The browser wars have really been heating up again lately. Thanks to Mozila’s Firefox, Internet Explorer is no longer the undisputed king, and browsers are popping up all over the place trying grab a piece of the pie. A new browser project called RockMelt is in development – and it’s backed by Mosaic developer and Netscape founder Marc Andreessen.
Marc Andreessen developed Mosaic together with Eric Bina in 1992 and 1993. Mosaic was the first browser to really bring the internet to the masses, thanks to its easy installation and usable interface; an interface which has remained more or less unchanged ever since. Mosaic was also the first browser to render images inline. Contrary to popular belief, however, Mosaic wasn’t the first graphical browser.
Still, Mosaic became popular, and in the end formed the basis for Netscape, whose parent company was founded by Marc Andreessen. As we all know, Netscape played a major role in popularising the web, a role it had to relinquish to Internet Explorer. Netscape still lives on though through Firefox, the browser which reignited the browser wars thanks to being a better product than Internet Explorer 6.
So, Marc Andreessen knows his browsers. He was a key player in the history of two of the most important browsers, so when he decides to put his weight behind a new browser project, you can be sure people will notice. RockMelt, as the project is called, is currently nothing more than a web page, and Andreessen is very reluctant to say anything about it. What we do know is that several people from one of his former companies – Opsware – are involved, and that at least one of them worked at Netscape too, back in the day.
Just yet another browser project to keep an eye on.
The biggest hurdle for any new browser, as the cnet article stated, is penetrating the existing browser market. Chrome is only at 2%, Firefox at 23%, with no mention of where Opera/Safari/other alternatives stand…
In order for RockMelt to succeed it has to be as simple and intuitive as the “default” browsers IE and Safari WHILE incorporating things like support for the vast amount of plugins/extentions/themes/other addons Firefox offers WHILE being as fast and lightweight as Opera.
I don’t think a tight integration with facebook is enough, as a tight integration with Google only has gotten Chrome a 2% user base. Perhaps if there were enhanced facebook features ONLY available in Rockmelt WHILE taking advantage of all I mentioned it MAY stand a chance in the era of Browser War II.
It took Firefox 5 years to get where it is now, and a lot of that is entirely grass roots. IE6 was so bad, that when Firefox came along and presented a workable alternative, everybody jumped at the chance to spread the word.
I don’t think Google are done with Chrome yet, not by a long shot.
There is also money part. IE and Safari are both part of OS so money comes from OS sales, Chrome is back by Google that gets money from ads, Firefox is backed by Mozilla Foundation which is donation based plus ads, Opera is backed mostly by mobile browser sales and ads, then there is huge number of other browsers that are mostly forks of those.
Back in Netscape days competition was much less. I really fail to see how they plan to finance this new browser production, ads most likely. But to get good ad revenue you need lot of users, very hard combo for new product.
Firefox is backed by Mozilla Corporation which is based on the $70 million per year they get through directing their users to Google for search. Let’s please call a spade a spade.
Yeah, and it also happened while MS sat on their laurels and didn’t touch IE for several years either. No such luck now.
Anyway, whatever browser comes out now days needs at the very least some sort of ad-blocking capability. Otherwise, I ain’t going near it.
Would not ‘sat on their asses’ be a more appropriate expression? I do not recall there being any laurels involved.
Edited 2009-08-14 14:47 UTC
Ostensible it might seem so, but there weren’t any male donkeys involved either.
I think you forgot about Steve Balmer.
The correct phrase is to ‘rest on one’s laurels’. That is, once in a position of dominance, to then do nothing to maintain it. Which is exactly what Micrsoft did. Once IE was №1, they disbanded the IE team and did jack all.
They’re naming it… RockMelt?
It’s so hot it melts rocks?
Yeah, plus it allows them to use that really cool (or hot?) doomsday icon. I actually like it.
It is the project name. The final browser name may differ.
[smack]
Note to self: RTFA first.
It’s the start up company name. Still, the browser name may differ.
Edited 2009-08-14 16:50 UTC
[Smacks back]
You should follow your own advice. However, don’t limit yourself to just the article, and read the post you’re responding to as well. They’re naming “it” RockMelt. The article is also vague on whether or not this will be the company name, the browser name, or the project name – it could be all three.
Anyways it was just a comment on the funny name. Am I really replying to this? I can’t believe I am.
::sigh::
Edited 2009-08-14 18:46 UTC
You have nothing better to do either, eh? My code is in QA and I am waiting to hear about all the bugs I’ve created to keep them busy.
Well, I read it as Rock Me It. Even more confusing name.
Me too.
I wouldn’t bother to make a new browser for the mainstream operating systems, but I’m personally working on a new browser for Haiku, since it is kind of needed. But a lot of people wouldn’t bother making a new OS like Haiku so I suppose I’m a hypocrite. So more power to the Rock Me It or rather RockMelt guys…
I gave them my email address… I am interested in knowing how this browser will differ.
Not really sure what combination of features offered in current browsers need to be bastardized or combined to form a unique and more useful tool.
Netscape was a re-implementation from scratch; the code was not based on the Mosaic code (Netscape didn’t have the rights to it). Certainly from an idea perspective Netscape was based on the experience with Mosaic.
It does not have to matter at all that it does not get much market share…
In today’s large world of online users, a “mega niche” browser can make a decent amount of money too… As long as it renders pages really well but thats where the standards of WebKit etc. comes in and makes life easy..
Cheers,
Daniel
On my Ubuntu system I have:
Firefox 3.5 (Shiretoko nightly build)
Chromium
Epiphany (Webkit version)
Opera
Dillo
Galeon
Konqueror
Midori
SeaMonkey
Lynx
w3m
and finally
Internet Explorer 6.0 on IEs4Linux
Submitted using Chromium 4.0.202.0 (23308) but Firefox 3.5 is still my favorite browser.
I need another browser ?
I don’t know if you need it, but you are obviously a browser collector, so I’m sure you’ll add RockMelt to the collection just for the sake of it.
IE needed for corporate apps, Firefox for extensions, Chrome for speed and auto-updates – three’s enough for me. I am not excited about this, I don’t see what it could offer that I don’t already have in one form or another, or that the established browsers won’t immediately mimic for their next release. This sounds like Web 2.0 2.0, with people rushing in to fund something that I can’t see making anywhere near enough money to justify the investment. Oh well, its their money…
… I’ve been dreaming of a lightweight browser for *nix. Every year I evaluate the open source alternatives, and even try to drop a patch or two, but the road seems endless and rocky. Thus, thumbs up for all alternatives to the “IE of *nix”!