I use Google as my search engine (default) for all my travel searches (see this is travel related). I have both netscape 4.? and 6.?...google was always set up as my default. Now google is not only NOT my default, it isn't even offered as an option!
I have to type in google.com each time! Has this happened to others? Betty

Even though this isn't really travel-related, all you have to do is go to the preferences in Netscape and make www.google.com your homepage. Voila!

Viola,
Thank you. Unfortunately, google.com is not offered as an option for preferences (it once was). Thanks anyway. Betty

Of course it is a travel question; in fact, it is even more basic than a travel question. Without my searching tools, I don't travel!!

I am not sure I really understand the problem. You can bookmark your search engine. Or, you can set it up so that it is your default home page, which means you go immediately to it each time Netscape is activated.
I use yahoo as mine, and I did so by entering it on my Preference, home page dialog box.
You can select any home page you wish.
Google is also an option on Yahoo for your search engine. Ask Jeeves and others are listed at the bottom of the page. Google is just a couple of mouse clicks away.

Yahoo ate Google, and now they both will give you a full page of bought-and-paid-for "hits" when you do a search before they even let you get at the general websites/htmls or whatever for what you wanted in the first place.

So much for the "democratization" of the internet.

I'm not sure what the problem is. It sounds like you're saying you can't choose google as your default search engine. While that may be true, you can always go to preferences and set your "home page" to be anything you want. Set your home page to be google, then every time you open a new window, or click on the "home" button in your browser, you will be taken to google.