Project Code Rush - The Beginnings of Netscape / Mozilla Documentary

Code Rush is a documentary following the lives of a group of Netscape engineers in Silicon Valley. It covers Netscape's last year as an independent company, from their announcement of the Mozilla open source project until their acquisition by AOL. It particularly focuses on the last minute rush to make the Mozilla source code ready for release by the deadline of March 31 1998, and the impact on the engineers' lives and families as they attempt to save the company from ruin.
Code Rush by David Winton is licensed under a CC 3.0 US License.
clickmovement.o...
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The Film
Code Rush. The year is early 1998, at the height of dot-com era, and a small team of Netscape code writers frantically works to reconstruct the company's Internet browser. In doing so they will rewrite the rules of software development by giving away the recipe for its browser in exchange for integrating improvements created by outside unpaid developers. The fate of the entire company may well rest on their shoulders. Broadcast on PBS, the film capture the human and technological dramas that unfold in the collision between science, engineering, code, and commerce.
Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US license.
en.wikipedia.or...

[@MauriceKon]

I love how at the end he said that this whole internet thing can easily turn into television with only a few people controlling what we see. that so became true ....

[@jerrogance]

Hopefully we saw it coming in time, and that the blockchain prevents censorship.

[@KidTonyGaming]

@@jerrogance the internet became television when PayPal started KZbin

[@thorable530]

@@jerrogance still up in the air and more of a danger than ever, and even more disturbing now that mozilla is completely compromised.

[@jerrogance]

@@thorable530 Use the brave browser.

[@tommullins2869]

@@jerrogancethis aged poorly.

[@ProgrammerInProgress]

I thoroughly enjoyed this, it's great to see as a developer how software was written by teams in the 90's, it seemed pretty chaotic, with developers setting their hours of work, anyone who writes code knows it's way too tempting to keep working and working at a problem and burning out in the process. For the most part, there's a lot of structure and sanity in the industry, architecture plays a much bigger role, and the tools have improved immensely, but none of this would have happened without the folk in this video.

[@p0rq]

Yeah. I’m no agile enthusiast, but the way he talked about marathons vs sprints, how you need to keep running, rather than going in bursts, had me like hmmmmmm

[@samuel.soderberg]

I’ve watched this documentary far too many times. It captures everything about IT in the 90’s so perfectly well!

[@extrarice192]

me also..

[@jco7551]

@@TheTesting1239 You might enjoy this one -- not exactly a documentary meant for wide release but an incredible snapshot of a specific era of 90s videogame tester culture: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6e7m5qfi5Zrn8k

[@_DML_]

It is nice. I wish more had been made like it.

[@stingfan4]

"Computers aren't the thing, they're the thing that gets you to the thing"

[@alainportant6412]

you are fat

[@akandr]

Halt and Catch Fire, what a great show

[@MatthewReiser123]

Was an engineer at Netscape 1996-98. Much of that time was a blur. I can certainly relate to 35:24

[@jabasso]

Man! You made history then!

[@mr.h.4501]

Hopefully, you were one of the millionaires sitting in the neighboring cubicles the video made mentioned of and your time at Netscape was rewarding for you.

[@alainportant6412]

How did you get a verified channel with two videos of a parking lot and 33 subscribers ??

[@sheev4958]

@@alainportant6412 what are you talking about? his channel it is not verified.

[@alainportant6412]

@@sheev4958 it was but not anymore though

[@OutyBanjo]

I'll bet you Jamie was so stoked when The Matrix came out.

[@dimitri977977]

I can feel the diabetes oozing out from this video...

[@cotedazure]

Great to watch this awesome documentary almost two decades later! I almost forgot Netscape Navigator once came in a box.

[@CiroSantilli]

10:37 My mom can write an optimizing compiler! :-)

[@JustWickedSwede]

Oh Netscape.. You brought me much joy. :)

[@denormal9580]

"the source code is the secret formula for browsing the web." This is why beginners to this stuff get confused. What does that even mean? The source code of Netscape/Mozilla is C++ code, which is a programming language. This code is compiled in to programs.

[@robloxgameplayfr3841]

Good point here.

[@westjgames1]

53:40 Yes, that is happening now...

