Netscape defunct?

I just found this site "“ I found a solution to my Netscape problem there "“ but this is the first I have seen or heard that Netscape is defunct and being taken over by Mozilla.

Since part of my fix is to unintall Netscape "“ what is going to be happening to Netscape e-mail accounts and should I be looking to install Mozilla instead of Netscape?

 

I should defer to someone more knowledgeable than I, but this is what I have been told . . .

Netscape versions 6 and higher have been based on the Mozilla engine. When AOL and Netscape merged, AOL made a decision to no longer support Netscape development. Thus, there will never be a version of Netscape after 7.1. But an upgrade to Mozilla is essentially upgrading to a newer version of what Netscape was anyhow.

If you convert to Mozilla, it will continue to use the same profile and mail files that already exist on your PC. (Be careful . . . if you upgrade and try to use both programs on the same profile, real ugly things happen.)

As for netscape mail accounts, I have not heard anything about whether AOL will continue to support them and for how long.

 

Welcome to the Forum, farmerswife7195!

Hi farmerswife7195,

Netscape is defunct, and this happened in 6/03. AOL fired all Netscape employees, and dropped development of the browser. Note that Netscape is based on the Gecko rendering engine, and in fact, Netscape 7.1 and Mozilla 1.4 are identical in that respect.

If you use Netscape WebMail, to the best of my knowledge the WebMail portal will remain available. I've read nothing which leads me to believe the portal will be closed. However, if you don't use Netscape WebMail, then you have no cause for concern.

There is no reason to stop using the Netscape browser, if you are not experiencing problems, or are very comfortable with Netscape. Most of the unofficial Netscape Tech Help sites will be around indefinitely, some of them incorporating Mozilla FAQ as well.

If, however, you wish to move forward, and keep current with your browser, then by all means move to Mozilla 1.5. It is an excellent, fast, stable, browser.


Ramona

 

This site is great - the solution worked perfectly. Can't thank you enough.

Barb