The original name for
Netscape's browser, now called
Navigator. Some people claim that the term is a contraction of
Mosaic Godzilla (e.g., Mosaic killer), since
Mosaic was the number one Web browser at the time Netscape began developing its product. The term
Mozilla is still used by many Web developers and appears in server log files that identify the browsers being used.
In 1998, Netscape decided to make the source code for Navigator freely available to the public, or open source. The Netscape group responsible for releasing the code is called mozilla.org, and its Web site is www.mozilla.org.
Learn more about
Open Source in Webopedia's "Did
You Know...?" section.