Mozilla 1.0, the open-source technology behind the latest Netscape browser, is garnering favor for helping to block irksome pop-up advertisements. But don't expect to see that feature in the coming full release of Netscape 7.0.
Mozilla 1.0, launched in early June as the first public version of the Netscape-inspired open-source browser, lets Web surfers easily zap unsolicited windows known as pop-up ads, which are widely used by mainstream sites including America Online and its subsidiary Netscape Communications. Though heralded by Mozilla users, a group that includes many Web developers, the tool didn't make the cut for the preview version of Netscape 7.0 and won't appear in its upcoming launch, according to the company.
That arrangement, analysts say, is blatant self-protection
Netscape is a commercial offering--it's not in its interest to offer a browser that could kill pop-up ads," said Michael Gartenberg, research director with Jupiter Research. "That's the equivalent of one of the broadcast networks coming out with a digital video recorder that can skip commercials."
Still, the feature's popularity highlights a growing schism on the Net over the intrusive ads. As the online advertising market deflated in recent years, Web operators sold more imposing ad formats, including pop-ups, to convince hesitant marketers that the Web could prove effective. But as the commercials blanketed the Web, some Net visitors ran for cover in anti-ad software or by simply avoiding sites that promoted advertisers too boldly.
News source: CNet News.com
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