It220 Web Browsers

Web Browsers Bob Ulysse IT/220 12/18/2009 Prof. Jennifer Schroeder Web Browsers Web browsers, while they all may differ in name, creators, and design; they all serve one purpose—to browse the World Wide Web. Amongst the many web browsers available to consumers, the three—Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Mozilla Firefox—are the most prominent. Because of the browsers’ common purpose, they tend to share more similarities than differences.

All three browsers connects the user to the same internet or intranet (start page may differ); they all include a toolbar to navigate through web pages; but only the earlier two—Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator—are based on the earlier technologies of NCSA Mosaic. The remainder of this essay will further elaborate on more of features, functions, and my personal experience with these browsers.

Microsoft Internet Explorer, my current default browser, was created by the Microsoft Corporation and released as an add-on to the Windows 95 Operating system (released in July 1995. ) Growing public interests of internet browsing led Microsoft to the development of this software add-on, giving many more people access to the internet. Common amongst this browser, and the many other browsers, is the internet toolbar. The toolbar houses commonly used buttons such as Back, Forward, Home, and Reload/Refresh.

The Back and Forward buttons allows the user to return to a previously visited page; Home brings the user to his or her pre-selected or default start page; and Refresh/Reload reloads the current web page, in case all components were not properly loaded the first time. Most important amongst these toolbar features is the address bar, also known as the URL, which allows the user to set their browsing destination. Below is the toolbar for Microsoft Internet Explorer (see figure 1. ) [pic] Figure 1: Internet Explorer Toolbar Source: http://www. learnthenet. om/english/html/12browser_2. htm Netscape Navigator, currently owned by AOL, features a very similar toolbar interface (see figure 2. ) Netscape Navigator, the earliest of the three browsers, was founded by one of the Mosaic developers, Marc Andreessen. Netscape Navigator featured all the same features of its predecessor Mosaic but with improved functionality and operability. Currently, Netscape Navigator has been rendered obsolete and no longer operable to any of the operating systems, ending the “Browser War” between IE (Internet Explorer) and itself. pic] Figure 2: Netscape Toolbar Source: http://www. learnthenet. com/english/html/12browser_2. htm Mozilla Firefox, successor of Netscape Navigator, is one of the newest browsers out today; released in November 2004. Firefox features a distinct fox emblem, wrapped around the globe, which is well-recognizable amongst the other browsers (see figure 3). Unlike Netscape and Internet Explorer, Firefox features a cross-platform format that supports both Microsoft operating systems as-well-as the newer Mac Operating systems—Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.

This cross-formatting has gained Firefox the slight advantage over Netscape Navigator but not enough to account for Internet Explorer’s tremendous lead in the internet market. Presently, Firefox accounts for almost 25% of the usage share of browsers as of 2009; Internet Explorer accounts for nearly 64% (see figure 4. ) [pic] Figure 3: Firefox Emblem Source: http://www. learnthenet. com/english/html/12browser. htm [pic] Figure 4: Usage share of Browsers Source: http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers I currently operate Internet Explorer as my default explorer because (1) it came pre-installed with my operating system and (2) every time I run Microsoft Update, it automatically checks for updates and fixes for IE as well as other components, without the need to visit a third-party website. Over the years, I have gradually increased my functionality awareness of most, if not all, of IE’s features; there is very little functionality that I am unaware of when referring to Internet Explorer. References Browser wars. 2009, December 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Browser_wars&oldid=332602884 Comparison of web browsers. (2009, December 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Comparison_of_web_browsers&oldid=332436067 Learn The Net. (2009). Web Browsers. Retrieved from http://www. learnthenet. com/english/html/12browser_3. htm Microsoft. (2003). Windows History: Internet Explorer History. Retrieved from http://www. microsoft. com/windows/WinHistoryIE. mspx