<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
was	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
original	O
browser	B-Application
of	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
line	O
,	O
from	O
versions	O
1	O
to	O
4.08	O
,	O
and	O
9.x	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
flagship	O
product	O
of	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communications	O
Corp	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
dominant	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
in	O
terms	O
of	O
usage	B-Application
share	I-Application
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
but	O
by	O
around	O
2003	O
its	O
user	O
base	O
had	O
all	O
but	O
disappeared	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
partly	O
because	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Corporation	O
(	O
later	O
purchased	O
by	O
AOL	O
)	O
did	O
not	O
sustain	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
's	O
technical	O
innovation	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
business	O
demise	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
was	O
a	O
central	O
premise	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
antitrust	O
trial	O
,	O
wherein	O
the	O
Court	O
ruled	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
bundling	O
of	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
with	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
was	O
a	O
monopolistic	B-Application
and	O
illegal	O
business	O
practice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
decision	O
came	O
too	O
late	O
for	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
,	O
however	O
,	O
as	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
had	O
by	O
then	O
become	O
the	O
dominant	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
in	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
was	O
succeeded	O
by	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
suite	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
's	O
4.x	O
source	O
code	O
was	O
the	O
base	O
for	O
the	O
Netscape-developed	O
Mozilla	B-Language
Application	I-Language
Suite	I-Language
,	O
which	O
was	O
later	O
renamed	O
SeaMonkey	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
Mozilla	B-Language
Suite	I-Language
also	O
served	O
as	O
the	O
base	O
for	O
a	O
browser-only	O
spinoff	O
called	O
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
name	O
returned	O
in	O
2007	O
when	O
AOL	O
announced	O
version	O
9	O
of	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
series	O
of	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
9	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
28	O
December	O
2007	O
,	O
AOL	O
canceled	O
its	O
development	O
but	O
continued	O
supporting	O
the	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
with	O
security	O
updates	O
until	O
1	O
March	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AOL	O
allows	O
downloading	O
of	O
archived	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
Mosaic	B-Application
web	I-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
co-written	O
by	O
Marc	O
Andreessen	O
,	O
a	O
part-time	O
employee	O
of	O
the	O
National	B-General_Concept
Center	I-General_Concept
for	I-General_Concept
Supercomputing	I-General_Concept
Applications	I-General_Concept
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Illinois	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clark	O
believed	O
that	O
the	O
Mosaic	B-Application
browser	I-Application
had	O
great	O
commercial	O
possibilities	O
and	O
provided	O
the	O
seed	O
money	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soon	O
Mosaic	B-Application
Communications	O
Corporation	O
was	O
in	O
business	O
in	O
Mountain	O
View	O
,	O
California	O
,	O
with	O
Andreessen	O
as	O
a	O
vice-president	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Illinois	O
was	O
unhappy	O
with	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Mosaic	B-Application
name	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communications	O
(	O
suggested	O
by	O
product	O
manager	O
Greg	O
Sands	O
)	O
and	O
named	O
its	O
flagship	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
announced	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
press	O
release	O
(	O
13	O
October	O
1994	O
)	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
make	O
Navigator	O
available	O
without	O
charge	O
to	O
all	O
non-commercial	O
users	O
,	O
and	O
beta	O
versions	O
of	O
version	B-Application
1.0	I-Application
and	O
1.1	O
were	O
freely	O
downloadable	O
in	O
November	O
1994	O
and	O
March	O
1995	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
full	O
version	B-Application
1.0	I-Application
available	O
in	O
December	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
two	O
months	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
announced	O
that	O
only	O
educational	O
and	O
non-profit	O
institutions	O
could	O
use	O
version	B-Application
1.0	I-Application
at	O
no	O
charge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
N	O
"	O
evaluation	O
versions	O
were	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
commercial	O
versions	O
;	O
the	O
letter	O
was	O
intended	O
as	O
a	O
reminder	O
to	O
people	O
to	O
pay	O
for	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
once	O
they	O
felt	O
they	O
had	O
tried	O
it	O
long	O
enough	O
and	O
were	O
satisfied	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
distinction	O
was	O
formally	O
dropped	O
within	O
a	O
year	O
of	O
the	O
initial	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
full	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
continued	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
free	O
online	O
,	O
with	O
boxed	O
versions	O
available	O
on	O
floppy	O
disks	O
(	O
and	O
later	O
CDs	O
)	O
in	O
stores	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
period	O
of	O
phone	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
era	O
,	O
"	O
Internet	O
Starter	O
Kit	O
"	O
books	O
were	O
popular	O
,	O
and	O
usually	O
included	O
a	O
floppy	O
disk	O
or	O
CD	O
containing	O
internet	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
this	O
was	O
a	O
