Former Netscape, Go Corp. Executive Dies At Age 50

Homer died Feb. 1 in Atherton, Calif., at the age of 50 of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare neuro-degenerative disorder, according to a New York Times story.

Homer was a vice president at Netscape in the mid-1990s just when the Internet was beginning its transition from a system used by a small number of scientists to the World Wide Web, a cornerstone of today's economy and cultural scene. Netscape was critical in commercializing the Web browser that made the Web accessible to everyday users.

Homer wrote Netscape's business plan and helped raise the company's final round of financing before it went public in 1995, the New York Times article said, quoting Marc Andreessen, Netscape's co-founder and developer of Mosaic, the first widely used Web browser. Andreessen also said Homer ran Netscape's marketing when the company came under competitive attack from Microsoft in what became known as "The Browser War" of the late 1990s.

Homer left Netscape in 2000 after it was acquired by America Online and went on to mentor and finance a number of companies started by ex-Netscape entrepreneurs that influenced the Internet's evolution, the Times article said. He also played roles in the development of Google, TiVo and Tellme Networks, the latter a voice communications company that Microsoft acquired in 2007.

Early in his career Homer worked at Apple Computer in the mid-1980s as a technology adviser to CEO John Sculley. Prior to joining Netscape, Homer was marketing vice president and CEO at Go Corp., a developer of applications for mobile devices that was just too far ahead of its time and ultimately failed. He also sat on the board of Palm, which developed the Palm Pilot personal digital assistant.

Homer leaves behind his wife of 10 years, Kristina, and three children, the Times article said.