"Code Rush", a PBS documentary about the fall of Netscape
February 2, 2011 3:06 PM   Subscribe

Code Rush Code Rush: the fall of Netscape.

(previously, tangentially). This is a PBS documentary that is now published under the Creative Commons license. There are also 100 hours worth of transcribed audio footage available. A story about programmers battling against insurmountable odds, and an unlikely seed of a future renaissance of the web after years of stagnation.
posted by asymptotic (17 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
Ah, Netscape. I still miss their old throbber. If your page wasn't loading properly - and in 1995 this happened a lot - you could at least sit back and watch the stars fall from the sky.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:25 PM on February 2, 2011 [3 favorites]


I had forgotten about that throbber. Thanks for the reminder.
posted by zzazazz at 3:37 PM on February 2, 2011




The Card Cheat: "Ah, Netscape. I still miss their old throbber. If your page wasn't loading properly - and in 1995 this happened a lot - you could at least sit back and watch the stars fall from the sky."

Throbbing Previously
posted by wcfields at 3:59 PM on February 2, 2011


DIE, NETSCAPE DIE! AND STAY DEAD!

/digs up NN4, plunges stake through it's heart just to be sure, goes off looking for IE6 with an axe.
posted by Artw at 4:10 PM on February 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Things You Should Never Do, Pt. 1

No, they really needed to throw that code away. Then burn it. Then jump into the pit after it and have their bodies disolved with quicklime.

Really, it is decades later, and i still have very strong feelings about this.
posted by Artw at 4:14 PM on February 2, 2011


Seeing the stars fall on a slow page always made me think of The Nine Billion Names of God.
posted by benzenedream at 4:49 PM on February 2, 2011 [3 favorites]


Wow, I haven't looked at jwz.org in 10 years, at least. In 1996 I was working for a Netscape channel partner, his updates were required reading. We all wanted to grow up and be like Netscape. Little did we know...
posted by COD at 4:57 PM on February 2, 2011


Artw: No, they really needed to throw that code away. Then burn it. Then jump into the pit after it and have their bodies disolved with quicklime.

I could have sworn you said quicktime. I can't help but think somehow that would have been more apt. I often felt like my body was dissolving while trying to disable the stupid tray icon.
posted by inedible at 6:53 PM on February 2, 2011


that was a thoroughly enjoyable film.
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 7:07 PM on February 2, 2011


No, they really needed to throw that code away. Then burn it. Then jump into the pit after it and have their bodies disolved with quicklime.

I never saw the code, but can agree. Every release in the 4 series crashed in different random ways. I was an html coder for a company that was trying to be Netscape compatible so I frequently had to nail down what might cause a crash. Some bugs could crash Netscape with a webpage consisting of under ten characters.
posted by justkevin at 7:07 PM on February 2, 2011


Kind of a shame jwz ended up as a nightclub owner.
posted by smackfu at 7:38 PM on February 2, 2011


Thanks for posting this I always wanted to so is.

Fun Fact: JWZ wrote XDaliClock
posted by Ad hominem at 8:19 PM on February 2, 2011


Thanks for posting this I always wanted to so is.

Damn autocorrect, always wanted to see it.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:21 PM on February 2, 2011


This was great, thanks so much for posting. It's funny how this all seems like ancient history. Well I suppose it was ten years ago.
posted by carter at 8:37 PM on February 2, 2011


Every release in the 4 series

Oh god, so very many of them, each with their own weird quirks...
posted by Artw at 11:13 PM on February 2, 2011


Kind of a shame jwz ended up as a nightclub owner.

To be fair, it's a really cool club, and his blog about getting it up and running was fascinating.
posted by flaterik at 1:45 AM on February 3, 2011


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