popular	O
means	O
of	O
obtaining	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
and	O
other	O
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
browser	B-Application
was	O
known	O
by	O
the	O
code	O
name	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
became	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
a	O
Godzilla-like	O
cartoon	O
dragon	O
mascot	B-Application
used	O
prominently	O
on	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
web	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
name	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
User-Agent	B-Protocol
in	O
HTTP	B-Protocol
requests	I-Protocol
by	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
claimed	O
to	O
be	O
compatible	O
with	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
extensions	O
to	O
HTML	O
and	O
therefore	O
used	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
in	O
their	O
User-Agent	B-Protocol
identifiers	O
so	O
that	O
web	O
servers	O
would	O
send	O
them	O
the	O
same	O
pages	O
as	O
were	O
sent	O
to	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
browsers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
is	O
now	O
a	O
generic	O
name	O
for	O
matters	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
successor	O
to	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
and	O
is	O
most	O
identified	O
with	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
Firefox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
consumer	O
Internet	O
revolution	O
arrived	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
was	O
well-positioned	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
a	O
good	O
mix	O
of	O
features	O
and	O
an	O
attractive	O
licensing	B-License
scheme	O
that	O
allowed	O
free	O
use	O
for	O
non-commercial	O
purposes	O
,	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
browser	B-Application
soon	O
became	O
the	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
,	O
particularly	O
on	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
innovation	O
that	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
introduced	O
in	O
1994	O
was	O
the	O
on-the-fly	O
display	O
of	O
web	O
pages	O
,	O
where	O
text	O
and	O
graphics	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
as	O
the	O
web	O
page	O
downloaded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
would	O
not	O
display	O
a	O
page	O
until	O
all	O
graphics	O
on	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
loaded	O
over	O
the	O
network	O
connection	O
;	O
this	O
meant	O
a	O
user	O
might	O
have	O
only	O
a	O
blank	O
page	O
for	O
several	O
minutes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
,	O
people	O
using	O
dial-up	O
connections	O
could	O
begin	O
reading	O
the	O
text	O
of	O
a	O
web	O
page	O
within	O
seconds	O
of	O
entering	O
a	O
web	O
address	O
,	O
even	O
before	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
text	O
and	O
graphics	O
had	O
finished	O
downloading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
made	O
sure	O
that	O
Navigator	O
remained	O
the	O
technical	O
leader	O
among	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
features	O
included	O
cookies	B-Application
,	O
frames	B-General_Concept
,	O
proxy	B-Protocol
auto-config	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
JavaScript	B-Language
(	O
in	O
version	B-Protocol
2.0	I-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
those	O
and	O
other	O
innovations	O
eventually	O
became	O
open	O
standards	O
of	O
the	O
W3C	O
and	O
ECMA	O
and	O
were	O
emulated	O
by	O
other	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
they	O
were	O
often	O
viewed	O
as	O
controversial	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
,	O
according	O
to	O
critics	O
,	O
was	O
more	O
interested	O
in	O
bending	O
the	O
web	O
to	O
its	O
own	O
de	O
facto	O
"	O
standards	O
"	O
(	O
bypassing	O
standards	O
committees	O
and	O
thus	O
marginalizing	O
the	O
commercial	O
competition	O
)	O
than	O
it	O
was	O
in	O
fixing	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
in	O
its	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consumer	O
rights	O
advocates	O
were	O
particularly	O
critical	O
of	O
cookies	B-Application
and	O
of	O
commercial	O
web	O
sites	O
using	O
them	O
to	O
invade	O
individual	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
remained	O
the	O
market	O
leader	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
50%	O
usage	B-Application
share	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
browser	B-Application
software	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
Windows	B-Application
(	O
3.1	B-Application
,	O
95	B-Application
,	O
98	B-Device
,	O
NT	B-Device
)	O
,	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
and	O
many	O
versions	O
of	O
Unix	O
including	O
OSF/1	O
,	O
Sun	B-Application
Solaris	I-Application
,	O
BSD/OS	B-Operating_System
,	O
IRIX	B-Operating_System
,	O
AIX	B-Application
,	O
and	O
HP-UX	B-Application
,	O
and	O
looked	O
and	O
worked	O
nearly	O
identically	O
on	O
every	O
one	O
of	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
began	O
to	O
experiment	O
with	O
prototypes	O
of	O
a	O
web-based	O
system	O
,	O
known	O
internally	O
as	O
"	O
Constellation	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
allow	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
access	O
and	O
edit	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
files	O
anywhere	O
across	O
a	O
network	O
no	O
matter	O
what	O
computer	O
or	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
he	O
or	O
she	O
happened	O
to	O
be	O
using	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
underlying	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
it	O
was	O
believed	O
,	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
an	O
important	O
consideration	O
;	O
future	O
applications	O
would	O
run	O
within	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
seen	O
by	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
as	O
a	O
clear	O
opportunity	O
to	O
entrench	O
Navigator	O
at	O
the	O
heart	O
of	O
the	O
next	O
generation	O
of	O
computing	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
