http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/980122/ca_netscap_3.html
`The time is right for us to take the bold action of making our client free --
and we are going even further by committing to post the source
code for free for Communicator 5.0,'' said Jim Barksdale, Netscape's president
and chief executive officer. ``By giving away the source
code for future versions, we can ignite the creative energies of the entire
Net community and fuel unprecedented levels of innovation in the
browser market. Our customers can benefit from world-class technology
advancements; the development community gains access to a
whole new market opportunity; and Netscape's core businesses benefit from the
proliferation of the market-leading client software.''
The company will handle free source distribution with a license that allows
source code
modification and redistribution and provides for free availability of source
code versions, building on the heritage of the GNU Public License
(GPL), familiar to developers on the Net. Netscape intends to create a special
Web site service where all interested parties can download
the source code, post their enhancements, take part in newsgroup discussions,
and obtain and share Communicator related information with
others in the Internet community.