As announced previously, as of March 1st, all official support for Netscape browsers has ceased, including all security updates. Early next week, users of Netscape Browser 8 will be presented with an update that will allow them to migrate directly to the current version of Flock. The update will look like the following:

Users of the Netscape Navigator 9 browser will see the following major upgrade notice available today, released as Netscape 9.0.0.6. When the Netscape 9.0.0.6 upgrade is accepted and run, the following notice will appear, denoting the end of support date (March 1) and the recommendations of Flock and Firefox:

AOL support for Netscape browsers has been extended one month, to March 1st. Mozilla, Flock and AOL are working together to provide tools to ease the migration of existing Netscape browser users to our recommended Flock and Firefox alternatives. Both Flock and Firefox are built on the same Mozilla Firefox codebase.

There will be an update made available for Netscape 9 users through the established Netscape browser update feature that will streamline the process of choosing from these two great browser alternatives.

As promised, the Flock team has delivered a new version of their social browser with an import feature for Netscape Navigator 9 users looking to migrate to a new browser.

As shown in our previous post, in order to migrate from Netscape 9 to Flock, first download and install Flock. The installation process will ask whether or not to import from a previous browser, and there is now a "Netscape" option.

For those who miss the import question - start the browser, and choose File -> Import, then the "Netscape" option.

Its that simple!

But Wait... There's More

In addition to the Netscape import capability, the following fixes are present in Flock v1.0.7:

• Allow Non-admin Windows accounts to install Flock. Please note that on Vista you will still be asked for an administrator password. Also, no Flock shortcut will be created on the desktop.
• Search plugins without associated icons no longer break the search flyout of the search box.
• Fixed Ctrl and Shift functions in the Favorites Manager.

The only thing left to say is, enjoy Flock!

Netstripe was the Netscape Navigator theme we previously released for Firefox. The Netscape team is discontinuing our development of this theme and is disabling it from the Mozilla add-on website.

Sailfish, a long time theme editor and Netscape champion, has created with our approval the successor to the Netstripe theme. This new theme is called Simple Green.

Simple Green is a bundled theme containing both the browser (Navigator) and mailnews (Messenger) skins thus working for both Firefox and Thunderbird. It contains bug fixes and minor enhancement work. His plan is to support the theme through Firefox 2 and Thunderbird 2, at minimum.

The theme can be located on the Mozilla add-ons website or you can get it with all the latest changes from https://www.projectit.com/.

All bug reports, enhancement requests and questions should be sent directly to sailfish@unforgettable.com.

The RSS specification documents, DTDs, and help files for the first versions of RSS (v0.9, v0.91) are being moved to RSSBoard.org, where they will be hosted by the RSS Advisory Board in perpetuity. Netscape will continue to host these files (via redirect) on the My Netscape domain (my.netscape.com) until August 1st, 2008.

Netscape launched RSS on March 15, 1999, with the My Netscape Network and an RSS 0.90 specification written by Ramanathan Guha. Four months later, RSS 0.91 was launched with a specification written by Dan Libby. Five years after revolutionizing the web browser, Netscape sparked another revolution on the web with XML-based syndication.

All websites that produce RSS 0.9 or RSS 0.91 feeds will need to either convert to using the current standard (RSS v2.0), or if desired, convert their v0.9/v0.91 feeds properly using this guide, provided by the RSS Advisory Board, by August 1st. This is a great opportunity for websites to upgrade to RSS 2.0 though, as the conversion guide mentions:

"You can do a lot more with RSS 2.0 that's not covered here, because the format has become more versatile since its humble origins as Netscape's headline-exchange format in 1999. RSS 2.0 supports podcasting, tagging, XML namespaces and other improvements. The RSS Profile contains our best advice for how to take full advantage of the capabilities of RSS."

