MozillaZine

Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

Thursday September 16th, 1999

The Plug-in API spec is now online, so if you are interested in creating a new plugin within the new spec, or upgrading an old plugin to take advantage of the new APIs, be sure to check it out. Also important to note is that upgrading does not come at the expense of backwards compatibility.

There's also a curious reference to "Netscape Navigator 2000". Please, say it ain't so!

Thanks to Willy Wonka for the news.

#1 SOunds Like It's Netscape Navigator 2000 to me

by bradyb

Thursday September 16th, 1999 9:49 AM

They said. The Mozilla Browser which is the Open one. Netscape Navigator 2000 being still open but using the corporate name. And Neoplanet which will be using some parts of Mozilla. Interesting

#2 NN2000

by zaw

Thursday September 16th, 1999 10:24 AM

Please don't! I'm sick of hearing XX Software2000 or xx2k or y2k or eSOMETHING or iSOMETHING.

#3 NN2000

by Anon

Thursday September 16th, 1999 11:21 AM

If you read a few paragraphs down it refers to Netscape 5.x. Guess the marketing boyz haven't figured it out yet either.

#4 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by Anon

Thursday September 16th, 1999 12:26 PM

Mhhh, is this the new XPCOM-plugin-API, or is this the traditional plugin-APi ??

#5 Looks like they couldn't decide

by beastie

Thursday September 16th, 1999 12:37 PM

Strange. It's almost like they couldn't decide to call it NN5 or NN2000. At http://people.netscape.com/ornduff/nav5plug.htm, it's referred to as NN2000. But at the newer (Sept 16 as opposed to Sept 14) document at http://people.netscape.com/ornduff/plugin.htm, the one referenced in the MZ post, it's referred to as NN5.

#6 Looks like they couldn't decide

by beastie

Thursday September 16th, 1999 12:42 PM

Looks like Talkback has a bug if you follow-up a link immediately with a comma. Those links should have been:

http://people.netscape.com/ornduff/nav5plug.htm

and

http://people.netscape.com/ornduff/plugin.htm

#7 oh, leave them alone

by Kovu

Thursday September 16th, 1999 1:41 PM

even if they do, it just shows that M$ does NOT own the rights to years. I'd see it as a spit in the eye, and not a real problem, especially given that Navigator New is SOOOOO different from Navigator Old. It's a bigger leap than from 4.61 to 5.0, I think.

#8 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by Anon

Thursday September 16th, 1999 3:54 PM

Why call it 'Navigator' anyway? Why not just Browser 5.0?

#12 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by Anon

Thursday September 16th, 1999 10:52 PM

because that would sound to cheap

#18 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by Anon

Sunday September 19th, 1999 6:13 AM

Netscape... Bubble 5.0 Oasis 5.0 Gum 5.0 Web 5.0 Bud 5.0 Jim

#9 x

by Anon

Thursday September 16th, 1999 5:52 PM

They should just call it "it"

It is released!

Download It Now!

It now!

Choose It!

#13 which one is it mmh

by Anon

Thursday September 16th, 1999 11:02 PM

if they called it "it" people would not know which one it is some people would not no even if they put it on netscape's site

#10 Browser name

by skortze

Thursday September 16th, 1999 8:15 PM

The problem with years instead of a version number is that it does not give the user any idea of how much the product has been changed or improved. Is it a major or minor upgrade or just a maintenance release?

As far as the Navigator or Communicator name, there are a lot of people who do not know one from the other. To a large number of people it is just Netscape. To test this, ask a casual user what browser they are using. If they say "Netscape," ask them if it is Navigator or Communicator and prepare to get a blank stare.

#11 Browser what?

by gerbilpower

Thursday September 16th, 1999 8:25 PM

Yeah, I've seen cases where people don't even know what a browser is. They either know it as Netscape or Internet Explorer and aren't away that both are called browsers.

#20 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by Tekhir

Sunday September 19th, 1999 8:45 PM

Part of it is due to good brand names. Netscape sounds cool, so cool people forget the rest of it or don't bother with the rest. Take the name Xerox, a lot of people say they're going to xerox something instead of copy.

#22 Browser name

by Anon

Sunday September 19th, 1999 11:26 PM

Version numbers really don't give much information either, more often than not, since it's usually the sales and marketing folks who decide such things. I wouldn't have a problem with having year-based versions, and appending an 'a', 'b', 'c', etc for minor releases.

#14 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by briank

Friday September 17th, 1999 4:24 AM

Who's Willy Wonka (the person responsible for the news)? And don't talk to me about chocolate factories!

BK

#17 Mozilla Plug-in API Now Online

by Anon

Saturday September 18th, 1999 11:10 AM

Me, just your friendly news group reader/poster :)

#15 Netscape 2000 sounds better than 5

by Anon

Friday September 17th, 1999 6:56 PM

I think that Netscape 2000 or Millenium is a good name for Mozilla. Netscape should have named 4.5 as 5.0, now that Netscape has added so many features yet everyone still think that IE is a generation ahead...

Netscape 2000 would sound like Netscape has leapfroged IE5, which is actually true. Plus, Microsoft is likely to name the next IE as IE 2000. So it'd be good for Netscape to "get there" ahead of Microsoft.

by gordoncy@yahoo.com

#16 Netscape 2000 sounds better than 5

by FrodoB

Saturday September 18th, 1999 8:22 AM

Nah. Microsoft won't name the next IE IE 2000.

Why, you may ask? Simple; they'll be too busy dealing with all the fallout of Y2K bugs in W2K to get a new browser out for at least 17 years. :)

#19 Netscape 2000 sounds better than 5

by Anon

Sunday September 19th, 1999 7:26 AM

"yet everyone still think that IE is a generation ahead..."

Hello?! IE5 *IS* a generation ahead of NS4.x. Even IE4 was a generation ahead! Mozilla will be a generation ahead of IE5, but that's another matter.

#21 Netscape 2000 sounds better than 5

by Tekhir

Sunday September 19th, 1999 8:46 PM

IE also has a generation more of bugs as in ActiveX and Java. Netscape has it fair share, but IE has a lot more.

#23 Netscape 2000 sounds better than 5

by gerbilpower

Monday September 20th, 1999 11:40 AM

Plus Netscape has always been a generation ahead when it comes to consistency and availability on other platforms.