Browser wars

A browser war is a competition for dominance in the usage share of web browsers. The "first browser war" (1995–2001) occurred between Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, and the "second browser war" (2004–2017) between Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome.

With the introduction of HTML5 in 2008 and CSS 3 in 2011, a new generation of browser wars began, this time considering extensive client-side scripting to the World Wide Web (WWW), and the more widespread use of smartphones and other mobile devices for web browsing. These changes have ensured that browser battles continue among enthusiasts, while the average web user is less affected.

Tim Berners-Lee, along with his colleagues at CERN, started the development of the Internet-based hypertext system WWW in 1989. Their studies led to the creation of the HyperText Transfer Protocol, which set the protocols for client-server communication. In 1990, Berners-Lee created the first web browser, WorldWideWeb, subsequently known as Nexus, and made it available for the NeXTstep Operating System, by NeXT.

Other browsers started to surface by the end of 1992, many of which were based on the Libwww library. These included MacWWW/Samba for the Mac and Unix browsers including Line Mode Browser, ViolaWWW, Erwise, and MidasWWW. These browsers were HTML viewers that needed third-party helpers to display multimedia content.

In 1993, more browsers became available, including Cello, Lynx, tkWWW, and Mosaic. The most influential of these was Mosaic, a multi-platform browser developed at National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). By October 1994, Mosaic was "well on its way to becoming the world's standard interface", according to Gary Wolfe of Wired.

Several companies licensed Mosaic to create their commercial browsers, such as AirMosaic, Quarterdeck Mosaic, and Spyglass Mosaic. One of the Mosaic developers, Marc Andreessen, co-founded the Mosaic Communications Corporation and created a new web browser named Mosaic Netscape.

There are two ages of the Internet—before Mosaic, and after. The combination of Tim Berners-Lee's Web protocols, which provided connectivity, and Marc Andreesen's browser, which provided a great interface, proved explosive. In twenty-four months, the Web has gone from being unknown to absolutely ubiquitous.

— Mark Pesce, ZDNet