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Home , Internet Explorer 9, Lou Montulli, Mosaic (web browser), Opera Mobile, Skyfire (company)

Comparative Web Browsers Richard Kershenbaum Endacott Society Computer Study Group 01-09-2013 History of Web Browsers

Life before Web Browsers – FTP, NNTP ( News), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkd3Vy QMBK0 WorldWideWeb (renamed Nexus) – Tim Berners-Lee – CERN – 1991 – first

NCSA – - 1993 – first widely-used web browser

More Web Browser History

• Development of NCSA Mosaic was funded by the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991 • Andreesen and Jim Clark (a founder of Silicon ) formed Mosaic Communications Corp., which became Corp. • – 1992 – Lou Montulli, Michael Grobe, Charles Rezac – text-based browser

More Browser History

• Lou joined Netscape in 1994, invented browser cookies • was the dominant browser druing the 1990s • Spyglass Mosaic – 1994 (Spyglass was a for-profit spinoff of NCSA) • licenses Spyglass Mosaic in 1994, releases Explorer 1

Yet More Browser History

• Microsoft bundles IE with – doesn’t have to pay royalties to Spyglass, but IE becomes dominant browser • IE3 – 1996 – became extremely popular • IE9 – 2011 -- • IE10 – 10/2013 – currently only for Windows 8 -

More history….

• – 2004 • , 1.0 -- 2003 • Chrome – 2008 – now the most usage, but fewer users than IE or Firefox • Cloud browser -- 2008

Browser pros & cons (PC World, 2/12):

• What’s important to you? − Speed?

− Security?

− Add-ons?

− Share bookmarks & settings across computers and devices?

Google Chrome:

− “Overall best”

− Speed

− Stability – can close a misbehaving without affectin others (separate processes)

− Integrated Google Translate

− Plain design

Google Chrome:

− “should meet most people’s needs”

− “Sandboxing” – can’t access information on your computer – prevents exploits

− Lots of extensions • IE Tab • Ad-block Plus

− Sync Feature − Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android (4.0 or later) Mozilla Firefox

• “Most Versatile” • Lots of add-ons • Slow page loads (even slower with add- ons) • Sync feature • Automatically scans for malware • Windows, Mac, Linux, Android

Internet Explorer 9:

• “Best Security” • Lets you block sites that are tracking your browsing history • Warns if a downloaded file may be dangerous (your anti-virus software probably does this also) • Slow page loads • Can’t sync bookmarks and settings • Windows only

Opera

• Tied with Chrome for fastest page loads • Works well on mobile devices • Few security features • Can sync bookmarks and some settings • Windows, Mac, Linux, phones, tablets

Apple Safari

• Good security • Slow page loads • Sync with iPhone • Mac, Windows (being dropped after version 5), iPhone

Maxthon Cloud Browser

• Widely used outside the US • Minimalist look • Good security features • Built in sync • Fast page loads • No effective ad blocker? • Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android (no Linux)

Mobile browsers

• iPhone – Safari built in • Native Android browser • Chrome for Android (requires Ice Cream Sandwich) • / • Dolphin •