1. Web Browsers
WorldWideWeb

2. Web Browsers Viola (1991) first “popular” graphical browser

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

4. Hypercard Inspiration for Viola First popular “hypertext” program
Included with MacOS 6 (1987)

5. Mosaic Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina University of Illinois NCSA
“National Center for Supercomputing Applications”
First cross-platform graphical browser (1993)

6. Mosaic Commercialization? Marc Andreessen leaves NCSA
University of Illinois says “No.”
Marc Andreessen leaves NCSA
founds Netscape with Jim Clark (1994)

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

8. Netscape Netscape Navigator 1.0 (1994) More features than Mosaic
better rendering engine
multithreaded loading
Becomes most popular browser

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

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

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

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

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

14. Internet Explorer Version 1.0 (1995)
Included as part of “Windows 95 Plus!”
No tables or graphics

15. Internet Explorer Version 2.0 (1995) JavaScript, frames, cookies...

16. Internet Explorer Version 3.0 (1996)
At last, serious competition to Netscape!
Bundled with later versions of Windows 95

17. Internet Explorer Version 4.0 (1997) Bundled with Windows 98
Integrated into operating system

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

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

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

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

22. A Twist
AOL acquires Netscape (1998)
Why?

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

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

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

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

27. Market Share

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

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

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

31. Administrative
Sign up for presentations
Re-screening

32. “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!)