If you’ve used a computer before, chances are that you are very familiar with at least one popular browser. The primary purpose of a web browser is to bring information resources to the end user. The purpose of this article is to give a historical perspective of browsers and discuss a few items that are fundamental to all browsers.
The history of the Web browser dates back in to the late 1980s, when a variety of technologies laid the foundation for the first Web browser, called WorldWideWeb or Nexus. It wasn’t until 1994 and the release of Netscape Navigator that most people began using web browsers. In 1995, Microsoft responded with its browser, Internet Explorer. Since then, there have been numerous new browsers created, but only a handful have stuck – Opera (1996), Firefox (2004), Apple’s Safari (2003) and Google’s Chrome (2008).
All major web browsers allow the user to open multiple information resources at the same time, either in different browser windows or in different tabs of the same window. Major browsers also include pop-up blockers to prevent unwanted windows from “popping up” without the user’s consent. Major browsers also contain bookmarks, pages the user has selected to save for quicker future reference.
Market share by browser (May 2011) :
| 2011 | Internet Explorer | Firefox | Chrome | Safari | Opera |
| May | 24.9 % | 42.4% | 25.9% | 4.0% | 2.4% |
From a programming standpoint, it can be frustrating catering to different browsers and different versions of these browsers. We recommend users keep their browser updated. This allows for maximum security and helps programmers design the latest and greatest software. Choosing which browser you use is strictly a personal decision. There are advantages / disadvantages to each browser, but in reality, the latest releases of the major browsers have brought them close together. We examine some features of IE, Safari, Chrome, Opera and Firefox.
Mozilla Firefox – 8.0
Mozilla Firefox 8.0 In today’s day and age, the internet is what our entire lives revolve around. Whether it’s kids gathering information for homework, shopping online or using social media, the internet is very prevalent in our daily actions. Of course the explosion of the online world has brought about much competition among companies to create the “best” browser. During the 1990s Netscape became the pioneers in web browsing. After Netscape came Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s Firefox, Opera Software’s Opera,...
read moreOpera
Here is what I know about Opera. They just released version 11, they have a really nice looking website & the video introduction for version 11 sold me. So I just downloaded it and I will post my review in a couple weeks after I have used it for awhile. ….after downloading it and giving it a try, my initial reaction was very good, I may have just found my new browser.
read moreApple Safari
Safari is my personal favorite. It has issues like every other browser, but overall it is the best in my opinion. Now that Adobe has release Adobe Reader X and it works with Safari, my experience has gotten better. Now if Adobe and Apple could keep playing nice and get the flash/html5 beef taken care of the Apple devices such as iPhone and iPad would get cooler. My biggest pet peeve about Safari…. the fact that you can’t paste into the url address bar and then hit enter. I have become accustom to pasting, hitting backspace...
read moreMicrosoft Internet Explorer
It is the most popular browser and now they have release buggy as expected version 9.
read moreGoogle Chrome
In 2008, Google finally entered the browser wars with the release of Google Chrome. The stated goal of Chrome was to provide a secure, simple, stable and fast web browser. The strength of Chrome lies in its application performance and JavaScript processing speed. Upon launch, Chrome was independently verified as being the fastest of all browsers. Today, however, the speed increase is not as pronounced as rivals have focused on improving speed in their latest releases. Features of Chrome include a minimal GUI, the first “Omnibox” URL...
read more