[@smoothbeak]

I really love this documentary. To me it's about a bunch of misfits who are highly intelligent and highly dysfunctional, on some mission that everyone excepts to fail, partaking in the overconsumption of junk food and coca-cola. Let's be honest, they at least had more fun than the people working at Microsoft :)

[@selehadinhabesi3855]

lots of questions how can you be intellegent and disfunctional at the same time? how are they not intellegent enough to avoid junk food(specialy cola)?

[@smoothbeak]

@@selehadinhabesi3855 Haha, yes very good questions. Highly skilled in a particular area, arguably quite stunted in others.

[@dannydetonator]

Intelligence comes in many different forms and levels, it's not a switch or eblven a scale. From academic, to physical and emotional to intuitive and spiritual. That's why IQ tests are flawed for the bigger picture.

[@hinkhall5291]

If you build software this doc is both very interesting and anxiety inducing.

[@p0rq]

So true, Hank. I build software and software accessories and this all feels very relatable.

[@MylarBalloonLove]

I used Netscape in the early 2000s... good browser R.I.P. Netscape 1994-2008

[@iconofsin1043]

Same

[@mgabrysSF]

I arrived in Silicon Valley (the first time anyway long-term) just before the bubble burst in April of 2000. Even at the tail-end it was an insane experience. Thx for posting!

[@t8z5h3]

Funny thing is Netscape never recovered but Mozilla lives on

[@Designandrew]

actually you can download pretty much any version of netscape you want. It will be available online forever.

[@HashimAziz1]

@@Designandrew He was obviously talking about Netscape, the company. Their greatest contribution to humanity wasn't Netscape Navigator or the jobs they created, it was Mozilla.

[@orozcoapaza1660]

Funny that now the only use for Microsoft Edge is to download Mozilla Firefox........what Gates said goes back to his products: "...some failed to embrace change " and " ...software industry is regulated by FREEDOM ... "

[@Patchuchan]

Watching this on Firefox it's not perfect but it's better then the alternatives and doesn't spy on you.

[@ytorrius3691]

Patchuchan Well the browsers don't spy on you, the sites you access and use do... So Chrome or Firefox, once you log into google you are equally screwed!

[@troler7147]

@@ytorrius3691 Chrome does spy on you, but it's at least safer than Edge and Yandex :)

[@karasu6182]

Vivaldi is much better

[@p0rq]

Use Brave

[@Tux.Penguin]

Glad I watched this. Tons of colorful detail in the story, a story I often wondered about but never really knew.

[@daevyd100]

This is such a sweet documentary, thanks for the upload!

[@jogirob3931]

Thumbs up if watching on memory intensive Firefox.

[@tommullins2869]

Funny how things have turned. Now the hog is chrome

[@alainportant6412]

23:24 this is steve jobs cellphone number

[@danielchamdo]

Skrillex is really immortal

[@mutedmutiny9542]

This dude is infinitely cooler than that Skrillex guy

[@timotthorbu]

I used Netscape for as long as it was supported, 2008. I miss it.

[@lloydblankfein3816]

Damn these are all the OG startups.

[@GnarMarv2]

Does anyone see a resemblance between Scott Collins and Lester of GTA V?

[@teragram8006]

software development prior to git..yikes!

[@kanrup5199]

as a person who has done a small amount of coding this video gave me a mild case of anxiety.

[@SurajDubey]

52:54 Amazon!!

[@jabasso]

The dude literally said: "Why not banks online?!" I'am speechless

[@oystein18]

Are some of the code left in Firefox?

[@Designandrew]

Yes

[@chizurumizuhara6136]

I love how mozilla turns into privacy centric browser

[@JaredConnell]

wow what a sad ending the first half is all high paced and upbeat while everything after the open source launch it makes it all seem so sad and gloomy.

[@MunzirSuliman]

thank you for Javascript :) and firefox developer edition

[@technicalmachine1671]

Did they really put Steve Jobs' phone number on screen?

[@troler7147]

where?

[@nok738]

@@troler7147 23:20

[@Locutus]

Thanks for uploading this video. I remember watching this video 20 years ago as a kid. I found it fascinating.

