Netscape's Revolutionary Gecko Browser Technologies Adopted By IBM, Intel, Liberate, NetObjects, Nokia, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems

Cross-Platform, Cross-Device Netscape Gecko Extends Web Convenience to Wide Range of Devices

Breakthrough Next-Generation Browser Netscape 6 - Powered by Open Source Gecko Browser Engine - To Be Released for Beta Testing in Next 25 Days

Mountain View, Calif. (March 20, 2000) -- Netscape Communications, a subsidiary of America Online (NYSE: AOL), today announced that Netscape Gecko - its revolutionary smaller, faster, and more powerful browser engine technology - will be used by technology industry leaders IBM, Intel, Liberate, NetObjects, Nokia, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems. These companies will use the cross-platform Netscape Gecko browser engine to extend the convenience and power of the Web from the traditional desktop computer to a wide range of Internet devices such as set-top boxes and browsing appliances. Designed to power Internet devices across many platforms and devices, Gecko is a key component of the "AOL Anywhere" strategy.

Netscape Gecko is revolutionary because it gives web developers maximum power to create more powerful web content and web applications. It is open source, allowing individual developers to tailor it to their own use, and is designed to operate across multiple platforms, so that it can be deployed on the widest possible range of devices. In addition, Gecko is considerably smaller than the engines of traditional browsers. Netscape Gecko is the first software product from Netscape based on contributions from mozilla.org, the organization chartered with managing Netscape's open source initiative on behalf of thousands of Internet developers and Netscape.

In another major announcement, Netscape also said that Netscape 6, its new Gecko-driven Internet browser would be available to the public within the next 25 days. Netscape also announced the availability of XUL (pronounced "zool"), the XML based User interface Language, an innovative new XML application that makes it easier than ever to develop a cross-platform user interface.

Today's announcements are the latest in a series of positive milestones for Netscape. The Netscape Netcenter service recently surpassed 27.5 million registered users. Daily page views have recently topped 65 million per day -- a 45 % increase since last year -- and search page views average 4 million per day -- an increase of 1177% since last year. Netcenter is currently ranked as the fourth most-visited site by at-work Internet users according to Media Metrix, ahead of such competitors as Go.com, Lycos and Excite. Additionally, Netscape's Open Directory Project recently became the largest search directory in Cyberspace.

Barry Schuler, President of AOL Interactive Services, said: "Netscape is once again starting an Internet revolution. As these partnerships demonstrate, Gecko is the browser engine of choice for creating the kind of convenient devices that will shape the future of the Web. Gecko is at the heart both of our AOL Anywhere strategy, giving consumers the power to access all of the online convenience they desire from wherever they happen to be, and of the exciting new Netscape 6 that will redefine the browsing experience."

Jim Martin, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Netscape Netcenter, said: "Everyone from Intel to Nokia is using Gecko because they can tailor it to the needs of their own platforms, and rely on its leading Web functionality for key technologies such as XML. The groundswell of support from this diverse catalog of industry leaders is a sign of what Gecko's remarkable power will bring."

Wide Range of Partnerships Demonstrates Gecko's Flexibility

Industry leaders are taking advantage of Gecko's speed and flexibility to power a wide range of hardware and software products. Liberate, Intel, Nokia, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems and NetObjects are all using Gecko as the Internet browsing engine in software applications or hardware products, turbocharging the growth of companion devices.

Martin Frid-Nielsen, Vice President of Engineering at NetObjects, said: "Mozilla and Gecko provide NetObjects with the performance and flexibility we need to develop products that enable our customers to effectively integrate their enterprise applications and information infrastructure into a single Web interface. We support mozilla and Gecko because we have found its open, modular, standards-based approach gives us the browsing engine we need to effectively integrate design with development."

Mitchell Kertzman, President and CEO of Liberate Technologies, said: "Netscape Gecko fits well as a key component of our software, helping us create a better interactive TV experience and resulting in greater success for AOL TV and other partners using the Liberate platform. By supporting open standards and working closely with leaders like Netscape and AOL, Liberate can build on technology advances like Gecko to deliver TV and interactivity at its best."

To fulfill the vision of enabling the Internet on the television, Nokia and Intel are jointly developing a standards-based Internet-enhanced television solution that will allow broadcasters to provide consumers with access to new, Internet-enhanced broadcast services, as well as to an extensive range of services already available on the Internet. Based on open source technologies such as Netscape Gecko and Linux, these products can evolve at the speed of the Internet and allow for greater innovation and flexibility.

