Netscape Mail & Newsgroups
Encyclopedia
Netscape Mail and Newsgroups, commonly known as just Netscape Mail, was an email
and news
client produced by Netscape Communications Corporation as part of the Netscape
series of suites
between versions 4.5 to 7.2. It was previously two separate programs known as Netscape Messenger and Netscape Collabra between Netscape Communicator
4 and 4.5.
, POP3
and SMTP
, a built-in Bayesian spam filter, support for multiple accounts, etc.
Initially its development was overseen in-house, but following AOL
's purchase of Netscape in 1998, its codebase development was handed over to the Mozilla Foundation
, originally initiated by Netscape, and therefore became based upon the Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups
component of the open-source Mozilla Application Suite
. Mozilla ceased development of the suite between 2004 and 2006 in favour of stand-alone applications, and as a consequence Netscape's series of suites were also discontinued. In 2005, Netscape released Netscape Browser 8
, based upon Mozilla Firefox
, which did not include an email client, therefore the latest version inclusive of a mail client, version 7.2, became unsupported.
The development of Mozilla Mail and Newsgroups has now been continued as SeaMonkey Mail and Newsgroups
.
, Netscape confirmed that it would once again develop an e-mail client, now named Netscape Messenger 9
. The new release was to be based upon Mozilla Mail's successor, Mozilla Thunderbird
.
Additionally, after an official poll
posted on Netscape's community support board in late 2006, speculation arose of the Netscape 7 series of suites (including the Mail client) being fully supported and updated by Netscape's in-house development team once more, including major bug fixes and security issues..
However, development of Netscape Messenger (and any speculation of an update of Netscape 7) was ended when AOL announced they would end development and support of Netscape Navigator and Netscape Messenger. Support ended on March 1, 2008.
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and news
News client
A newsreader is an application program that reads articles on Usenet . Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server, via the Network News Transfer Protocol , to download articles and post new articles...
client produced by Netscape Communications Corporation as part of the Netscape
Netscape (web browser)
Netscape 7 was a series of proprietary cross-platform Internet suites created by Netscape Communications Corporation and then in-house by AOL to continue the Netscape series after Netscape 6. There were three main editions released from the Netscape 7 series; being Netscape 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2...
series of suites
Internet suite
An Internet suite is an Internet-related software suite. Internet suites usually include a web browser, e-mail client , download manager, HTML editor, and an IRC client....
between versions 4.5 to 7.2. It was previously two separate programs known as Netscape Messenger and Netscape Collabra between Netscape Communicator
Netscape Communicator
Netscape Communicator was an Internet suite produced by Netscape Communications Corporation. Initially released in June 1997, Netscape Communicator 4.0 was the successor to Netscape Navigator 3.x and included more groupware features intended to appeal to enterprises.- Editions :Netscape...
4 and 4.5.
Features
Netscape Mail & Newsgroups features support for relevant protocols such as IMAPInternet Message Access Protocol
Internet message access protocol is one of the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval, the other being the Post Office Protocol...
, POP3
Post Office Protocol
In computing, the Post Office Protocol is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection. POP and IMAP are the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval. Virtually all modern...
and SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is an Internet standard for electronic mail transmission across Internet Protocol networks. SMTP was first defined by RFC 821 , and last updated by RFC 5321 which includes the extended SMTP additions, and is the protocol in widespread use today...
, a built-in Bayesian spam filter, support for multiple accounts, etc.
Initially its development was overseen in-house, but following AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's purchase of Netscape in 1998, its codebase development was handed over to the Mozilla Foundation
Mozilla Foundation
The Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization that exists to support and provide leadership for the open source Mozilla project. The organization sets the policies that govern development, operates key infrastructure and controls trademarks and other intellectual property...
, originally initiated by Netscape, and therefore became based upon the Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups
Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups
Mozilla Mail & Newsgroups is an e-mail and news client that is part of the Mozilla Application Suite....
component of the open-source Mozilla Application Suite
Mozilla Application Suite
The Mozilla Application Suite is a cross-platform integrated Internet suite. Its development was initiated by Netscape Communications Corporation, before their acquisition by AOL. It is based on the source code of Netscape Communicator...
. Mozilla ceased development of the suite between 2004 and 2006 in favour of stand-alone applications, and as a consequence Netscape's series of suites were also discontinued. In 2005, Netscape released Netscape Browser 8
Netscape Browser
Netscape Browser is the name of a proprietary Windows web browser published by AOL, but developed by Mercurial Communications. It is the eighth major release in name of the Netscape series of browsers, originally produced by the defunct Netscape Communications Corporation.While Netscape Browser's...
, based upon Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
, which did not include an email client, therefore the latest version inclusive of a mail client, version 7.2, became unsupported.
The development of Mozilla Mail and Newsgroups has now been continued as SeaMonkey Mail and Newsgroups
SeaMonkey
SeaMonkey is a free and open source cross-platform Internet suite. It is the continuation of the former Mozilla Application Suite, based on the same source code...
.
Re-generation
However in 2007 after the release of stand-alone browser Netscape Navigator 9Netscape Navigator 9
Netscape Navigator 9 is a web browser produced by the Netscape Communications division of parent AOL, first announced on January 23, 2007. After AOL outsourced the development of Netscape Browser 8 to Mercurial Communications in 2004, Netscape Navigator 9 marked the first Netscape browser to be...
, Netscape confirmed that it would once again develop an e-mail client, now named Netscape Messenger 9
Netscape Messenger 9
Netscape Messenger is a standalone, multiplatform e-mail and news client that was developed by Netscape. Announced on June 11, 2007 as Netscape Mercury, the program was intended to accompany the web browser Netscape Navigator 9, and was based on Mozilla's Thunderbird.The original name Mercury was...
. The new release was to be based upon Mozilla Mail's successor, Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
.
Additionally, after an official poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
posted on Netscape's community support board in late 2006, speculation arose of the Netscape 7 series of suites (including the Mail client) being fully supported and updated by Netscape's in-house development team once more, including major bug fixes and security issues..
However, development of Netscape Messenger (and any speculation of an update of Netscape 7) was ended when AOL announced they would end development and support of Netscape Navigator and Netscape Messenger. Support ended on March 1, 2008.
See also
- Netscape Messenger 9Netscape Messenger 9Netscape Messenger is a standalone, multiplatform e-mail and news client that was developed by Netscape. Announced on June 11, 2007 as Netscape Mercury, the program was intended to accompany the web browser Netscape Navigator 9, and was based on Mozilla's Thunderbird.The original name Mercury was...
- Mozilla Mail & NewsgroupsMozilla Mail & NewsgroupsMozilla Mail & Newsgroups is an e-mail and news client that is part of the Mozilla Application Suite....
- Netscape 7
- Netscape (web browser)Netscape (web browser)Netscape 7 was a series of proprietary cross-platform Internet suites created by Netscape Communications Corporation and then in-house by AOL to continue the Netscape series after Netscape 6. There were three main editions released from the Netscape 7 series; being Netscape 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2...
- SeaMonkeySeaMonkeySeaMonkey is a free and open source cross-platform Internet suite. It is the continuation of the former Mozilla Application Suite, based on the same source code...