The most popular browser program for the World Wide Web service. It is published by Netscape Communications Corp. in versions for UNIX, Windows, and the Macintosh. Most users simply call it "Netscape." Netscape Navigator is a direct descendent of the original Mosaic graphical Web browser program, but with many added features. All versions provide the basic Web browser functions of displaying Web pages and navigating to locations specified in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Recent versions of the program include an e-mail interface for reading, creating, and filing electronic mail, a "newsreader" for reading and posting to Usenet newsgroups, and a plug-in architecture for adding routines for multimedia and other enhanced capabilities.
Netscape Corp.'s officials often say the company gives away the program for individual use. The firm allows anyone to download and use a continuing series of beta versions, allows people associated with educational and non-profit organizations to use the release versions for free, and charges license fees for everyone else. In fact, reports the firm, fees from servers and browser users on internal corporate "intranets" represent the company's main revenue stream.
