Do you know the story of how your internet browser came to be?

Do you know?

Tech Knowledge - part 2

What do you know about the internet browser wars? 

Mozilla Firefox:
They are not a recent company.  In fact some of you may remember its first name, Netscape. Netscape was one of the very first internet browsers.  In 1994 under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation, Netscape was born.  They were one of the very first companies out there to believe in the emergence of the internet.  Netscape Navigator found popularity because it was cross platformed.  It was also being used on more than 90% of all computers worldwide.  In 2002 Mozilla Firefox was created but their first logo resembled a Phoenix.  That was changed in 2004 and the logo hasn't changed much since.  Today, Netscape Navigator still lives on and is actually a part of AOL.

Internet Explorer:
Internet Explorer was created in 1995.  Bill Gates sent out an internal memo in Microsoft to declare war on Netscape.  IE beat Netscape because of Microsofts deep pockets and that it was preloaded on most of the personal computers sold.  Microsoft was spending over 100 million per year on this browser.  They had a team of over 1000 people involved in its lifespan.  In 2016 Internet Explorer was replaced by the Microsoft Edge browser.  The security of Internet Explorer is very unstable and you should nto be using it today.

Google Chrome:
First released in 2008 for Windows Operating Systems.  At the time of creation IE was being used on 60% of all systems.  Firefox only had about 30% of the market.  Chrome was an open source initiative.  Mac and Linux didn't receive stable releases til 2010.  2012 it was ported to Android and iOS.  Based off the Chromium Browser, other browsers since have used their open source coding.  Brave, Vivaldi, and Opera for example.  Chrome became so popular that Google developed an operating system around it.  Today over 65% of all systems use Chrome.  The only closer browser is Safari as 15.5% of iOS devices use it.  Firefox is less than 5%.  Chrome has been debated as to the level of privacy given to its users.  Chrome is both a massive advertiser and a guardian of your privacy.  Chrome receives over 100 billion dollars in ad revenue.

Microsoft Edge:
First released in 2015 as part of the Windows 10 OS package.  Born from the code name Spartan.  Today Edge carries about 4% of total usage.  It has always been widely criticized due to its complete infiltration of Windows like its predecessor.  Todays Edge was first code named as Anaheim.  In 2019 Edge was made available for legacy Windows 7, 8, and MacOS users.  Although Edge has nowhere near the reach of Googles searching capabilities it still remains a strong competitor in the browser war.

Safari:
Introduced in 2003.  From 2007 to 2012 there was a Windows version of Safari.  Mac users were first using Netscape but switched to Internet Explorer in 1997.  While you can still use an older version of Safari on Windows 11, 10, and 7 the newer versions of Safari are for MacOs only.  Safari clings to their 19% share in total browser users.

Samsung Internet:
Preloaded on Samsung devices.  Since 2015 it has been available for download from Google Play store.  Based on the open source chromium project.  Currently has a market share of about 2.5%.  Not as feature plentiful as other browsers.

The others:
There are many other browsers out there.  Most of which many of us have never heard of.  A total list is located here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_browsers

Opera would be their largest share product in this list.  Coming in at around 2.26%.  It was started in 1994.  Opera is Norwegian based.  The first public version was released in 1996. 

Currently the usage percentages of all browsers (Feb 2023):
Chrome - 65.76%
Safari - 18.84%
Edge - 4.28%
Firefox - 2.93%
Samsung Internet - 2.59%
Opera - 2.26%

- DMP