Web browsers - from Netscape to Explorer, from Firefox to Chrome
Updated on 02 September 2008
As Google prepares to launch Chrome, we look back on the short but eventful history of the internet browser.
Netscape's Navigator, launched in 1994, was the first commercial internet browser. Initially distributed free, it gains nearly a 90 per cent share of market.
Netscape floats on the stock market in August 1995. In July 1995, its shares were priced at $12; by December Netscape is worth eight times this.
In December 1995 Bill Gates announces Microsoft's commitment to the internet.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3 is released free of charge in August 1996. Microsoft's market share grows rapidly - to 40 per cent at the start of 1998. Later in the year, Internet Explorer overtakes Navigator as the most popular browser.
In January 1998 Netscape announces it will give away Navigator free of charge - and make the source code available on the internet. This means web developers are free to work on and improve the code. The Mozilla.org project, a dedicated team within Netscape, is put in place to promote and foster this open-source work.
AOL buys Netscape Communications Corporation in 1999. In 2000, Netscape 6 is launched - the first Mozilla-based Netscape browser.
Mozilla communities spring up in Europe (2004), Japan (2004) and China (2005).
In November 2004, Mozilla launches Firefox, an open source browser which can be freely downloaded. In October 2005, Mozilla reports more than 100 million Firefox downloads in less than a year.
In December 2007 AOL announces there will be no further releases of Netscape. "While internal groups within AOL have invested a great deal of time and energy in attempting to revive Netscape Navigator, these efforts have not been successful in gaining market share from Microsoft's Internet Explorer," the company blog says.
September 2008: Google launches a beta (testing) version of its browser Chrome after accidentally launching a comic book previewing the browser. It is designed to be fast and able to cope with multimedia web applications rather than just text pages.
Internet browser usage today
According to Hitslink, Internet Explorer makes up 72.15 per cent of market share. Firefox has 19.73 per cent, and Safari (used primarily on Macs) 6.37 per cent. Others including Opera and Netscape have less than 1 per cent each.
The W3 Schools site, which covers web development and hence attracts technologically minded users, found 50.5 per cent of its visitors used Internet Explorer. In contrast, 43.7 per cent used Firefox, 2.6 per cent Safari, and 2.1 per cent Opera.
