Keith, in case you haven't been following things, Netscape originally did just fine making money on browsers, however they went about it. It wasn't their "shareware" model that killed their browser revenue stream. Seems to have had something to do with Paul Maritz and Co., that "air supply" thing, by most estimations. Or maybe you have a better "common sense" explanation.
Don't I always? <g>
This one's called "chicken and egg". The browser is effectively free to anyone who can download it, but, to download it you need a browser. (There's ftp tools, too, but basically you need something to get your foot in the door.) Joe Consumer, wanting to become Joe Netsurfer, but having to start from basically nothing, bites the bullet and purchases Navigator 2.0.
Time passes, and eventually the word filters through. Netscape 3.0! Upgrade now! Joe follows the links and is led smoothly to the download site, where, two hours later (this was the era of 14.4 modems IIRC), Joe has his copy of Navigator 3.0. Of course, there's something buried deep in the license about it being a trial period, but Joe never reads the fine print anyway, and goes on, blissfully unaware that Netscape actually wanted some money for that upgrade.
End result, income from upgrades is negligible, income plummets, as does Netscape stock. Any questions, Doug? |
