The Web has changed a lot since Marc Andreessen revolutionized the Internet with the introduction of his Netscape browser in the mid-1990s. That’s why he’s betting people are ready to try a different Web-surfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt.
The browser, available for the first time Monday, is built on the premise that most online activity today revolves around socializing on Facebook, searching on Google, tweeting on Twitter and monitoring a handful of favorite websites. It tries to minimize the need to roam from one website to the next by corralling all vital information and favorite services in panes and drop-down windows.
“This is a chance for us to build a browser all over again,” Andreessen said. “These are all things we would have done (at Netscape) if we had known how people were going to use the Web.”
Andreessen didn’t develop the RockMelt browser the way he did Netscape, whose early popularity waned as Microsoft Corp. bundled its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.
RockMelt is the handiwork of Tim Howes and Eric Vishria, who formerly worked with Andreessen. But Andreessen’s seal of approval has been stamped on the startup.
The biggest chunk of RockMelt’s $10 million in funding has come from the venture capital firm that Andreessen runs with his partner, Ben Horowitz.
Andreessen also sits on RockMelt’s board of directors, and his advice has been called upon frequently.
“When you are trying to reinvent the Web browser, who would you rather run your ideas by besides Marc?” said Howes, RockMelt’s chief technology officer (Vishria is CEO).
Facebook’s imprint also is all over RockMelt, although the two companies’ only business connection so far is Andreessen. He also serves on Facebook’s board of directors.
RockMelt only works if you have a Facebook account. That restriction still gives RockMelt plenty of room to grow, given Facebook has more than 500 million users.
After Facebook users log on RockMelt with their Facebook account information, the person’s Facebook profile picture is planted in the browser’s left hand corner and a list of favorite friends can be displayed in the browser’s left hand pane. There’s also a built-in tool for posting updates in a pop-up box.
The features extend beyond Facebook and Twitter. RockMelt includes a tool that shows results from Google searches in a drop-down box that can be scrolled through to peruse the recommended websites in the main part of the browser. The browser’s right-hand pane is reserved for listing favorite websites, with automatic notifications whenever they get fresh information on them.
RockMelt stores each user’s preferences on a remote server, making them available on any computer that has the browser installed on its hard drive.
Although its backers hail the browser as a breakthrough, RockMelt is borrowing some technology and ideas from other sources. Its foundation is built on Chromium, the same open-source coding that spawned Google Inc.’s Chrome browser two years ago. Another browser called Flock has been trying to tap into the online social scene for the past five years.
No browser has come close to surpassing Internet Explorer, despite various challenges through the years. Internet Explorer still holds a roughly 60 percent market share, according to the research firm Net Applications. The Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox, which drew upon Netscape, ranks a distant second at 23 percent followed by Chrome at about 9 percent.
RockMelt is starting off with a modest goal: it hopes to attract 1 million users as it extends invitations to people interested in trying the browser. Requests can be made through http://www.rockmelt.com.
Andreessen is convinced Internet Explorer’s lead remains vulnerable, even after more than a decade of domination and repeated upgrades.
“I don’t believe in mature markets,” he said. “I think markets are only mature when there is a lack of innovative products.”
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More