Thursday, December 18, 2008

My how times change....

Netscape. Once an Internet browser that was BETTER than Internet Explorer. Netscape is no more. After being bought by AOL all development stopped.

I remember BUYING Netscape at Target in Lubbock ,Texas. Browsers haven't always been free. Back in 1995 the Internet was just getting really graphical. Texas Tech University (where I went for 1 year) didn't offer free dial up Internet access. I went to a local Internet Service Provider and signed up for a $30 a month plan (a steal then!) for dial up access. I am pretty sure I was using a 28.8 Kbps modem. That speed is a tiny fraction of the speeds available today via cable or fiber optic (which we have in our house). Access was included....but no software. This is where Netscape came in. I bought Netscape in a box...I think version 3.0 was the version I bought. It was slow...as was my computer (a 486 DX/4 100Mhz with 8MB of RAM!)..but it worked. I think I switched to Internet Explorer in 1997 or so. Netscape got "weird" around then...too flashy and bloated.

Netscape is no more. I did download the last version made for MAC OS today...just to have it around. Who would PAY for an Internet browser today?

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