Tech doesn't buoy Netscape browser

CNET News.com ^ | August 28, 2002, 9:32 AM PT | Matthew Broersma

[Bush2000]

Tech doesn't buoy Netscape browser

Despite new technology, Netscape continues to lose ground to Internet Explorer, which now has well over 90 percent of the market. A twice-yearly study from StatMarket, a division of WebSideStory, showed that despite recent technological advances, AOL Time Warner's Netscape Communications browsers, which use technology from the open-source Mozilla project, have ceded more ground to Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

According to the study, Netscape browsers are losing market share at a steady clip, falling to a new low of 3.4 percent as of this week. A year ago, Netscape' market share stood at 13 percent, but fell steeply to 7 percent by March as IE 6 gained popularity.

"The newest versions of Netscape have failed to win over users so far," Geoff Johnston, vice president of product marketing for StatMarket, said in a statement. "Unless AOL makes a move soon, Netscape may find itself battling Opera for the last 1 percent to 2 percent of the market."

IE has now reached 96 percent market share, according to StatMarket, up from 87 percent a year ago. Mozilla gained some market share when it finally launched a 1.0 release earlier this year, but browsers such as Mozilla and Opera still only accounted for less than 1 percent of the market, StatMarket said.

AOL's plans for boosting Netscape market share hinge on the possibility of introducing Netscape as the basis for the integrated AOL Web browser, which would put it into the hands of tens of millions of consumers. AOL has taken steps toward this end with a version of its CompuServe service that uses Netscape's Gecko Web-page rendering engine, and a new test version of AOL for Mac OS X that also uses Netscape technology.

At this point, however, competing browsers face an increasingly difficult task in battling the IE monolith. Because of its market dominance, Web designers generally test their pages on IE alone, with the result that pages sometimes do not render correctly in other browsers--even if those browsers are more standards-compliant than IE.

Netscape has begun actively tracking down popular Web sites that do not render correctly in its browser and encouraging the sites to fix the errors. The company said it has now eradicated errors from most popular sites.

StatMarket gathers its figures from more than 125,000 sites that use its services.

[Bush2000]

Nail, meet coffin.

[Joe Bonforte]

Once a browser drops below around five percent, I would expect it to go on a slide to oblivion because, as the article pointed out, site designers no longer test for that browser. In our estimates, we add 20-25% extra cost for a site that supports both IE and Netscape. People were willing to pay that when Netscape had 25% or more market share. At less than 5%, I would not be surprised if we never do another project supporting Netscape.

[isthisnickcool]

The solution to the recent Microsoft "anti-trust" litigation would have been to simply require that MS open-source the IE browser and plug-ins.

[AdA$tra]

AOL's plans for boosting Netscape market share hinge on the possibility of introducing Netscape as the basis for the integrated AOL Web browser

Considering that AOL has owned Netsacpe for a while, there are obviously good reasons they still use IE as their browser engine. As a professional web developer both Lotus/Domino applications and static HTML content I wouldn't care if Netscape went away all together. It has been nice developing for one platform that works every time, rather than developiong two verions of everything. One for IE, one for Netscape. For IE just add the feature to the site or app and go. With Netscape tweak the code for hours just trying to get a table or some other simple feature to display just how you want it. Netscape lovers, Opera lovers, Mozilla lovers, Gecko lovers....FLAME AWAY!

[Cryptic_One]

One of the problems is that Netscape hasn't really changed much since version 4 came out. But of course the main problem is that IE has continued to be shipped with the OS. Most people, unless they do web design or are software junkies aren't going to bother to download different browser.

Personally, I like Opera better than either IE or Netscape.

[AdA$tra]

My clients are very happy telling their customers that Netscape is not supported in our Domino and Jwalk apps. Just as you said: 25% to 30% more expensive to make eveything work in both.

[Lx]

Gee, that's too bad. I use Netscape almost exclusively, version 4.79 that is.

The newer versions are bloated junk. I'm glad to people rejecting the new version, couldn't happen to a better company.

[Cryptic_One]

One of the problems is that Netscape hasn't really changed much since version 4 came out. But of course the main problem is that IE has continued to be shipped with the OS. Most people, unless they do web design or are software junkies aren't going to bother to download different browser.

Personally, I like Opera better than either IE or Netscape.

[dwollmann]

One of the problems is that Netscape hasn't really changed much since version 4 came out.

The current release of Netscape is a completely different code base than the Netscape 4.x series. Not only has Netscape changed, it's improved.

[APBaer]

"Once a browser drops below around five percent, I would expect it to go on a slide to oblivion"

I use Opera. You are correct that some sites do not make themselves totally compliant. I therefore hold Internet Explorer in reserve for such sites.

However, I find Opera is *so* superior to IE or any other browser that I find it worthwhile to use Opera as my standard and use IE on those less than 5% of the sites that do not render correctly with Opera.

[APBaer]

"Personally, I like Opera better than either IE or Netscape"

A correct judgment, absolutely no comparison.

[JameRetief]

Instead of the Netscape version, try the Mozilla one. You don't get the Netscape bloat, and you do get a really great browser. For everyday use, Mozilla is just as good as IE and has some useful features that IE doesn't. And because it is open source it is being updated and improved much faster than IE is.

[Lx]

I believe I've got Mozilla on Red Hat Linux, but I haven't booted Linux for a while. Does it allow you to disable pop up windows? I'm using pop up stopper but I would rather have it as a browser option. Under IE, it causes script errors.

[Once-Ler]

AOL's plans for boosting Netscape market share hinge on the possibility of introducing Netscape as the basis for the integrated AOL Web browser, which would put it into the hands of tens of millions of consumers.

Wasn't Microsoft integrating IE with Windows OS the reason Microsoft were sued? Where is the Justice Dept now?
OH! AOL/TW gives lots of money to democrats...no wonder AOL can be hypocritical without worry.

[Joe Bonforte]

I use Opera.

I've heard it's very good. And since they actually charge for it, they can exist at a fairly low level of acceptance as long as they offer some competitive advantages (such as speed) and don't get too incompatible with too many mainstream sites.

Netscape appears to offer no such advantages. And since it generates no income, there's no longer any impetus to keep it competitive.

Personally, I want something to be competitive to IE. When Microsoft has no competition, they get sloppy. When there is a serious competitive threat, they produce much better software.

[Bush2000]

The solution to the recent Microsoft "anti-trust" litigation would have been to simply require that MS open-source the IE browser and plug-ins.

Releasing its source code apparently hasn't helped Netscape at all. In all probability, releasing IE sources would cement its lead just that much more.

[Bush2000]

When Microsoft has no competition, they get sloppy.

Interesting that we never really saw any competitive Java-based browsers (ie. HotJava, etc)...

[StopDemocratsDotCom]

I agree, I have been doing websites for years and I hate it when I have to test out every page to see if there is nothing messed up on the site when viewed on NetScape

[isthisnickcool]

In all probability, releasing IE sources would cement its lead just that much more.

But you could run it on decent OS's, like Linux.....

[Darkshadow]

Wasn't Microsoft integrating IE with Windows OS the reason Microsoft were sued? Where is the Justice Dept now? OH! AOL/TW gives lots of money to democrats...no wonder AOL can be hypocritical without worry.

Not the same thing,
AOL will now be integrating Netscape into their software, they had previously integrated Internet Explorer into the AOL software.

It is as if Microsoft had previously been integrating Netscape into Windows and had then started integrating IE instead.