Netscape Inventor Backs New Web Browser
There's a new web browser in town, backed by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and focused on social networking.
There's a new Web browser in town, and it's name is RockMelt. What's so special about this browser, you say? After all, there's a heaping already available to download including Firefox, Chrome and a few more.
Well here's why: it's backed by the co-founder of browsing pioneer Netscape. Before Firefox, Opera and others came along to steal Microsoft's built-in Internet Explorer thunder, the feature-rich Netscape browser was offered as a 3rd-party option, a shiny new wagon venturing into the virtual frontier. After its launch in 1994, the browser was sold off to AOL in 1998 and then discontinued ten years later.
The new RockMelt aims to transform the browsing experience again, re-imagined for modern Web users and packed with the Web's most popular services. The company behind the software was founded by founded by Tim Howes and Eric Vishria in November 2008. It's also backed currently by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, former Intuit chief executive Bill Campbell, Facebook, Twitter and Google investor Ron Conway, and others.
According to the company, RockMelt was built on top of Chromium, the open source project behind Google Chrome. Key features include push notifications, Facebook integration, speedier search, and social media tools for sharing on Twitter, Facebook and other services. If anything, RockMelt could be the ultimate social networking tool, piping friends and feeds directly into the browser without an external 3rd-party client or a browser plug-in.
"RockMelt is onto something huge," Andreessen said. "They've rethought the browser around the massive shifts in user behavior that will drive the Web over the next decade. RockMelt is the freshest, most innovative take on browsing since browsers were created. Eric and Tim have built an outstanding team that will continue delivering breakthrough innovations."
Currently the beta is invite-only. Interested Web surfers can head over to the RockMelt website and sign up using a Facebook account. The company will then send an invite email days later. To learn more, there's a RockMelt Facebook page, a RockMelt Twitter page, and a RockMelt blog,
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Same old crock of shite.
I'm really interested to see what kind of browser they can make now..keepin bringin on the competition!
is it posible to ban people that spam anoying ads like above
will it run on XP, will it support flash and will it have hardware acceleration?
Some smart developer will do a plug-in with the same functionality for Firefox; it will become popular; and Firefox will make it official a version later.
I think TH need to incorporate CAPCHA into the comment system. It is annoying when posting comment but get rid of the annoying spambot.
Am I the only one who sees this as completely pointless? Just focus on supporting web standards and let the social networks make their own nifty web apps.
is it posible to ban people that spam anoying ads like above
I think TH need to incorporate CAPCHA into the comment system. It is annoying when posting comment but get rid of the annoying spambot.
i think the best solution would be to have a 7-day period before u can post on articles
i think the best solution would be to have a 7-day period before u can post on articles
That would be much less annoying. Especially since I've been well past that for awhile now.
Though the guest posters do sometimes post good stuff... maybe put capcha only on them?
So, what about people who don't use facebook/twitter etc., will we have any reason to try out this browser?
This new browser uses google code plus it integrates facebook hmmm. These two companies are notorious for tracking your information and using it at their whim. This is just another p.o.s program thats not going to update the interface for enhanced personal use. No sir, they just want to make it event more convenient for you to share your information. Do not trust google or facebook A.K.A tracebook, face recognition book. I want my user interface to be enhanced and my browsing experience to be one that appeases my thirst for information without censorship and without a violation of my privacy. Is that too much to ask for?
This is a great idea. I have to join Facebook to get this browser? I think I'd rather have my pride and sanity than a product backed by co-founder of a failed company.
The market just doesn't need another browser.
really, do we need another browser?
....yes..this is a good idea because Netscape did so well.....
The best thing a browser can do is get out of the way.
We DO NOT need another browser--I have enough trouble deciding between Firefox and Chrome as it is (currently rocking Chrome).
Am I the only one here without a facebook/twitter account who's wondering what this is all about?
The only thing in their demo I found remotely useful would be the Google search thingy.
I guess I'll just stick to Opera and get an extension for that.
i'm sick and tired of all this social crap being integrated with each other and having to sneak around so my web habits don't get published on a hundred different social sites. just because i have a facebook page to keep in touch with long distance family doesn't mean i want them to know everything i'm doing on the web. can somebody make a browser that maintains PRIVACY?
Arg, social networking is already TOO prevalent. I'm getting sick and tired of all the facebook, twitter, etc crap online. Innovation is great, but at least make it something useful.
It's not a NEW browser, it's a set of extensions for Chrome. For those who don't mess with social networking crap, it may as well not exist.
So I was confused when I began this article, because I thought that Firefox was an open framework of Netscape.
It turns out Netscape started the Mozilla foundation, and opensourced Netscape. Netscape died, and, all the while, some of the Netscape programmers developed Firefox from scratch.
I feel wary of RockMelt. I don't know why though.
They should just change it to Rock. The name RockMelt seems like they spend 15 minutes deciding with a bunch of teens.
When I heard this, I just lost interest. Chromium and its derivatives don't work the way I want things to work.
When I heard this, I just lost interest. Chromium and its derivatives don't work the way I want things to work.
Well Google Chrome is a fantastic browser, so it is possible.