Web Browsers WorldWideWeb

Web Browsers Viola (1991) first “popular” graphical browser http://www.xcf.berkeley.edu/~wei/viola/violaHome.html

Web Browsers Viola (1991) first “popular” graphical browser but it didn’t start as a web browser!

Hypercard Inspiration for Viola First popular “hypertext” program Included with MacOS 6 (1987) http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.03/03.10/HyperCardProgramming/

Mosaic Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina University of Illinois NCSA “National Center for Supercomputing Applications” First cross-platform graphical browser (1993) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mosaic_6beta_screenshot.png

Mosaic Commercialization? Marc Andreessen leaves NCSA University of Illinois says “No.” Marc Andreessen leaves NCSA founds Netscape with Jim Clark (1994) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Netscape_classic_logo.png

Lesson Learned Technology is valuable But the people who create that technology are even more valuable. Think EDVAC!

Netscape Netscape Navigator 1.0 (1994) More features than Mosaic better rendering engine multithreaded loading Becomes most popular browser http://www.appscout.com/2007/07/web_10_lives_the_browser_emula_1.php

Netscape Netscape Navigator 2 (1996)‏ adds an email client adds JavaScript support

Netscape Netscape Navigator 2 (1996) Netscape Communicator 4 (1997) adds an email client adds JavaScript support Netscape Communicator 4 (1997) still most popular browser, but trouble is on the horizon...

Spyglass Spyglass, Inc. (1990) commercialization arm of NCSA handles commercial distribution of Mosaic

Microsoft Build or buy? Microsoft licenses Mosaic code from Spyglass, Inc. Basis of Internet Explorer

Microsoft Build or buy? Microsoft licenses Mosaic code from Spyglass, Inc. Basis of Internet Explorer Irony!

Internet Explorer Version 1.0 (1995) Included as part of “Windows 95 Plus!” No tables or graphics http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/historyofie.mspx

Internet Explorer Version 2.0 (1995) JavaScript, frames, cookies... http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/historyofie.mspx

Internet Explorer Version 3.0 (1996) At last, serious competition to Netscape! Bundled with later versions of Windows 95 http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/community/columns/historyofie.mspx

Internet Explorer Version 4.0 (1997) Bundled with Windows 98 Integrated into operating system http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/technet/images/archive/ie/maintain/etn97b1a_big.gif

Editorial Commentary IE 3 was beginning of end for Netscape How do you compete with something that is bundled with OS?

Editorial Commentary Spyglass License Microsoft pays Spyglass royalties for “non- Windows” sales of IE Not a good deal for Spyglass...

Browser Wars 1995 - 1998 Netscape and IE try to out-do each other on features era of unstable, buggy products

Mozilla Netscape 4.x code is quirky and hard to maintain Makes “version 5” open source (1998) Mozilla Foundation

A Twist AOL acquires Netscape (1998) Why?

Mozilla Open source NOT a cure-all Mozilla project stretches on for 4 years with little visible progress “feature creep”

Mozilla Open source NOT a cure-all Mozilla project stretches on for 4 years with little visible progress “feature creep” AOL gets impatient!

Netscape 6 AOL wants to release something (2000) Awful. Based on Mozilla 0.6 Further eroded Netscape’s market share

Netscape 7 Finally, a nice browser! (2002) Based on Mozilla 1.0 But by then it was too late...

Market Share

Aftermath A time of stagnation Netscape 4.7 (1999 – 2002) IE 5 (1999 – 2001) IE 6 (2001 - 2006)

Firefox Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross created a small browser from Mozilla codebase (2003) Phoenix Firebird Firefox

Browser Wars continue Part I Part II Netscape vs Internet Explorer Firefox vs Internet Explorer

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“Test Question” On a scrap of paper, write a question that encapsulates one of the points from today's class, and turn it in. (Put your name on it!)