[@chillaxinfool6857]

50 dollars an hr at 12..Damn

[@troler7147]

and only 16

[@luicecifer]

18:52 "There was a young tenor named Springer, Got his testicles caught in a wringer, he hollered in pain, as they rolled down the drain, 'There goes my career as a singer!'"

[@cato451]

I remember the first time downloaded Netscape. It was the beginning of information liberation for me.

[@ISEORG]

Project Code Rush - The Beginnings of Netscape / Mozilla Documentary The Documentary Network

[@root-at-localhost3691]

And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror. from The Book of Mozilla, 7:15

[@oguzeroglu4413]

Well, they all lost against the Chrome in the end. I wrote this comment on my Firefox though.

[@ToadalSimplicity]

why did they stop making keyboards like this...

[@galdamez3]

After everything Microsoft did to make the Web a 2nd class platform, what an irony it is that desktop operating systems and bundled software are now relics of a bygone era. The open sourcing of Mozilla was the first domino to fall. Next came WebKit followed by Safari, Chrome, rich browsers for mobile operating systems, HTML5, CSS3, ES5, jQuery, Angular, and so on. The modern Web we live and experience today would not be the same if it weren’t for the hail Mary pass that was Mozilla.

[@Anonyminded]

Small companies innovate and big corporations consume them... in the Netscape case AOL really helped it to get through the tough period till Mozilla becomes what it is today... even I like Chrome and its my most favorite browser and only slightly below that its Mozilla which r leaving IE far, far behind.

[@Cuzjudd]

Is anyone here not overweight?

[@FijneWIET]

+Cuzjudd I'm not too heavy for my height, I'm just too small for my weight..

[@Cuzjudd]

FijneWIET loooooooooooool

[@retter2critical]

haha

[@galdamez3]

Most of the young programmers I see these days are svelte. Maybe progress is being made?

[@legerant2987]

My BMI is 21.1. So, no, not everyone here is overweight. FYI: I wrote my first LOC at the tender age of 11. It was in 1973.

[@estebansteverincon7117]

Watching this on Google Chrome. Fuck the world.

[@ViorelIanasi]

Mmm... I remember the old days. I started browsing the web using Netscape Navigator which became Communicator by adding other tools but with the launch of IE 4.0, I started using it. I liked the Microsoft solution better. I continued to use IE until the introduction of Microsoft Edge and this is my main browser for browsing the Internet. On website development I use Chrome but didn't liked Firefox. Tried to use Netscape/AOL's browser back in the 2008 but neah... it was not the same!

[@HashimAziz1]

Probably the best tech documentary I've seen to date. Packs so much into such a short running time, especially about the actual process of writing and debugging code.

[@IKhanNot]

They might not be the biggest but they're still one of the best. Mozilla Firefox is great and seamless. IE not so much.

[@jonaspantalha9206]

Those build the Road of pain we crossing today.

[@frankthespank]

Netscape, more like NUTscrape! ...am I rite guys?!

[@rajkimo]

How have I missed this? I'm about to watch this for the first time. I'm going to cry. I know I'm going to cry.

[@Somatik]

Can we get a version that is properly de-interlaced?

[@unlokia]

Copy the URL, open it with VLC and turn on the de-interlacing or de-combing filter(s) :)

[@dantescanline]

Who's the hacker kid at 18:35 ? username 'che' on box 'che'

[@Dudewhoami]

One of the craziest things about this documentary is in 19:00. They act like this guy, who is clearly extremely tech savy, is their bulk demographic. No wonder they lost to microsoft.

[@SleepyBulldogPuppy-qi1nw]

😮

[@xinox73]

Damn i miss Netscape it was the best i think :)

[@samuellourenco1050]

These guys really had it hard, despite IE being much more inferior. I loved seeing Bill Gates describing M$ as a company that didn't embrace change and didn't respect freedom (sarcasm).

[@Shad51192]

lol I'm still grinding on that netscape life

[@beickus]

love these guys - beautiful people

[@Eggs-n-Jakey]

That mom deserves an award, so well spoken.

[@driven39]

I see they love fast food in Silicon Valley.