IBM will be contributing to the mozilla community and Gecko in specific areas that concern its enterprise and e-business global customers. These areas will include internationalization support, accessibility, enterprise support and other areas to meet the needs of its customers. Netscape Gecko will also be used across the AOL family of brands. AOL is building Gecko support into future instant messaging clients. AOLTV, which will run on the Liberate platform, will include Gecko to offer users a Web experience similar to that found on a PC with the added multimedia richness of the TV. CompuServe, AOL@School, Spinner, Winamp and ICQ will also make use of Gecko technology.

Next Generation Browser - Netscape 6 - Powered by Netscape Gecko

Netscape 6, the Company's next generation browser and email software, is built on the Gecko engine, resulting in a browser that enables a new generation of powerful Web applications. The new browser - scheduled for Beta release within the next 25 days - will take advantage of Gecko's unprecedented power and flexibility to feature:

• Small Size and Speed: Netscape is reversing the trend of software bloat by developing a browser that is small in size and excels in performance. Customers benefit from a small download and a fast browser, while third-party developers benefit from a compact browser engine that can be easily embedded in myriad network-ready devices.
• Services on the Net: The most interesting applications being developed today are free, web-based services. The goal is to harness the web for the benefit of users, and Netscape 6 will expose those services through the browser. The best recent example is Smart Browsing, which continues to improve on one simple goal: helping users to find the information they want quickly.
• Same-Time Messaging: Instant messaging with buddy lists is emerging as the next killer application on the Web. Instant messaging is popular and powerful because it enables people to communicate quickly from any distance, and notifies them when friends, family, and colleagues are online. In many cases, instant messaging is becoming a low-cost alternative to the telephone. It also brings same-time community to the Web by enabling people with common interests to participate in their own chat sessions.
• Standards Compliance: Users insist on a full-functionality web browsing experience. Because of its full support for existing browser technologies and industry-leading support for the latest web standards, Netscape 6 will give users access to all the power of the Web today and will unleash the potential of web standards to build the web applications of tomorrow.

Gecko Now Includes XUL, for More Powerful Web Applications

Gecko also provides industry-leading XML support and supports XUL for rich, powerful Web applications. Netscape leads the industry in XML browser support by providing the most standards-compliant XML implementation across a variety of desktop and device platforms. Gecko now also supports XUL, an innovative open source XML technology that enables Netscape and other developers to provide a powerful and easily customizable application interface across multiple desktop platforms and devices.

XUL, the XML-based User Interface Language, uses XML to describe the features, objects, and layout of a traditional desktop application user interface. XUL lays out the user interface elements across all platforms by using these common web standards: HTML, XML, CSS, the W3C DOM, and JavaScript.

Gecko's industry-leading implementation of Web standards provides, for the first time, enough power to build an entire software application user interface. Using these web standards alone, developers can recreate within a web application the entire user interface of a traditional desktop application, including pull-down menus, pop-up menus, toolbars, icons and scroll bars. XUL makes this even easier by using the standards to provide a pre-built implementation of each UI object and a compact markup for laying out the interface.

About Gecko

Gecko is a small, speedy, standards-compliant, open source embeddable browser engine, which is being developed in the open via mozilla.org by Netscape and other developers. Because of its cross-platform, cross device design, Gecko is ideally suited for desktop computers as well as a new class of devices that demand a rich, full featured Web experience, such as TV set top boxes, home Internet appliances, and web kiosks. This browsing technology of the future will form the foundation of Netscape's next generation browser, a beta of which will be delivered within 25 days.

More information about Netscape Gecko and its innovative technologies, such as XML and XUL can be found at: http://home.netscape.com/browsers/gecko/whitepaper.pdf.

About Netscape

Netscape is a leading provider of software and services for businesses that want to transform the way they create and keep customers in the emerging Net Economy. A division of America Online, Inc., Netscape is based in Mountain View, California. Additional information on Netscape is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com by sending email to info@netscape.com, or by calling corporate sales at 650-937-2555.

Netscape, Netscape Navigator and the Communicator logos are registered trademarks of Netscape in the United States and other countries. Other Netscape logos, product names, and service names are also trademarks of Netscape Communications, which may be registered in other countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.