Netscape founder Marc Andreesen is backing a new browser dedicated to browsing Facebook, called RockMelt, according to rumors we've heard from reputable sources. A semi-independent desktop client for Facebook? Doesn't seem far fetched at all.
The software isn't publicly available or being discussed yet, but we've gotten our hands on an early build and had a look at the front door after download. Robert John Churchill, who was the principal engineer for Netscape Navigator, is the principle engineer for RockMelt as well.
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The project is surrounded by a team of engineers from Andreeson's last giant sale, infrastructure company Opsware, and from HP, which bought Opsware for $1.6 billion in 2007. Andreesen and Opsware co-founder Ben Horowitz launched a new venture fund for web startups last month. Andreesen has not personally invested in Facebook but is the fourth member of the Facebook Board of Directors, along with two of the company's earliest investors and founder Mark Zuckerberg.
We haven't confirmed Andreesen's involvement in RockMelt, but we hear