[@CaptchaNeon]

Driven The Rockstar Kid *They didn’t have time to be Vegan snowflakes, they worked endless hours*

[@desmondbirch298]

Very interesting!!! Thanks for the upload!!! :O)

[@alphabetgpt4]

Browsers adalah bukan tutup artinya API yg license adalah Mozilla Netscape. Netscape gencar untuk marketing communications di lain pihak perbankan sudah tutup

[@kajzec]

Year after year, I come back to this documentary for ... a glimpse into the 90's Silicon Valley tech scene, inspiration, nostalgia for a time and place I haven't wasn't a part of? I don't know. But there is something about this documentary that drives me to it.

[@rkmugen]

I'm not going to pretend to know anything about who owns what now, in 2019....... but I just keep thinking to myself that Mozilla Firefox should get back the rights to the Netscape branding, and just become "Netscape" again. I mean, it'd be kind of like a sweet, sweet revenge...... Explorer/Edge caved in and, if I understand the news correctly, they are now based on Chromium. So yeah..... how do you like THEM apples, Microsoft! You know that scene in the Simpsons, where Russia is at the UN, but refers to themselves as the Soviet Union? The US representative says, something like "but we thought you broke up, years ago....!" Then the Soviet representative flicks a button on the desk which flips his nameplate from saying "Russia" to "USSR", and he says "YES....... that's what we WANTED you to think!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" Mozilla should totally do that!

[@MoatazBillehMednini]

man, how the heck does that amount of sugar, coke and sitting does not block oxygen from reaching your brain cells. I guess they would have solved things much faster if they've had a healthier routine.

[@Designandrew]

Wrong. Sugar, pizza and caffeine is what made them accomplish what they did. Gates was the same. Woz was the same.

[@zsoltoroszlany7172]

Moataz Billeh Mednini many years passed and we still debate over what is good what not. Let's face not everything is gold what doctors or professors says. Say today they say milk is bad for you and other they milk is ok, the same is with fat from pigs, natural fat. Personaly I do not car anymore what they say but I am not stupid, I figure out what my body need. I was told previously look you are fat ugly face you eat too much fat and sugar. Please, you do not know me, I cut off every peace of fat out of meat, and doesn't eat too much sugar. This is me I can't do nothing.

[@dank6617]

glucose is brain fuel, read a biology textbook. (it is junk food, yes, the rest of the nutrients are shit)

[@competitiveplay6643]

You are a fucken moron if you’re equating health with solving problems.

[@soteful9949]

53:51 the king of metaphors

[@TokyoTransit]

Сколько пафоса и иронии. Сначала весь мир в кармане. Потом от отчаяния - опенсорс. А потом полное разорение. И никакого следа от их макаронного кода а об этих суперзвездах-программистах даже и не помнит никто

[@nok738]

*ЭТО ДЕДЫ ВЕБА УВОЖАЙ ИХ*

[@john10000ish]

28:39 girl with soda

[@steadyasshegoes7795]

53:35 - That was creepy to hear. > Facebook, Google, Twitter, KZbin - AI, Geo-location & Tracking. The collecting of an individuals mass meta data & peroneal browsing trends for purpose of predicting behavioral patterns for marketing and social manipulation.

[@lodewijkabrahams1634]

Why is the windows-Explorer-browser getting into a deprecated awsome? are they nut?

[@chrislantern9272]

fuck man it turned into television I LONG FOR THE OLD INTERNET and the 90s so bad being a Linux user is the closest to feel in control at all in the age of bloated operating systems and no one even owning content just "streaming" it DRM yeah it turned into TV and really sucks

[@TonyGingrich]

@9:00 This team would have OD'ed on Agile

[@ArtOfIntenso]

I was in the all-hands the day the first 5MB Mozilla download was pulled. Big cheers from all. I did note the rather numerous boxes of chocolate donuts, the many sugar soft drinks, and the need for fresh air and exercise (at least) among the staff. Shows what can happen when "the mission" takes over lives. Vid makes no clear retropective statement of what this open sourcing achieved.

[@amaterasu48]

It's a historical stuff, but when you look at it, it's just a browser. Netscape existed as a company to provide one software. I know it was a big deal at that time, but when you think about it now, major browsers are created by big companies like Microsoft, Google and Apple. Browser is just one of many softwares that those companies provide... I liked Netscape, but it got old really really fast. That represents the software industry at that time and even today.

