Netscape Navigator (1–4)
1994 – 2002
Discontinued
76
King of the 1990s Web (over 90% share in the middle of the decade), first standalone and then part of the Communicator suite (1997). Netscape invented JavaScript, cookies and SSL, and released its source code in 1998, giving birth to the Mozilla project.
Facts
- Developer
- Netscape Communications, then AOL
- Website
- —
- Engine
- Derived from
- NCSA Mosaic (inspired by)
- Successor
- Netscape 6 / 7
- Platforms
- Details
- Last standalone Navigator: 4.08 (Nov. 1998); last release: Communicator 4.8 (August 2002)
- Popularity
- 76/100
Key versions
- Mosaic Netscape 0.9Netscape (propriétaire)First public beta, under the Mosaic Netscape name; inline JPEG and cookie support.
- 1.0First final release, renamed Netscape Navigator.
- 1.1Adds tables and background images or colors.
- 2.0Introduces JavaScript, Java, plug-ins, animated GIFs and an integrated mail client.
- 3.0Adds LiveAudio, LiveVideo, QuickTime and HTML 3.2; Gold edition with a WYSIWYG editor.
- 4.0 (Communicator)The suite becomes Netscape Communicator (Navigator, Messenger, Composer…); partial CSS1 support.
- 4.06Adds the Flash plug-in and “Smart Browsing”.
- 4.5Communicator 4.5: mail improvements, unchanged rendering core.
- 4.08Last standalone Navigator for Windows; last release for 16-bit Windows and 68k Macs.
- 4.7Adds Netscape Radio, AIM 3.0 and Winamp.
- 4.8Final release of the Communicator 4.x line.