits he'd be my aunt.

If your uncle had tits, he'd be Uncle Tranny, unless he had his "package" removed as well.

 

[frostedflakes]

And therin lies the problem. IE won because it was bundled with Windows. Had Netscape come with an OS and made using it effortless than it would have had a much better chance.

I don't understand why so many people have a problem with this, though. If IE worked well enough for most users and they didn't see any need to download an alternative like Netscape, who cares? That's on the consumer for being too apathetic, it isn't Microsoft's fault. Now if Microsoft prevented you from installing another browser, something like that would justify regulatory action. But the whole thing where the EU forced Microsoft to unbundle IE was just ridiculous, was obviously more of a money grab than anything else.

 

[ultimatebob]

Netscape started going downhill with Navigator as early as version 2, when they started adding extra applications like a mail client, news reader, and an HTML editor. By the time Netscape Communicator 4 came out, it was a horrible bloated mess.

Internet Explorer kept Outlook Express as a separate application, helping to keep their browser lightweight. It ran circles around Netscape in terms of load times, helping to seal it's fate.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Last time I used Netscape, it didn't work so well:

Anandtech Forums

 

[ShawnD1]

- tabs
- addons
- IE became a security nightmare

That and IE's back button doesn't work at all. If you hit "submit reply" and there is a connection error, hitting the back button returns you to a completely blank text box. It doesn't remember anything in any text box.

Where it gets really hairy is antivirus/malware protection. What if MS bundles free antivirus with windows? Can they?

Microsoft already does this. Next time you go to Windows update in either Vista or Windows 7, you'll notice that there is an antivirus program under optional downloads.

From what I have seen, it's actually a pretty good piece of software.
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

 

[Train]

Netscape started going downhill with Navigator as early as version 2, when they started adding extra applications like a mail client, news reader, and an HTML editor. By the time Netscape Communicator 4 came out, it was a horrible bloated mess.

Internet Explorer kept Outlook Express as a separate application, helping to keep their browser lightweight. It ran circles around Netscape in terms of load times, helping to seal it's fate.

The funny thing was, I originally used Netscape on a Mac (OS 7 I think, then 8) and downloaded IE as an alternate to THAT. IE trounced NS on the Mac as well, whenit came to speed or simple ease of use.

 

[Train]

Microsoft already does this. Next time you go to Windows update in either Vista or Windows 7, you'll notice that there is an antivirus program under optional downloads.

Optional != bundled.

They have faced resistance from the likes of Norton, McAfee, etc. And I think they are avoiding a large legal mess by not bundling it.

 

[QueBert]

Netscape died because it sucked. Period.

If bundling of the browser held off competitors, how did FF grow to be used to widely? FF (along with Chrome and Opera) became popular on MULTIPLE OS's despite not being bundled with any of them.

Netscape died because of MS, IE started slow but you cannot compete with MS. I would still use Netscape today over IE.

 

[ShawnD1]

Optional != bundled.

They have faced resistance from the likes of Norton, McAfee, etc. And I think they are avoiding a large legal mess by not bundling it.

Not bundled, but the default settings download optional updates don't they? That includes things like Microsoft Silverlight, driver updates, MSN Messenger, and a few other things nobody uses.

 

[frostedflakes]

I'm pretty sure optional updates aren't selected by default, you have to go and manually check them.

And I've never seen Microsoft Security Essentials even available as an optional update in Win 7. I thought the only way to get it was by going to the website for it and manually downloading it. But maybe it's different in XP and Vista or different versions of Win 7 (I'm running Professional 64-bit).

 

[Train]

No, MS is very careful to make MSE not a default download.

"Trend Micro cries antitrust over Microsoft Security Essentials":
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/ne...curity-essentials.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

 

[ShawnD1]

And I've never seen Microsoft Security Essentials even available as an optional update in Win 7. I thought the only way to get it was by going to the website for it and manually downloading it. But maybe it's different in XP and Vista or different versions of Win 7 (I'm running Professional 64-bit).

I'm pretty sure I saw it under recommended downloads. I'll take a screenshot when I get home ^_^

 

[Ichinisan]

Netscape came from Mozilla, as did FireFox

If it werent for the death of Netscape, FF may have never been started.

The last version of Netscape was so horrendously bad there was no choice but to kill off the product.

FF filled the void, and avoided a lot of the same mistakes.

This. Competition resulted in a FAR superior web browser, and now there are more Firefox users than Safari (not counting mobile browsers).