[@jerrogance]

53:36 Wow...I hope he's wrong, cause a few shouldn't control the narritive for many, but years later...you can see it happening with Facebook, and other platforms.

[@simonriddick]

I remember using Nutscrape back in 1995. I remember the Windows 95 commericals on tv at the time too. Never really thought I'd be using IE later on but that's what it was for a while. And now IE is dead.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

In 1982 I moved from Dallas TX to San Jose to create video games. It was a time when most people didn't know what a video game was. I drove over the hill in the east at night and suddenly saw all the lights of Silicon Valley. I was so excited. And it was so much fun. Working with such bright and driven people. I was so young I assumed that's just how the world was. That everyone was bright and driven. Got into home computers when video games crashed. I was so lucky. Stil am.

[@Mijitas]

Oh 90s...I miss you.

[@HacknMate]

I know it was the 90s and everything, but I still don't think it would function like the Masons. I mean, come on!

[@thezakalmanak]

This documentary is so funny like i swear this where they got inspiration for the office. Yet its still interesting and educational and shows how groundbreaking open source was for capitalism

[@thezakalmanak]

But seriously hilarious...the guy that commutes halfway across the country and his wife is like "omg" and then it casually drops that he made billions

[@alphabetgpt4]

Sebenarnya di ping post atau get langsung bleber. Masalahnya masih mentah full bukan tutup..

[@KidTonyGaming]

Everybody sued Microsoft for what Apple gets away with now, it's pretty funny

[@ritaraju4998]

add ons were the best, now still are but I'm sure it could be and should be better than 10 years ago, thats not really the case, some add ons now, don't even do the job like the old versions

[@BlackShogun1]

If I had a dream place to work it be at the Netscape/Firefox world. Maybe it's me but yes they wanted to make profit but it seems, they actually gave a dam about the future and the people who will be apart of that future. Maybe it just me.

[@bobbastian760]

wow surprising any of these guys are religious - would have been rare even back then I'd assume - probably because they are from hicksville originally

[@VEGANBITCHX23]

THIS OFFICE / STUDIO IS A MESS.... but i sure look good here a T ??

[@werthersoriginal]

@8:00 Back when code wasn't modular. These poor bastards. Im so grateful for these pioneers.

[@GoodWoIf]

I remember having one of Pav's watches.

[@chrisward5090]

His, how's this film licensed? Creative Commons? Can i grab a high quality version for offline viewing somewhere?

[@soteful9949]

25:50 Her: Hi.... Him: yeeeeaah That's me every morning when I enter the office.

[@sirlolninja]

22:00 The guy, today, has a big fckng watermelon instead of a head

[@alphabetgpt4]

Kumaha lamun keyboard nya jadinya keyless.. 😎😎😁🙄

[@tmeers91]

dotcon, go-go, 90s bubble!

[@melcans4865]

the real code_rush happens in 1970's with the altair and microsoft...

[@mainHERO88]

I would argue that it came right back with the explosion of the app market and social media.

[@melcans4865]

Robert Batson thanks for that info sir.. but i'm just implying that the term code rush would best suite to the era of pc and software (OS) evolution (70's - 80's) i'm not saying that this video is not a code rush, maybe you just misinterpret what im actually saying.. but yah i agree with you every moment your on a project or development either OS, APPS, WEB APPS. is a code rush. and i know that this field evolve in so many ways software or hardware bound technology, even at school when making our thesis is a code rush, and im aware also the importance of netscape ( Mozilla ) in this industry. without them i couldn't imagine what would be the face of internet at present.. The development of javascript just boosted the complexity of making a webpage. and allowing several scripting language to be added like ajax, ruby python, and many others making the whole thing so powerful that it affects every human being accessing the web. to make it short i understand the nature of creating such complex design, application, system development and soon.. coz i myself is learning on several web development languages and tools to create my own project.. and for that i appreciate your opinion and idea sir.. thanks :)

[@nessd1]

Que contradictorio ahora el peor enemigo de microsoft es Internet Explorer.

[@KhairulAnwar-mp8lo]

What determines your excellence in Software is your Aptitude.

[@soteful9949]

The goth guy is so cliche with the rebel programmer persona