Editing Netscape 6

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Netscape 6
| title = 
| logo = Netscape icon.svg
| logo caption = 
| logo_size = 
| logo_alt = 
| screenshot = 
| caption = Netscape 6.1 under [[Windows XP]]
| screenshot_size = 
| screenshot_alt = 
| collapsible = 
| author = 
| developer = [[Netscape Communications Corporation]]<br/>[[America Online|AOL]]
| released = {{Start date and age|2000|11|14}}
| discontinued = yes
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q986963|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q986963|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q986963|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q986963|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| status = 
| programming language = 
| operating system = [[Cross-platform]]
| platform = 
| replaces = [[Netscape Communicator]]
| replaced_by = [[Netscape 7]]
| size = 
| language = 
| language count = <!-- DO NOT include this parameter unless you know what it does -->
| language footnote = 
| genre = [[Internet suite]]
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]] [[EULA]]
| alexa = 
| standard = 
| AsOf = 
}}
'''Netscape 6''' is a discontinued [[Internet suite]] developed by [[Netscape Communications Corporation]], and was the sixth major release of the [[Netscape (web browser)|Netscape]] series of browsers. It superseded [[Netscape Communicator|Netscape Communicator (4.x)]], as the release of [[Netscape 5|Netscape Communicator 5]] was scrapped. Netscape 6 was the first browser of the Netscape line to be based on another source code: [[Mozilla Application Suite]], an [[open-source software]] package from the [[Mozilla Foundation]], which was created by Netscape in 1998.

Netscape 6 was first released on November 14, 2000. Version 6.2.3 was the last release in 2002, and it was succeeded by [[Netscape 7]].

It consisted of the following major components:

* a [[web browser]]
* an [[e-mail client|e-mail]] and [[news client]], ''[[Netscape Mail & Newsgroups]]''
* an [[address book]]
* an [[HTML editor]], ''[[Netscape Composer]]''
* an [[instant messaging]] client, ''[[AOL Instant Messenger]]''

==History and development==
In March 1998, Netscape split off most of the Communicator code and put it under an open source license.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 8750-6874| issue = 678| pages = 85–90| last = Levitt| first = Jason| title = Netscape releases the source| work = InformationWeek| date = 1998-04-20}}</ref> The project was dubbed [[Mozilla]]. It was estimated that turning the gutted [[source code]] (all proprietary elements had to be removed) into a new browser release might take a year, and so it was decided that the next release of the corporate Netscape browser, [[Netscape 5|version 5.0]], would be based on it. Netscape assigned its browser development engineers to help with the project.

Later that year it was quite evident that development on Mozilla was not proceeding quickly, so Netscape reassigned some of its engineers to a new Communicator 4.5 release. This had the result of redirecting part of the browser effort into a dead-end branch while Internet Explorer 5.0 was still building momentum.

The version 5 of the browser was skipped, at the time when [[Internet Explorer 5|Internet Explorer 5.0]] had been available for a year and a half. There were plans to release an almost-ready version 5.0 based on the 4.x codebase, but this idea was scrapped.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Zawinski| first = Jamie| title = Nomo Zilla| work = JWZ.org| date = 1999-03-31| url = https://www.jwz.org/gruntle/nomo.html| access-date = January 5, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040807025430/https://www.jwz.org/gruntle/nomo.html| archive-date = August 7, 2004| url-status = dead}}</ref> The Mozilla engineers decided in late October 1998 to scrap the Communicator code and start over from scratch using the standards-compliant [[Gecko (software)|Gecko]] rendering engine.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Koman |first=Richard |title=Gecko Changes Everything |work=WebTools |access-date=2016-01-05 |date=1998-12-23 |url=http://www.webtools.com/story/printableArticle?doc_id=TLS19981223S0001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990930044346/http://www.webtools.com/story/printableArticle?doc_id=TLS19981223S0001 |archive-date=September 30, 1999 }}</ref> All resources were bound to work on the Netscape 6.0 release using Gecko, which some Netscape employees deem one of the bigger mistakes in the company's history.

