Netscape Guy wrote:
> Peter Potamus the Purple Hippo wrote:
>
>> the Enterprise version was used not for browsing the
>> websites, but for Inventory Control and other things.
>
> Aside from some custom client-server cor****ate stuff, did Netscape
> expect (or require) the average web-surfer to $Buy$ Netscape
> Navigator, or did it always give the Netscape browser away for free
> (as it's 1994 press release claims) ???
>
> Why is that so frigging hard a question to answer?
Yes. Prior to Netscape Communicator 4.04, Netscape charged most people
$29.95 for the browser.
When Internet Explorer came out, it too was priced at $29.95. It wasn't
until IE was rolled into Windows (and became part and parcel of it) that
Microsoft stopped 'charging' anything for it.
Prior to that offer (free - with the system) from Microsoft, Netscape
had the lions share of the browser market - over 80 percent. But with
the 'free' IE included with every Microsoft system, the days were
numbered.
By version 4.03, it was clear to Netscape that they would have to
'match' Microsofts 'price' for IE, just to keep from losing market share
(down to 65% or so). So, Netscape stopped charging for Communicator.
Now, you get another problem. How do you propose to spend millions of
dollars in developing a 'new' browser, when all you are going to get in
return is nothing? MS didn't have that problem because a ****tion of the
revenue from the system sales was given to the browser department. So,
Netscape decided to go the 'open source' route and begat Mozilla.
Mozilla began with the 'source code' for Communicator, but eventually
abandoned it, and started all over again from scratch. By this time, AOL
and Sun had purchased Netscape.
But the answer to your question is YES. Netscape did charge for the
browser, prior to version 4.03
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