John Robb lists the reasons:
- At one point in early '96, everyone used its product. It changed the world by making the browser and the Web something everyone could use.
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It set the price of the browser at $0, a key factor in growing the Web.
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It pushed the evolution of the browser via standards and innovations for several years until it reached a very usable form.
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It was a success financially for its investors, founders, and early employees.
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It went away when it accomplished the above tasks.
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The talent trained at Netscape went into hundreds of other companies.