gain	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
expand	O
into	O
all	O
manner	O
of	O
other	O
software	O
and	O
service	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
showing	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
the	O
web	O
(	O
more	O
people	O
were	O
using	O
the	O
Internet	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
the	O
ease	O
of	O
using	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
Internet	O
browsing	O
began	O
to	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
a	O
potentially	O
profitable	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
lead	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
started	O
a	O
campaign	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
software	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
before	O
them	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
licensed	O
the	O
Mosaic	B-Application
source	O
code	O
from	O
Spyglass	B-Application
,	I-Application
Inc	I-Application
.	I-Application
(	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
licensed	O
code	O
from	O
University	O
of	O
Illinois	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
this	O
basic	O
code	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
created	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
(	O
IE	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
competition	O
between	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
dominated	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
wars	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
,	O
Version	B-Application
1.0	I-Application
(	O
shipped	O
in	O
the	O
Internet	O
Jumpstart	O
Kit	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
Plus	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
)	O
and	O
IE	O
,	O
Version	B-Protocol
2.0	I-Protocol
(	O
the	O
first	O
cross-platform	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
supporting	O
both	O
Windows	B-Application
and	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
)	O
were	O
thought	O
by	O
many	O
to	O
be	O
inferior	O
and	O
primitive	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
contemporary	O
versions	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
IE	B-Protocol
version	I-Protocol
3.0	I-Protocol
(	O
1996	O
)	O
Microsoft	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
catch	O
up	O
with	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
competitively	O
,	O
with	O
IE	B-Protocol
Version	I-Protocol
4.0	I-Protocol
(	O
1997	O
)	O
further	O
improvement	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IE	B-Protocol
5.0	I-Protocol
(	O
1999	O
)	O
improved	O
stability	O
and	O
took	O
significant	O
market	O
share	O
from	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
two	O
versions	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
3.0	O
,	O
the	O
Standard	O
Edition	O
and	O
the	O
Gold	O
Edition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
consisted	O
of	O
the	O
Navigator	O
browser	B-Application
with	O
e-mail	O
,	O
news	O
readers	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
web	O
page	O
compositor	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
these	O
extra	O
functions	O
enlarged	O
and	O
slowed	O
the	O
software	O
,	O
rendering	O
it	O
prone	O
to	O
crashing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
Gold	O
Edition	O
was	O
renamed	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
starting	O
with	O
version	O
4.0	O
;	O
the	O
name	O
change	O
diluted	O
its	O
name-recognition	O
and	O
confused	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
CEO	O
James	O
L	O
.	O
Barksdale	O
insisted	O
on	O
the	O
name	O
change	O
because	O
Communicator	O
was	O
a	O
general-purpose	O
client	O
application	O
,	O
which	O
contained	O
the	O
Navigator	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
aging	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
4.x	O
was	O
slower	O
than	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
5.0	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typical	O
web	O
pages	O
had	O
become	O
heavily	O
illustrated	O
,	O
often	O
JavaScript-intensive	O
,	O
and	O
encoded	O
with	O
HTML	O
features	O
designed	O
for	O
specific	O
purposes	O
but	O
now	O
employed	O
as	O
global	O
layout	O
tools	O
(	O
HTML	O
tables	O
,	O
the	O
most	O
obvious	O
example	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
were	O
especially	O
difficult	O
for	O
Communicator	O
to	O
render	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
browser	B-Application
,	O
once	O
a	O
solid	O
product	O
,	O
became	O
crash-prone	B-General_Concept
and	O
buggy	B-Error_Name
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
some	O
versions	O
re-downloaded	O
an	O
entire	O
web	O
page	O
to	O
re-render	O
it	O
when	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
window	O
was	O
re-sized	O
(	O
a	O
nuisance	O
to	O
dial-up	O
users	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
would	O
usually	O
crash	B-General_Concept
when	O
the	O
page	O
contained	O
simple	O
Cascading	B-Language
Style	I-Language
Sheets	I-Language
,	O
as	O
proper	O
support	O
for	O
CSS	B-Language
never	O
made	O
it	O
into	O
Communicator	O
4.x	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
that	O
Communicator	O
4.0	O
was	O
being	O
developed	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
had	O
a	O
competing	O
technology	O
called	O
JavaScript	B-Application
Style	I-Application
Sheets	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Near	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
cycle	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
obvious	O
that	O
CSS	B-Language
would	O
prevail	O
,	O
so	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
quickly	O
implemented	O
a	O
CSS	B-Language
to	O
JSSS	B-Application
converter	O
,	O
which	O
then	O
processed	O
CSS	B-Language
as	O
JSSS	B-Application
(	O
this	O
is	O
why	O
turning	O
JavaScript	B-Language
off	O
also	O
disabled	O
CSS	B-Language
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
's	O
browser	B-Application
interface	O
design	O
appeared	O
dated	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
and	O
interface	O
changes	O
in	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
