Netscape Founder to Make New Browser

Aug 14 2009, 9:20am CDT | by Robert Evans

Back in the day, Netscape was the browser everyone used for their daily Internet needs. It was the first Internet experience many of us ever had and, by all accounts, a very solid browser. Then Microsoft came out with Internet Explorer and killed Netscape dead. It's a very sad story, but such is the legacy of that terrible time known as the Browser Wars.

Now the New York Times reports that Marc Andreessen, the founder of Netscape, is looking to back another browser. He's putting his money into a start-up named RockMelt. You can view their website here, but there is very little to see. Just a drawing of the world cracked with volcanic rifts, the companies name, and a box to enter your email address. When you do, the site says, “Thanks, we'll be in touch.”, and that's all we know so far.

There are some rumors that this new browser is meant to integrate with your Facebook ID, so that it can keep you up-to-date on your social happenings while you browse. Andreessen has noted that none of the current browsers on the market do much to take advantage of the rapid evolution of social media on the Internet. Despite how integrated things have become, all browsers pretty much have the same functionality.

Aside from possibly integrating social media, it's not known what new features Andresseen's browser will have. They are still at an extremely early stage of development, and we aren't likely to see anything from them soon.

It is nice to see an old veteran like Andreessen throwing his hat into the ring once more. He was wronged very badly by Microsoft back in the 90s, and I think a lot of us would be happy to see him stick it to them with a mind-blowing new browser for the digital age. Of course, it's entirely possible that whatever RockMelt cooks up won't be the least bit interesting. Only time will tell.

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Robert Evans
The excitement about new smartphones, tablets and anything mobile drive Robert to unearth the latest rumors and developments in this fast moving space. He adopted 4G as soon as it become available and knows where the mobile market is going.
Robert can be contacted directly at robert@i4u.com.