The Browser Wars

The Browser Wars

At one time we didn’t have too many choice for browsers, back in the mid 90’s there where 2 companies, fighting to be number 1.  There was Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer.  And Browser where not a free download like they are today.  That changed in 1995 with the release of Windows 95, with Microsoft include free download of Internet Explorer … and the Browser Wars started.  Netscape had the market share of the browser at the time, until AOL bought Netscape and made some changes to it.  Some of the Netscape user where not happy about the changes, then Microsoft started to intergraded Internet Explorer into their Operating Systems, witch gave them an unfair advantage over Netscape.  New computer user did know that they could download another and since there was a browser there why download another one.  In the end Netscape lost and Microsoft claimed that they where the winner of the browser wars.  But, where they?

	Internet Explorer	Netscape Communicator
1995	2.9%	80.1%
1996	20%	73%
1997	39.4%	57.6%
1998	46%	52%

By the time that Windows XP came out on to the market, Internet Explorer was fully intergraded in the Windows Operating System, basically killing Netscape and Microsoft was creating HTML tags that would only work in Internet Explorer.  HTML Tags is a scripting language for displaying web pages. 

In the late 90’s a new movement was start to become more mainstream.  Open Source Community.  What are “Open Source Software” and “Close Source Software”? 

Open Source is when a programmer(s) openly give their software coding out for other programmers to modify their software and make their own program.  A good example is the Linux Operating System.  Back in the 90’s there was one Linux called Redhat Linux, other programmers downloaded the source code for it, and made their own.  From Redhat, there could be like 100+ different Linux operating system that was created. Now you may be asking why am I bring this up? Netscape joined the Open Source Community and was call SeaMonkey and it didn’t stop there, Netscape Mozilla. And then came FireFox, Chrome and the many different one in the Linux Operating Systems. 

Now that Microsoft having the number 1 browser, they decided not to make IE for Linux and would stop making IE for Mac OS computers.  One could draw the collusion that Microsoft want to create another playing field with the Internet.  With some web-site have “Internet Explorer Context”, these web-site left Mac/Linux users out in the cold, because they couldn’t view the contexts of the web-site or at best with errors.

Now that Microsoft Internet Explorer was the number 1 browser in the world, was an easy thing for the software giant.  Rumors about “Back Doors” and holes in the coding lead into some problems for Microsoft.  Computer users starting being attack with, virus/trogons and hijacking software.  It seem that when one bug was fix two more would pop up.  And with Internet Explorer so intergraded into Windows made it easier to infect someone computer.

	Internet Explorer	Netscape Mozilla
1999	75.31%	24.68%
2000	86.08%	13.90%
2001	89.03%	10.47%
2002	95.97%	3.39%

Now Microsoft problems didn’t stop there.  With the release Window XP and Windows Server 2000, they fully intergraded Internet Explorer in Windows and everyone was cry “Foul”.  This created an unfair playing field for all the other software companies. In Europe, Microsoft was taken to court and lost.  So Microsoft could no longer bundle other software with MS-Windows and to make so that Internet Explorer could be un-install from MS-Windows. And it didn’t stop there; it happen in the USA courts too, with other companies saying that Microsoft is creating a monopoly.  So with the release of MS-Windows Vista and Server 2003, they had to follow the courts ruling. So Microsoft could no longer bundle other software into MS-Windows and to allow people to un-install Internet Explorer.

The Second Browser Wars

For Computer and Laptops.
	Internet Explorer	FireFox	Chrome	Safari	Opera	Opera Mini	Netscape	Mozilla
2004	91.35%	3.66%	N/R	1.50%	0.51%	N/R	2.09%	0.80%
2008	74.93%	19.07%	0.37**	2.73%	2.06%	0.23%**	0.43%	0.07%
2011	54.36%	21.67%	12.51%	7.30%	1.97%	1.21%	0.79%	0.03%
2012	31.23%	22.37%	35.72%	7.83%	1.39%
N/R -> No Release  **-> First Released

Microsoft, around 2000 came out with a search engine “Bing” to go after Yahoo and Google.  Google was become the number 1 search engine, over taking Yahoo, not only with search engine, but with email and online chat.  So Hotmail and MSN grow but it never became number.  Now that Google was getting bigger Microsoft could not break them, in fact Google started to get into the Operating System Market.  They first started with Linux and created their own Linux called Google Linux.  Now it didn’t stop there, Google came up with a mapping program Google Maps and the list goes on from there with a Chat, email and online Documents, with Open Office.  So now today the use of the Internet is no longer “Just Text”, more and more for videos, games, music office tools (documentation and spread sheets).  Hey it’s just not for computer any more, more devices are now connection to the Internet, like Phones, TVs, Blu-ray/home Theaters systems and game consoles …. Even washing machines and fridge’s too.  Now you are probable wondering what my point is here, remember Microsoft’s dissension on only making Internet Explorer for MS-Windows only? With all of these new types of devices that are connecting to the Internet are not using MS-Windows, but using Linux and Mac OS X.  And the fastest growing one is Android.  When Google first created their own Operating System, Google Linux, they also set to work on another called ChromeOS.  Witch was based off of their Linux, but it would have a browser and not a typical desktop and it would run on small devices like phones. It was long before Google to release Chrome Browser for MS-Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Then they release Android (formally called ChromeOS). 

So it looks like that Chrome is clearly winning it now.  It helps when it can be used in all the operating systems.

I do have to say it’s great that we do have a choice in browser software now.  We can use the one that we “I” like to use and not be force to use one.  I personal have 2 PCs, 1 running MS-Windows and the other running Mandriva Linux and MacBook Pro.  I have installed all the different browsers on all of them with the exception of Internet Explorer; it can only be run in MS-Windows.   

My personal use of browsers

MS-Windows 1. Firefox 2. Chrome (Internet Explorer for Windows updates only)

Linux 1. Firefox 2. Konqueror 3. Chrome

Mac OS X 1. Firefox 2. Safari 3. Chrom