14 DAY TRIAL // Just five years ago there was only one real option when it came to web browsers. Everyone got Internet Explorer as part of the Windows operating system and that was that. This isn't the case today as the browser market is more active than ever with five major browsers fighting for position. But does the renewed competition mean that it's a good time to launch a new browser? Netscape founder Marc Andreessen seems to think so as he is now backing an upcoming browser dedicated or related in some respects to the popular social network Facebook.
There aren't any official comments but the Silicon Valley entrepreneur is apparently backing a startup called RockMelt that is working on a new browser. The startup is staffed with some of his past associates led by Robert John Churchill who was the principle engineer for Netscape Navigator. Other engineers from Opsware, a company that Andreessen cofounded and later sold to HP for $1.65 billion, and from HP make up the bulk of the development team, claims Read Write Web. The project may be also receiving some help from Facebook itself with Firefox creator Blake Ross, now working for the social network, also involved.
There are no clear statements but the new browser will incorporate some Facebook features or may even be dedicated to the social network entirely. The RockMelt website has a logo and a box to sign up for updates but at one point it also had a privacy policy that confirmed that the browser would be related to Facebook somehow. The policy has been taken down since. To further support the Facebook integration Andreessen has a seat on the social network’s very small board of directors.
Most of it is speculation at the moment but a browser with a greater Facebook integration could find a market for itself as the social network is already the largest in the world by a fair margin and shows no signs of slowing down. The browser market may be a lot more populated now, with Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari to a degree and, yes, even Opera, all with a solid offering, but it's also a lot healthier than it was a decade ago when Netscape got squashed by Internet Explorer.