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November 24, 1998
update In a move that harks back to the browser wars, Hewlett-Packard plans to ship Netscape's Web browser on new consumer PCs and notebooks starting early next year.
The agreement, announced 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. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The company in May released Netscape 8, a browser with features to protect users against online scams.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer is by far the most-used Web browser, but smaller players have been pecking at its market share. Mozilla's open-source Firefox browser has a loyal following. Opera Software is also making noise, announcing Sept. 20 that it will strip the ads out of the free version of its browser.
As part of the HP deal, consumers will be able to choose Netscape as their default browser during computer setup, a Netscape representative said Monday. Icons for the browser, which will be customized with links to HP and Compaq Web sites, will appear in the Windows Start menu.
The Netscape browser was once ubiquitous, but it was marginalized after Microsoft introduced IE in the mid-1990s. The acquisition of Netscape by Microsoft rival AOL and a lengthy antitrust trial did not help change the browser's fortune.
However, several high-profile security vulnerabilities in IE last year, as well as a lack of new features in the browser, provided some opportunity for Microsoft's rivals to make gains. Netscape and Mozilla have touted security as the No. 1 selling point for their browsers. Microsoft has responded with plans for an IE update due next year.
Netscape 8 includes features to protect users against online threats such as phishing and spyware. The browser automatically adjusts security settings while people surf, based on lists of Web sites that are known to be malicious or trusted. Phishing scams typically combine spam e-mail with fraudulent Web sites to trick users into giving up sensitive information such as user names, passwords and credit card numbers.
Netscape 8 is based on Firefox, but lets users switch between both the Firefox and IE browser engines. Many Web sites have been built to work with IE, so supporting both the Firefox and IE engines maximizes compatibility.
"We specifically chose the Netscape browser because it has the added advantage of hosting numerous security features while also having the ability to run both the Trident (IE) and Gecko (Firefox) rendering engines," Nick Labosky, a director at HP, said in a statement sent via e-mail.
HP will ship Netscape in the U.S. and Canada. The company is evaluating browser plans for other regions, Labosky said. "HP believes in giving the customer choice," he said. "This decision is reflective of the momentum of users in the marketplace who are choosing to have more than one browser on their desktop."
Microsoft's browser still dominates in terms of usage. In September, Microsoft held 86.87 percent of the U.S. browser market, Firefox garnered 7.55 percent, and Netscape stood at 2.16 percent, according to data from analytics firm Net Applications.
See more CNET content tagged:
Netscape Web Browser, Netscape Communications Corp., consumer PC, Web browser, Time Warner Inc.
90s.
Safari is great, but still has a few flaws. Once that gets polished,
Apple should cross platform that bad-boy.
Fortunately the Netscape browser of today bears only the name as a resemblance. Still I prefer Firefox, Netscape as a brand is a turn-off for me.
90s.
Safari is great, but still has a few flaws. Once that gets polished,
Apple should cross platform that bad-boy.
Fortunately the Netscape browser of today bears only the name as a resemblance. Still I prefer Firefox, Netscape as a brand is a turn-off for me.
Waste of time and drive space for them to bother spooling it onto these systems.
Waste of time and drive space for them to bother spooling it onto these systems.
Waste of time and drive space for them to bother spooling it onto these systems.
The Windows update site doesn't make IE pop up and ask to be the default browser.
Result: FUD busted!
What it does do is say that it is checking to see if your computer has the latest version of windows updating software for use with the site and then warns you that it is going to try to run ActiveX controls on your poor unsuspecting system.
When running Netscape 8 after a few minutes it says there is a problem displaying the page. It then advises you to refresh the page or delete your Temporary Internet Files like it used to do back in the early IE 4.x days. Unfortunately the instructions that it gives you for deleting the temp files is for IE, not for Netscape 8.
Refreshing the page runs the same drill again.
Not a very helpful website considering that the OS is desperately in need of patches if you have just installed it.
Or if a[nother] new severe vulnerability has just been announced.
It's good to know in advance that they don't want to help me though. I'll just download the service packs and patches with whatever browser I want off of a server on my network.
When you hear the sound of my voice you will return to full wakefullness. Since this is a text based comment page that will be never...
I've tried deleting it, and a minute later its back. I've tried ripping the insides out of the Exe file and it comes right back like new. Its a monster that eat us guys right up.
As far as I'm concerned, IE is the worse browser on the Internet. I use Firefox. Or any other, for that matter. The only time I see IE is when it pops up unwanted ads, by the hundreds.
Just let me start looking at Skunk porno with my Firefox and, BAM, hundreds of ads pop up on the resurrected IE. Jeeze. The only good thing is that the ads are all blank. I can keep IE from accessing the Internet.
Oscar Rat
Waste of time and drive space for them to bother spooling it onto these systems.
The Windows update site doesn't make IE pop up and ask to be the default browser.
Result: FUD busted!
What it does do is say that it is checking to see if your computer has the latest version of windows updating software for use with the site and then warns you that it is going to try to run ActiveX controls on your poor unsuspecting system.
When running Netscape 8 after a few minutes it says there is a problem displaying the page. It then advises you to refresh the page or delete your Temporary Internet Files like it used to do back in the early IE 4.x days. Unfortunately the instructions that it gives you for deleting the temp files is for IE, not for Netscape 8.
Refreshing the page runs the same drill again.
Not a very helpful website considering that the OS is desperately in need of patches if you have just installed it.
Or if a[nother] new severe vulnerability has just been announced.
It's good to know in advance that they don't want to help me though. I'll just download the service packs and patches with whatever browser I want off of a server on my network.
When you hear the sound of my voice you will return to full wakefullness. Since this is a text based comment page that will be never...
I've tried deleting it, and a minute later its back. I've tried ripping the insides out of the Exe file and it comes right back like new. Its a monster that eat us guys right up.
As far as I'm concerned, IE is the worse browser on the Internet. I use Firefox. Or any other, for that matter. The only time I see IE is when it pops up unwanted ads, by the hundreds.
Just let me start looking at Skunk porno with my Firefox and, BAM, hundreds of ads pop up on the resurrected IE. Jeeze. The only good thing is that the ads are all blank. I can keep IE from accessing the Internet.
Oscar Rat