Firefox-Based Netscape 8 Beta Goes Live

pigmelon writes "According to BetaNews, 'America Online's Netscape team has opened its doors to the public, releasing the first beta of the revived Netscape Web browser. (screenshot) Based upon Firefox, Netscape version 8 focuses on security and user privacy, and supports rendering with both Mozilla's Gecko and Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser engines.' Before downloading the beta, remember that it uses Firefox 1.0, which contains some vulnerabilities."

Does it fix the shyte rendering of slasdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it fix the shyte rendering of slasdot?

LOUD

[captnitro]

Jesus, that screenshot [betanews.com] is like the browser version of my grandfather's "retirement shirts". Except, only if he lived inside Spencer's Gifts, and was a science fiction drama from 1963, and had ADD. And rabies.

Had to use a screenshot with Microsoft Headline...

[bergeron76]

Ok, so who's the brainiac that figured it would be a good idea to take a screenshot with a "Microsoft is making progress" headline/news item?

Finally!

[Nailer]

A browser with the security of MSHTML and the sleek looks of a morbidly obese person's arse.

Re:Extensions

[OverlordQ]

Get $0.75/hr [tinyurl.com] for doing nothing.

Wow the dot-com bubble is back from the dead!

Re:one word

[Anonymous Coward]

It's the same Slashdot you've always visited.

This is a grave miscalculation

[Anonymous Coward]

To alienate the hordes of mac/linux users on AOL unable to use this browser is unconscionable. This is not the AOL we know from commercials on TV.

The skin...

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

That theme looks like a Howard Johnson's [homestead.com] had sex with my clock radio [river-road.net].

The UI really is something

[DrXym]

It's like someone in AOL said:

"this Firefox UI is great and easy to use, so let's add a bunch crazy buttons and just generally shit all over it! Oh and throw in a theme that makes our customers want to claw out their eyes. And for extra confusion, make sure some of the pages load with IE so people are never sure what behaviour they're going to get!"

Shock! Horror!

[Anonymous Coward]

Netscape releasing an ugly, bloated browser with millions of useless features that nobody in their right mind would use? Now there's a surprise.

Re:one word

[linguae]

Exactly. That's what Windows-brained people will like.

No, no, no, you got it all wrong. Not all Windows users are going to accept that crappy interface.

That's what AOL-brained people will like. They're willing to take crappy software from anyone, as long as it comes with flashy buttons and a "Me Too!" auto-posting button, too.

Cool!

[suitepotato]

(Not.)
The worst of all worlds.
(Now that was serious.)
I've been hoping someone would do this.
(Unserious, more like fearing someone would do this.)
I guess I'll switch.
(Nearly coughing after fit of maniac laughter.)
No, not really. Sticking with Firefox. It seems to be what Netscape could have been had Netscape not believed its own hype and what IE should have been if only MS could see past proprietarily customizing everything that doesn't move fast enough.
(Looks like that IE-based browser that came with Flyswatter prominently packaged, but forget the name of it off hand...)

One question

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know much about the Mozilla license, but could AOL (AOL did buy Netscape right?) (a) stop the development of Mozilla (change the license to closed source/proprietary) or (b) sell Netscape (Gecko engine of coruse)?

Re:one word

[sconeu]

ME TOO!

(Darn it! Had to do that manually, there's no automagic ME TOO button in FF). Oh, and you forgot the auto-caps-lock preference (on by default) so that they can post in ALL CAPS!

Re:Merged Menu Bar

[Elwood P Dowd]

Is there such plug-in for FireFox?

No, but for a similar effect you can pick up your keyboard, and bludgeon yourself in the face.

Re:LOUD

[zonker]

no kidding it looks like what would happen if you gave a retarded monkey a shot at paintbrush.

what the fuck, they just poured dirt over jef raskin and already he's doing summersaults in his grave.

come to think of it, it looks like a poor copy of windows media player 10...

Re:Extensions

[Octagon Most]

Get $0.75/hr for doing nothing.

Wow the dot-com bubble is back from the dead!

I'm pretty sure people were making more than 75 cents per hour during the dot-com bubble. Unless you meant the 17th century tulip bubble.

Re:Custom widgets

[Rorschach1]

Use the operating system's default widget set? Pffft. That is SOOO 1993.

Can you imagine how boring it'd be if you already knew where to find, say, the 'minimize' button on EVERY application? Where's the fun in that?

Re:Typical AOL-ish Theme

[boarder8925]

It breaks many of the Windows design standards

Windows has standards?

*POOF*

My brain just exploded. The tin-foil hat did nothing to help me.

Re:My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

[drinkypoo]

Sure, my ATI card can rotate the screen, and I can put my trinitron on its side, which is flat along one edge and would probably tilt my screen at just the right angle given the position it would hold on my desk. However, I haven't yet found a good use for a 1200x1600 display...

Re:Mirror

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes! Let's mirror the download page and not the file itself ;)

What did you expect from someone whose username is "Broke Mirror"?

Re:Cyan killed Netscape

[DavidTC]

Cyan and orange, the classic color scheme of spazzes.

Me. I demand some hazard yellow added to the interface immediately! Perhaps in some sort of warning box. A big caution sign, that's the ticket.

And then, on to the neon! Wheeeeee! Neon green, neon blue (Do they make neon cyan?), maybe we can even get some neon yellow and use that instead of hazard yellow.

And, dare we dream it? Yes, we dare.

Pink. I said it. PINK. BRIGHT PINK ALL OVER!

But don't worry, all these bright colors will be balanced out by the cyan. And the black. (Maybe some purple?)

For Netscape 10, we can just have someone vomit on the screen.

Re:Does it fix the shyte rendering of slasdot?

[Anonymous Coward]

the problem is a bug in firefox. it not caused by slashdots fucked up html code. you can get the same display bug on a fully valid html document. they have examples in the bugzilla. and it's already fixed in cvs.

What, now we have to go to CVS [cvs.com] to purchase a fix for Firefox? I knew that the open source developers would, oh, wait a sec, you're talking about Concurrent Versions System, not CVS pharmacy, nevermind. ;)

Re:brand recognition

[Anonymous Coward]

+ 5 smug