RockMelt, new social browser from Netscape’s Andreessen, launches

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Marc Andreessen developed the Netscape browser that ushered millions of people onto the Internet for the first time.

Now the top Silicon Valley venture capitalist is backing an ambitious new Internet browser called RockMelt, which incorporates popular social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter so users can take their friends with them as they wander the Web.

The new browser is available to the public starting Monday.

RockMelt also keeps tabs on users’ favorite websites, alerting them when new content pops up, and makes it easier to flip through search results. Users can log in to the browser from anywhere so they can always have the same experience.

Andreessen said that RockMelt would unleash a new wave of innovation, intensifying competition in the already heated browser market.

‘When we were working on the browser in 1993, had we known there would be services like Facebook and Twitter, we would have built them into the browser. We built everything we know about into the browser at the time,’ Andreessen said. ‘The social component is really important. We are rethinking from the ground up what it means to have your friends with you all the time.’

Are the famous alumni striking back in the browser market? Check out our report on RockMelt here.

-- Jessica Guynn