Netscape 9.0 beta

I started with Netscape long ago, before IE was actually out. As IE started to compete, I stuck with NS (obviously at first, since IE was nothing much). Even after IE became a browser and our company decided to become a "Microsoft shop" by entering into the Solution Provider program, I volunteered to test our apps with the "other browser".

I stuck with it until the HR page of the new company I started with failed to register one of my kids for insurance, because a Microsoft-only feature did not show up when I used NS. When I found out about Avant, I dropped NS and have not looked back until now.

I've known that there was underground development of NS going on, but as IE7, Firefox 1.x and 2.x came out, it meant less and less. Finally, I decided to try 9.0 beta, partly for nostalgia.

Right away I was put off by the tab text refreshing at the same rate that .gifs and other elements were being downloaded. This began to bother me so much visually that I uninstalled it. That's rare for me, as I tend to the packrat end of the spectrum.

I will probably try another version someday, but I'm not sure why NS is still going. In skimming the features, I failed to see what they have that isn't being done well by someone else. It's sad from a "good old days" point of view. But only for a moment, as the firehose continues to pump. Acropolis, Silverlight and DLR are adding to my already-crippling burden of things to track.