Here are some links to relevant documents, now hosted on RSSBoard.org:

RSS v0.9 spec: http://www.rssboard.org/rss-0-9-0
RSS v0.9 DTD: http://www.rssboard.org/rss-0.9.dtd
RSS v0.9 Help: http://www.rssboard.org/mnn-help
RSS v0.9 FAQ: http://www.rssboard.org/mnn-faq
RSS v0.9 Character Encoding: http://www.rssboard.org/html-entities
RSS v0.9 Troubleshooting: http://www.rssboard.org/mnn-troubleshooting
RSS v0.9 Future Directions: http://www.rssboard.org/mnn-futures
RSS v0.9 Terms of Use: http://www.rssboard.org/mnn-terms-of-use

RSS v0.91 spec: http://www.rssboard.org/rss-0-9-1-netscape
RSS v0.91 DTD: http://www.rssboard.org/rss-0.91.dtd
RSS 1.0 schema: http://www.rssboard.org/schema-1.0.dtd

For anyone who has questions about upgrading, or need help with RSS 0.9 or RSS 0.91, feel free to post on the RSS Advisory Board's mailing list.

Following on from yesterday's announcement, Netscape users eager to give Flock a try do not have to start with a blank slate. The team at Flock has created a simple migration path for people who want to use Flock and have access to their profile information, bookmarks, etc, from their old Netscape profiles.

This migration path will be available in the Flock v1.06 release, scheduled for early next week. Here is a look at how the migration works: this first image is a dialog box that a person would see when installing Flock - notice the "Netscape" option here under "Import Settings and Data".


Once the "Netscape" profile, etc, has been imported, the remainder of the Flock install proceeds as usual. If you already have Flock installed, and also want to benefit from this simple migration, you can import Netscape settings (shown here on Mac OS X):

Some people may be confused by the recent end of service announcement and how it relates to the Netscape ISP. To clarify, the previous announcement does not effect the internet service provider in any way. The Netscape Internet Service Provider will continue its operations. http://isp.netscape.com will continue to exist as the ISP's homepage, and will continue to be programmed.

Visit http://help.isp.netscape.com/Netscape/supportcentral/supportcentral.do?id=m1 for any Netscape Internet Service Provider questions you may have.

Now that we have recommended users adopt Firefox and Thunderbird for their browser and e-mail needs, some people have asked how to go about migrating their data. Thanks to the Netscape Champions we now have some FAQ on how to accomplish this.

Q: How Do I Migrate From Netscape Navigator 9 To Firefox?
A: Note: This will only work with a new installation of Firefox
Note: Make sure that Navigator and Firefox are NOT running

1. Install Firefox and make a note of where the profile is located, usually in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox

2. Locate your Navigator 9 profile, usually in C:\Documents and Settings\usernameApplication Data\Netscape\Navigator

3. In the Navigator directory, hilite both "profiles.ini" and the /Profile/ directory and copy both to the clipboard using CTRL+C

4. Go to the /Firefox/ directory and paste the contents of the clipboard using CTRL+V and when prompted to overwrite, answer YES

That's it, when you start Firefox, the Navigator 9 profile will now be in Firefox

Note: You MUST have "Show hidden files and folders" enabled in your explorer view options
Note: If you have multiple profiles, all will be migrated using this method.

Q: How Do I Migrate From Netscape Messenger 9 To Thunderbird?
A: The best way is to move the profile directory and profiles.ini in the same fashion as moving from Netscape Navigator 9 to Firefox that is outlined above.

Q: How Do I Migrate From Netscape 8 To Firefox?
A: There is no direct way to migrate to Firefox successfully as there is no import routine included in Firefox to migrate from Netscape 8.

However, through a lot of trial and error on my part, I have come up with a successful method. Assuming that you have not installed Navigator 9:

Note: Make sure any master passwords are removed before migrating.

1. Make sure that Netscape 8 is your default browser => Tools => Options => General => Default Browser

2. Download (http://browser.netscape.com) Navigator 9.0.0.5 and install. During installation you will be prompted to migrate from a list of applications, choose Netscape 8. That's it, all there is to it

If Navigator 9 is already installed:

1. Make sure that Netscape 8 is your default browser **IMPORTANT**

2. Edit your Navigator 9 desktop shortcut by right-clicking the shortcut and select "Properties"

3. Edit the commmand line, so that it reads: "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Navigator 9\navigator.exe" -p "default" -migration

Note: "default" is the profile name, yours may vary.