Apple	O
's	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
decade	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
had	O
lost	O
dominance	O
over	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
platform	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
August	O
1997	O
Microsoft	O
financial	O
agreement	O
to	O
invest	O
one	O
hundred	O
and	O
fifty	O
million	O
dollars	O
in	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
required	O
that	O
Apple	O
make	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
in	O
new	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
distributions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
IE	B-Protocol
Mac	I-Protocol
release	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
was	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
version	O
3.0	O
for	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
but	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Explorer	I-Protocol
4	I-Protocol
was	O
released	O
later	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
succeeded	O
in	O
having	O
ISPs	O
and	O
PC	O
vendors	O
distribute	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
to	O
their	O
customers	O
instead	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
,	O
mostly	O
due	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
using	O
its	O
leverage	O
from	O
Windows	B-Application
OEM	O
licenses	O
,	O
and	O
partly	O
aided	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
investment	O
in	O
making	O
IE	O
brandable	B-License
,	O
such	O
that	O
a	O
customized	O
version	O
of	O
IE	O
could	O
be	O
offered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
web	O
developers	O
used	O
proprietary	B-Application
,	O
browser-specific	O
extensions	O
in	O
web	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
did	O
this	O
,	O
having	O
added	O
many	O
proprietary	B-Application
HTML	O
tags	O
to	O
their	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
which	O
forced	O
users	O
to	O
choose	O
between	O
two	O
competing	O
and	O
almost	O
incompatible	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
1998	O
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
released	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
code	B-General_Concept
base	I-General_Concept
for	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
under	O
an	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
pre-alpha	O
versions	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
5	O
were	O
released	O
before	O
the	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
community	O
decided	O
to	O
scrap	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
codebase	B-General_Concept
entirely	O
and	O
build	O
a	O
new	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
around	O
the	O
Gecko	B-Language
layout	I-Language
engine	I-Language
which	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
had	O
been	O
developing	O
but	O
which	O
had	O
not	O
yet	O
incorporated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
community-developed	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
project	O
was	O
named	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
,	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
's	O
original	O
code	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
America	O
Online	O
bought	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
;	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
programmers	O
took	O
a	O
pre-beta-quality	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
codebase	B-General_Concept
,	O
gave	O
it	O
a	O
new	O
GUI	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
it	O
as	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
6	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
did	O
nothing	O
to	O
win	O
back	O
users	O
,	O
who	O
continued	O
to	O
migrate	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
7	O
and	O
a	O
long	O
public	O
beta	O
test	O
,	O
Mozilla	B-Operating_System
1.0	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
5	O
June	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
code-base	O
,	O
notably	O
the	O
Gecko	B-Language
layout	I-Language
engine	I-Language
,	O
became	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
independent	O
applications	O
,	O
including	O
Firefox	B-Application
and	O
Thunderbird	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
28	O
December	O
2007	O
,	O
the	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
developers	O
announced	O
that	O
AOL	O
had	O
canceled	O
development	O
of	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
,	O
leaving	O
it	O
unsupported	O
as	O
of	O
1	O
March	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Archived	O
and	O
unsupported	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
remain	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netscape	B-Protocol
's	O
contributions	O
to	O
the	O
web	O
include	O
JavaScript	B-Language
,	O
which	O
was	O
submitted	O
as	O
a	O
new	O
standard	O
to	O
Ecma	O
International	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
resultant	O
ECMAScript	B-Language
specification	O
allowed	O
JavaScript	B-Language
support	O
by	O
multiple	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
and	O
its	O
use	O
as	O
a	O
cross-browser	B-Architecture
scripting	O
language	O
,	O
long	O
after	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
itself	O
had	O
dropped	O
in	O
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
FRAME	O
tag	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
widely	O
supported	O
today	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
has	O
been	O
incorporated	O
into	O
official	O
web	O
standards	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
HTML	O
4.01	O
Frameset	B-General_Concept
"	O
specification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2007	O
PC	O
World	O
column	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
Netscape	B-Protocol
Navigator	I-Protocol
was	O
considered	O
the	O
"	O
best	O
tech	O
product	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
"	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
impact	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
