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Netscape goes GPL!!
NETSCAPE MATCHES MS'S LOW, LOW PRICE--OFFERS BROWSER FOR FREE
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C18358%2C00.html?nd
http://www.news.com/Radio/Index/0%2C55%2C%2C00.html?nd
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/burst09.html (only today)
http://www.mercurycenter.com/breaking/docs/004845.htm
http://home.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease558.html
(more about this at the end of this post!! scroll down now!)
Talk about a price war. As expected, Netscape has just eliminated one of
Microsoft's big advantages in the browser wars by offering Navigator and
Communicator source code for free. Can this development--in combination
with today's MS-DOJ settlement--stall the growing popularity of Internet
Explorer?
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Sure, Navigator is free now--but will PC makers make the switch from IE?
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C183700%2C00.html?nd
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NETSCAPE ANNOUNCES PLANS TO MAKE
NEXT-GENERATION COMMUNICATOR SOURCE CODE
AVAILABLE FREE ON THE NET
BOLD MOVE TO HARNESS CREATIVE POWER OF THOUSANDS OF
INTERNET DEVELOPERS; COMPANY MAKES NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR
AND COMMUNICATOR 4.0 IMMEDIATELY FREE FOR ALL USERS,
SEEDING MARKET FOR ENTERPRISE AND NETCENTER BUSINESSES
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (January 22, 1998) -- Netscape Communications
Corporation today announced bold plans to make the source code for the
next generation of its highly popular Netscape Communicator client
software available for free licensing on the Internet. The company plans
to post the source code beginning with the first Netscape Communicator 5.0
developer release, expected by the end of the first quarter of 1998. This
aggressive move will enable Netscape to harness the creative power of
thousands of programmers on the Internet by incorporating their best
enhancements into future versions of Netscape's software. This strategy is
designed to accelerate development and free distribution by Netscape of
future high-quality versions of Netscape Communicator to business
customers and individuals, further seeding the market for Netscape's
enterprise solutions and Netcenter business.
In addition, the company is making its currently available Netscape
Navigator and Communicator Standard Edition 4.0 software products
immediately free for all users. With this action, Netscape makes it
easier than ever for individuals at home, at school or at work to choose
the world's most popular Internet client software as their preferred
interface to the Internet.
"The time is right for us to take the bold action of making our client
free - and we are going even further by committing to post the source code
for free for Communicator 5.0," said Jim Barksdale, Netscape's president
and chief executive officer. "By giving away the source code for future
versions, we can ignite the creative energies of the entire Net community
and fuel unprecedented levels of innovation in the browser market. Our
customers can benefit from world-class technology advancements; the
development community gains access to a whole new market opportunity; and
Netscape's core businesses benefit from the proliferation of the
market-leading client software."
Netscape plans to make Netscape Communicator 5.0 source code available for
modification and redistribution beginning later this quarter with the
first developer release of the product. The company will handle free
source distribution with a license which allows source code modification
and redistribution and provides for free availability of source code
versions, building on the heritage of the GNU Public License (GPL),
familiar to developers on the Net. Netscape intends to create a special
Web site service where all interested parties can download the source
code, post their enhancements, take part in newsgroup discussions, and
obtain and share Communicator-related information with others in the
Internet community. Netscape will also continue to develop new
technologies and offer periodic certified, high-quality, supported
releases of its Netscape Communicator and Navigator products,
incorporating some of the best features created by this dynamic community.
The ubiquity of Netscape's client software facilitates Netscape's strategy
of linking millions of individuals to businesses. Today's announcements
will help to further proliferate Netscape's award-winning client software
which today has an installed base of more than 68 million, providing a
ready market for businesses using Netscape's Networked Enterprise software
solutions and Netscape Netcenter services. Netscape's research indicates
that in the education market where Netscape's products are free, the
Netscape client software commands approximately 90 percent share,
indicating that users tend to choose Netscape when the choice is freely
available. Making its browser software free also will enable Netscape to
continue to drive Internet standards, maximize the number of users on the
Internet, and expand the third-party community of companies and products
that take advantage of the Netscape software platform.
Netscape has successfully shifted its business over the past year toward
enterprise software sales and to revenues from its Web site business, and
away from standalone client revenues. In the third quarter of 1997,
standalone client revenues represented approximately 18 percent of
Netscape's revenue, with the rest coming from enterprise software,
services and the Web site. Preliminary results for the fourth quarter of
1997, which Netscape announced January 5, show standalone client revenues
decreased to approximately 13 percent in the fourth quarter. In the fourth
quarter of 1996 by comparison, standalone client revenue represented
approximately 45 percent of Netscape's revenue.
In conjunction with its free client, Netscape separately announced today
that it is launching a host of enhanced products and services that
leverage its free client software to make it easy for enterprise and
individual customers to adopt Netscape solutions. The new products and
services reinforce Netscape's strategy of leveraging market penetration of
its popular client software and its busy Internet site to seed further
sales of Netscape software solutions in the home and business markets. The
new products and services include enhanced subscription and support
packages, an investment protection program for Netscape Communicator
users, new reduced pricing on Netscape's retail and enterprise client
products, new Premium Services on its Netscape Netcenter online service
and Netscape SuiteSpot server software upgrades featuring Netscape client
software.
In addition, the company separately announced the launch of an aggressive
new software distribution program called "Unlimited Distribution" to
broadly distribute its market-leading Internet client software for free.
Unlimited Distribution enables Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs),
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunications companies, Web
content providers, publishers and software developers to download and
redistribute Netscape Communicator and Netscape Navigator easily with "no
strings attached." In addition, beginning immediately, individual users
can download Netscape Communicator or Navigator for free, register for
Netscape Netcenter and, beginning tomorrow, enter the Choose Netscape
Sweepstakes to win exciting travel-related prizes including a grand prize
of two all-inclusive, seven-night tropical resort vacations.
Individuals can download a free copy of Netscape Communicator client
software or the Netscape Navigator browser from the Netscape home page at
http://home.netscape.com, or by clicking on any of the thousands of
"Netscape Now" buttons on the Internet. Netscape Communicator Professional
Edition, which adds features for enterprise customers, will be available
for US$29.
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