Anyone who knows me well, knows my great affection for Netscape, Mark Andreessen, Jim Clark, and Netscape Time. I can go on and on about how Andreeson and the gang, the book, the browser, and their journey changed my perception of entrepreneurship and technology. So, of course, I was severely pained to read that AOL is retiring Netscape Navigator:
Netscape was created by Marc Andreessen who as a student had co-authored Mosaic, the first popular web browser.
His company Netscape Communications Corporation released the first version in 1994.
According to Shawn Hardin, President and
CEO of Flock, Netscape played an important role in making the internet
"a relevant mass market phenomenon".
"Netscape had a critical role in taking
all of these zeros and ones - this very academic and technical
environment - and giving it a graphical user interface where an average
person could come online and consume information," he told BBC News.
"During its halcyon days it really felt like the internet and Netscape were really the same thing," he said.
Good-bye, Netscape.
