America Online is planning to release its own stand-alone Web browser based on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer technology, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.
AOL Browser, as it’s called, will be available as a separate download for Web users. The software will be based on a stripped-down version of IE and will be branded with AOL’s logos, the sources said. Up until now, the Time Warner division has only offered a browser that’s tied to its popular Internet service. That browser also uses IE technology. Because it merged with Netscape Communications in 1999, AOL already has its own stand-alone browser. But unlike the AOL Browser, the Netscape browser is based on technology from Mozilla, an open-source browser whose development used to be funded by AOL. AOL’s Netscape unit, however, has largely kept a low profile, and its once-dominant browser has just a whisper of market share compared with IE.
OMG what a terrible idea. -KF
Source: c|net
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