Netscape Navigator Web Browser Ends Its Life on Feb. 1

It's the end of an era, though not one that many people are likely to take notice of: Netscape Navigator, which has been being developed since 1994 and was the first commercial web browser, will cease to exist on Feb. 1, 2008.

More accurately, Navigator (now in version 9) will cease to be supported or developed on Feb. 1. New versions have already been discontinued. Of course, the code will still be around... forever, really. In fact, you can find old copies of Netscape dating back to version 0.9 today.

Netscape is noteworthy for one key reason: It was the company (and the product) that launched the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. (It was ultimately acquired by AOL.) I personally used Netscape as a devoted adherent for many years, finally switching to IE in version 5 and on to Firefox when it hit version 2. Today, Netscape Navigator is a shell of what it once was. Market share hovers somewhere between 0.06 and 0.24 percent of browser sessions, depending on who you ask. Even Safari and Opera substantially outpace it.

So shed a tear for a once-great product that's finally being put to rest. And if you're one of those 0.06 percent, God help you, get to Firefox immediately!

LINK: RIP Netscape Navigator (1994-2008)