4. If you have more than one profile, substitute "default" for the name of your other profile(s)

5. Double click the shortcut to initiate the migration routine.

Now the move to Firefox:

1. Install Firefox (latest version)

2. Locate your profile path for Navigator 9, usually in: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Netscape\Navigator

Note: There is one directory /profiles/ and two files => pluginreg.dat and Profiles.ini.

Hilite the profiles directory and profiles.ini only and hit CTRL+C to copy to the clipboard

3. Locate your new Firefox profile in: C:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox Now, hit CTRL+V to paste from the clipboard and when prompted to overwrite, answer YES

4. Your Navigator 9 profile has now been transferred to Firefox which was originally migrated from Netscape 8

Q: How do I migrate from Netscape 6 or 7 to Firefox?
A: New installs of Firefox will present you with a migration wizard dialog allowing you to select to migrate from Netscape 6 or 7.

Q: How do I migrate from Netscape 6 or 7 to Thunderbird?
A: New installs of Thunderbird will present you with a migration wizard dialog allowing you to select to migrate from Netscape 6 or 7.

AOL has a long history on the internet, being one of the first companies to really get people online. Throughout its lifetime, it has been involved with a number of high profile acquisitions, perhaps the largest of which was the 1999 acquisition of the Netscape Communications Corporation. Netscape was known to many as the thought leader in web browsing, and had developed a number of complementary pieces of software that allowed for a rich suite of internet tools.

At the time of the acquisition, the Netscape team had begun working on converting their flagship product - the Netscape Communicator web suite - into open source software, under a new name: Mozilla. AOL played a significant role in the launch of the Netscape 6 browser, the first Mozilla-based, Netscape-branded browser that was released in 2000 and continued to solely fund the development and marketing efforts of Netscape-branded browsers. In 2003, an independent foundation was created to support the continued development of the open source web suite. AOL was a major source of support for the Mozilla Foundation and the company continued to develop versions of the Netscape browser based on the work of the foundation.

While internal groups within AOL have invested a great deal of time and energy in attempting to revive Netscape Navigator, these efforts have not been successful in gaining market share from Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Recently, support for the Netscape browser has been limited to a handful of engineers tasked with creating a skinned version of Firefox with a few extensions.

AOL's focus on transitioning to an ad-supported web business leaves little room for the size of investment needed to get the Netscape browser to a point many of its fans expect it to be. Given AOL's current business focus and the success the Mozilla Foundation has had in developing critically-acclaimed products, we feel it's the right time to end development of Netscape branded browsers, hand the reins fully to Mozilla and encourage Netscape users to adopt Firefox.

Q: What will this mean?
A: We'll continue to release security patches for the current version of the browser, Netscape Navigator until February 1, 2008. After February 1, there will be no more active product support for Navigator 9, or any previous Netscape Navigator browser. This includes Netscape v1-v4.x, Netscape v6, Netscape v7 Suite, Netscape Browser v8, and Netscape Navigator/Messenger 9.

Q: I use Netscape now. Now that Netscape is stopping support, what do I do?
A: The Netscape Team fully stands behind the fine work being done by the Mozilla Foundation. We recommend that you download Mozilla Firefox and give it a try. We know you'll enjoy it!

Q: Will I still be able to use Netscape?
A: You will still be able to download old versions of Netscape from the Netscape Archive (link coming). However, these products are no longer supported. Our recommendation for the nostalgic out there is to download Mozilla Firefox, and add on the Netscape theme and Netscape extensions which are available here:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/user/56836

This way you'll have a current web browser that is very secure, and has the look and feel you have grown accustomed to with Netscape.

Q: Will anyone be around to answer my questions?
A: The following sites will continue to exist and offer information about Netscape after February 1, 2008: The UFAQ (http://www.ufaq.org/), the Netscape Archive, the Netscape Community Forum (http://community.netscape.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=ws-nscpbrowser&redirCnt=1).

Please bear in mind that no active product support will be available.

Q: Does this mean that Netscape is dead?
A: While we will no longer support the Netscape web browser as of February 1, 2008, Netscape.com (http://www.netscape.com) will still continue to serve as a general use Internet portal.

