[WEB4LIB] The End of the Netscape Browser?

[Humbert Suarez]

I am also concerned about the future of the Netscape browser.
But already before the deal the future was not bright giving the shrinking
market share. I think that there are a number of positives in the current
deal. AOL and Sun are strong companies while Netscape was loosing 
money. AOL is clearly a competitor of Microsoft so it will not be
in its interest to roll over and let Microsoft take over the browser
market. Sun might actually be interested in the Netscape browser and
can now have much more influence over its design and how tightly it
can integrate with Java. Despite all this we will have to see how the
dice rolls in the next 6 months. 

Humbert H. Suarez, MD PhD
Medical World Search Division
(http://www.mwsearch.com)
TLC Information Services
humbert at mwsearch.com

>From all the early analysis I've read on the Netscape-AOL-Sun deal, they
>talk about two things:
>1. AOL is interested in the gateway and will continue using MSIE as a browser.
>2. Sun is interested in the high-end server software and such.
>
>That seems to leave a "hole in the middle" where the browser might be
>guessed to live.
>
>Is this a reasonable interpretation?  Why or why not?
>
>cheers
>
>dan
>
>--
>Dan Lester, 3577 East Pecan, Boise, ID 83716-7115 USA 208-383-0165
>dan at 84.com   http://www.84.com/  http://www.idaholibraries.org/
>http://library.boisestate.edu/   http://cyclops.boisestate.edu/ 
>http://www.lili.org/  Sent me a postcard of a library yet? 
>
>