AOL testing new Netscape as alternative to Explorer

Reshma Kapadia

NEW YORK: AOL Time Warner Inc.'s flagship AOL Internet unit is expected to
start testing soon a Web browser using the guts of its Netscape technology, a
source close to AOL said on Wednesday, opening up the possibility that the media
giant plans to drop rival Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer.

AOL spokesman Jim Whitney confirmed that the company has already shipped a
Netscape browser in some test software for its discount Internet service,
CompuServe. The browser is powered by Gecko technology that was developed
through an open-source project called Mozilla.

The source said the same type of testing would be undertaken take at AOL,
which has about 34 million members worldwide. "We have put significant
resources behind Netscape Gecko and it's a great browser technology," said
Whitney.

The trial rekindles the debate over a possible "battle of the
browsers," with AOL dropping Microsoft's browser technology and turning to
its own Netscape technology as the two giants vie for control over various areas
of the Internet.

AOL bought Netscape in 1999, but the browser technology that it was know for
has floundered, leading many in the industry to speculate on the fate of
Netscape. But news that AOL will soon be testing the technology that powers the
browser suggests that AOL is not ready to abandon it.

The company's contract with Microsoft to use the market-leading Internet
Explorer expired in January 2001, but through "residual rights," AOL
is free to use the browser technology for as long as it wants.

Microsoft dismissed speculation that AOL would move its 34 million
subscribers away from Internet Explorer.

"AOL has been talking about trying to replace Internet Explorer for the
last three to four years, but they have decided not to," said Microsoft
spokesman Jim Cullinan.

In January, AOL sued Microsoft for damage done to Netscape, alleging the
software giant's unfair promotion of its Internet Explorer harmed the product.

A Netscape comeback?

Internet Explorer, which Microsoft bundled with its Windows operating system,
was at the heart of the government's antitrust suit against the Redmond,
Washington-based company.

An appeals court cleared Microsoft of the specific charge of trying to
monopolize the browser market but said the company, through various business
practices, had unfairly competed with Netscape and other companies. The
underlying code of open source software is freely available, unlike proprietary
software from companies like Microsoft, whose inner workings are kept under lock
and key.

AOL spokesman Jim Whitney said the Internet service provider is always
testing different products and combinations, but declined to comment on whether
future versions of AOL software would use the Gecko-rendering engine or if the
company would keep using Internet Explorer.

"The expectation is that they will move back to the Netscape core,"
said Robert Enderle, analyst at Giga Information. "They own that
core." "Probably, AOL 8.0 would be the ideal time for it to show
up," he added, referring to the next version of the company's software due
out in the fall.

However, while Jupiter Media Metrix analyst David Card said it was likely AOL
was testing different software, he thought the company would likely stick with
Internet Explorer for the time being. "If they did it, they could pull it
off, though I don't see any benefit to it," Card said. "But it would
be difficult. It is a big technology investment."

He said it was unlikely a serious software company would use alternative
open-source software for its final products. "Serious software companies
don't ship open source. They may start with it but they build products on
it," Card added. "You just have to be serious about the business and I
don't think they are serious (about Netscape)."