Navigator 9.0.0.5 was released earlier today in order to incorporate the security fixes included in Firefox 2.0.0.11. Please be sure to update your installation of Navigator when prompted by the automatic updater, or you can force the update manually by choosing "Check for Updates" from the Help menu. The release notes for this release are here.

You can also download the full installer for Netscape Navigator 9.0.0.5 from browser.netscape.com.

Navigator 9.0.0.4 was released earlier today in order to incorporate the security fixes included in Firefox 2.0.0.10. Please be sure to update your installation of Navigator when prompted by the automatic updater, or you can force the update manually by choosing "Check for Updates" from the Help menu. The release notes for this release are here.

You can also download the full installer for Netscape Navigator 9.0.0.4 from browser.netscape.com.

Netscape is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the official release of Netscape Navigator 9. The release is available for download from browser.netscape.com.

The following changes have been made since Release Candidate 1:

• Added security measures when installing extensions from the sidebar browser
• Fixed error that was displayed after updating (with auto-update) from 9.0b3 to 9.0RC1

For a complete list of the new features in Netscape 9, see What's New in Netscape Navigator 9? at browser.netscape.com; you may want to also check out the Netscape Navigator FAQ for information on running Navigator 9 alongside previous Netscape browsers.

Netscape is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the first release candidate of Netscape Navigator 9. The release is available for download from browser.netscape.com.

Due to Netscape.com's transition from a social news site to a traditional news portal (and the resulting re-launch of the social news site at Propeller.com), we made the decision to remove the built-in social news functionality from the Netscape Navigator Web browser. We will be releasing those features as stand-alone Propeller-branded browser extensions shortly, and our browser development efforts will be refocused on providing new features and browsing enhancements not specifically tied to a single Web service.

The following changes have been made since Beta 3:

• Added splash screen
• Fixed formatting bug in Mac license
• Fixed a bug that was preventing custom background colors
• Mini-browser enhancements
• Removed social news integration
• Exposed more preferences in the Preference Dialog for tabs and the mini-browser
• Fixed reversed preference for opening searches in new tab
• Fixed Mac bundle signature
• Fixed default icon and file assocations
• Moved custom FTP style out of userContent.css
• Added URL correction preferences to Advanced Preferences page
• Added drop-down menu to print button
• Added drop-down menu to home button
• Added Firefox profile importing
• Added support for importing Netscape 8 bookmarks after the initial install
• Fixed theme issues on Linux
• Fixed truncation of Reload button label
• Fixed bugs with URL correction and country codes
• Added "Save to Linkpad" option to History context menu

For a complete list of the new features in Netscape 9, see What's New in Netscape Navigator 9? at browser.netscape.com; you may want to also check out the Netscape Navigator FAQ for information on running Navigator 9 alongside previous Netscape browsers.

We have just completed our planned changes to Netscape.com. As we originally reported, a new portal has been launched on Netscape.com, and the social news site previously located there has been moved to propeller.com.

Over the last week, we have received some very positive feedback, both from early social news adopters and from those who were gradually won over by the communal experience at Netscape.com. I want to thank you all for your great feedback, and want to reiterate that the Propeller social news experience is not going away. On the contrary! In the coming weeks, you will be able to see Propeller content on both the new Netscape.com portal, as well as AOL News.

We have not been neglecting our member feedback either. We do realize that there have been undue performance problems and a few technical glitches over the past few weeks. Let me apologize for this poor user experience, and assure you that we are hard at work in fixing these. We have also had more spam escape our filters lately, and I want to apologize for that as well, and give thanks to all of our great members who reported these stories as such.

Also, we are not happy to simply stand pat with our existing features. In the near future, we will be able to share information about our new social news platform, which we are extremely excited about. It will bring together the best of all worlds: a world class design team, an advanced website platform, and a host of new and interesting ways to enjoy social news.

Best of all, we won't rush the new social news site to the public. We will want to hear your opinion on the new site, as it is because of you, the newly named Propeller member base, that we continue to develop social news services. We really hope that the Netscape.com social news community will come visit Propeller.com. We are confident that you will feel right at home!