Like it or not, being content to sit still no longer works...we have to
accept change or get left in the dust.

This is true. If you've been around the internet a while you'll remember the
incredible pace at which browser versions and "dot releases" were coming
out. Sometimes as quickly as one per month. This pace has slowed
significantly over the last couple of years as you've no doubt noticed.

This "catching up" that has gone on has allowed, finally, some semblance of
standards to emerge. There is still a boatload of disagreement on the
standards but ... at least there's a standard that is being followed (more
or less). And the key word is "followed". The browsers developed so rapidly
that for a long time they were ahead of the standard, guessing as to where
it might go and sometimes being very wrong (ilayers anyone?).

What this means is that users can finally settle into a browser they're
comfortable with and then ignore it for longer periods of time. When time
for upgrades do come they'll tend to be minor as opposed to a major
housecleaning.

It also means when we build a site it won't "go stale" in a few months.
Something that is accessible to the visually impaired will remain
accessible. Something that works today will work tomorrow. The development
costs are already dropping since we've left 4.7 behind, no more duplicate
sites to satisfy both user groups.

Netscape has had significant problems since 4.7, both technical and
administrative. If you've ever wondered why there is no Netscape 5 this is
why. Around the time Netscape 6 came along it had been bought by AOL ... and
you thought Microsoft was bad.

But the good news is that an open source movement was started before the
downfall and was nurtured by Netscape at arms length. They developed the
Mozilla engine, it's like Netscape 4 with all the bugs worked out. This
movement has been slow and difficult but it's kept moving forward. So the
moral of the story is, if you want something as close to Netscape 4.7, with
less bugs, and updated for the newer websites, give Mozilla a shot.