The first public builds of Mozilla two years later (2000) were rather disappointing, with many mid-level PCs of the time too slow to run the larger codebase, which used its own custom set of [[graphical user interface]] [[Web widget|widgets]] and had a customizable UI built in a custom [[XML]] dialect known as [[XUL]]. With public beta versions released in April,<ref>{{Cite news| last = Corre| first = Catherine| title = Netscape Launches Next-generation Netscape 6 Browser, Available Today for Download On Netscape Netcenter| work = Business Wire| date = 2000-04-05}}</ref> August,<ref>{{Cite news| last = Mains| first = Derick| title = Netscape 6 Preview Release 2 Available Today| work = Business Wire| date = 2000-08-08}}</ref> and October,<ref>{{Cite news| last = Mains| first = Derick| title = Netscape Unveils Redesigned Netscape.com, Launches Netscape 6 Preview Release 3| work = Business Wire| date = 2000-10-04}}</ref> Netscape 6.0 shipped in November 2000.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Corre| first = Catherine| title = Netscape launches groundbreaking Netscape 6 Browser| work = Business Wire| date = 2000-11-14}}</ref> At release, the browser was deemed too unstable for production use.

Versions 6.1 and 6.2, released in 2001, addressed stability problems, and were more respected, but still had a relatively small number of users, and Netscape 6 was facing new competition from [[Internet Explorer 6|Internet Explorer 6.0]], released in the summer of 2001.

==Release history==
* Netscape 6.0 &ndash; November 14, 2000 (based on Mozilla 0.6) <!-- Release date supported by "Netscape Launches Next-generation Netscape 6 Browser, Available Today for Download On Netscape Netcenter" published by "Business Wire" which says "Mountain View, Calif., November 14, 2000 - Netscape Communications, a subsidiary of America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL), today announced the worldwide launch of its next-generation Netscape 6 browser"; also https://web.archive.org/web/20010413131901/http://developer.netscape.com:80/docs/technote/gecko/n6release.html (shows documentation update expected right before release); and https://web.archive.org/web/20001205141200/http://home.netscape.com/browsers/6/index.html?cp=dowpod6 (shows the software was available for download prior to 19 December 2000 date cited by 2007 wikipedia editor) -->
* Netscape 6.01 &ndash; February 7, 2001 (based on Mozilla 0.6) <!-- Release date supported by date modified of https://web.archive.org/web/20020803053848/http://wp.netscape.com:80/eng/mozilla/ns6/relnotes/6.0.html#new ("These release notes, last updated February 7, 2001, describe known issues for Netscape 6, versions 6.0 and 6.01."); as well as the date modified of the 6.01 exe file on Netscape's original FTP server (per current mirror at http://ftp.vim.org/netscape/netscape6/english/6.01/windows/win32/sea/ and observation of a Wikipedia editor who accessed Netscape's FTP server directly in 2007 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Netscape_6&diff=next&oldid=148933095) -->
* Netscape 6.1 &ndash; August 8, 2001 (based on Mozilla 0.9.2.1)
* Netscape 6.2 &ndash; October 30, 2001 (based on Mozilla 0.9.4.1)
* Netscape 6.2.1 &ndash; November 29, 2001 (based on Mozilla 0.9.4.1)
* Netscape 6.2.2 &ndash; March 19, 2002 (based on Mozilla 0.9.4.1)
* Netscape 6.2.3 &ndash; May 15, 2002 (based on Mozilla 0.9.4.1)
<!-- this below comment was added on 2007-08-14T19:58:06 with https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Netscape_6&diff=next&oldid=148933095 -->
<!-- what are the references for this release dates?
http://ftp.netscape.com/pub/netscape6/english/ sais:
6.0:   19-Dec-00
6.01:  07-Feb-01
6.1:   01-Aug-01
6.2:   24-Oct-01
6.2.3: 09-May-02
-->
==See also==
* [[Netscape]]
* [[Mozilla Application Suite]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}<br />{{sequence|
 prev=[[Netscape 5]]<br>(development suspended)|
 list= Netscape 6|
 next=[[Netscape 7]]|
}}
{{Netscape}}
{{Timeline of web browsers |2000s}}

[[Category:Netscape]]
[[Category:2000 software]]
[[Category:Discontinued software]]
[[Category:Gopher clients]]
[[Category:Discontinued internet suites]]