Browser Wars
After Tim uploaded the web over the internet, the web expanded at a rapid pace. More and more websites every day, from 1993 to 1995 it went from unknown scientific experimental media to an internet innovation used around the globe, that is, after the release of the Mosaic browser. There were more browsers before, such as "Line-Mode" (TBL and Nicola Pellow's) and "Samba" (for Macs), but none of those had such a big impact on the growth of the web. Released in 1993 and programmed by a few people at NCSA (National Center for Supercomputer Applications) Mosaic was available on both Macintosh and Microsoft computers. It supported video, sound, viewing history, and bookmarks bringing it to the number one browser. Though particularly Tim disliked this browser, as it was more of a WWW viewer than an editor or website creator. Eventually Tim's view of the ideal browser came to life in more modern ones, as the battle for being the next top browser was born (browser wars). Later the Mosaic team introduced an improved commercialized version of the Mosaic browser, called "Netscape". This browser was at the top of the charts until Microsoft released its free/non-commercialized browser "Internet Explorer" (IE). It came with all the standard features that Netscape came with, and most people bought a Microsoft computer anyways so they got the free browser with it. This created an "arms race" to become the better competitor, both browsers adding new features to make it better than the other. In the end Microsoft won, being that IE was free (and debatably better), but it was not until 1999 that Microsoft managed to officially surpass Netscape and became the top browser. For a while Internet Explorer maintained its number 1 status with an iron fist, until Netscape (now owned by AOL) released a new browser called Mozilla, now known as Firefox. Slowly the percentage of people using Firefox went up while IE went down. Then even more new browsers came into the scene, like Google Chrome and Safari, which pushed down percentages further.
XHR (XML Http Request), Java Script, HTML, the cloud, etc.
In the long history of the web, it has evolved some new languages other than HTML, and has some co-existing systems. We now know about HTML, and how creates the basic components to web pages. Over the years new languages came along and pushed the limits of the WWW. With the introduction of JavaScript, a new scripting language which also introduced XHR, which allowed for real time interaction over extended periods of time between web server and client (so you don't have to reload page every time it's modified). More languages continued to come such as HTML5 and CSS, all doing new cool stuff. Another increasingly used concept today is the "Cloud". The cloud allows you to backup all your videos, pictures, music, and anything stored on a computer, and save it over the web. This is why it is now okay for your computer to break, other than the replacement cost, you do not lose any files. It also allows you to make documents and save them online, instead of having the trouble of a storage device, you can log into your account and pull down the file from any device (like google docs). The web also has a new friend, meet web apps. Instead of downloading applications, web apps work right it the browser. Some of these include websites such as YouTube and Facebook. Web apps don't need to be downloaded, and automatically you get the latest version of the application. Therefore its safer to use and less likely to damage your computer.
The web has also had some negative effects, like piracy, and spam. After the web was well known, criminals were as always getting into the seen. File sharing has been a big concern, as these websites allows for copyrighted material to be distributed easily for anyone to download. The problem is that it is hard to track down on the uploaders and downloaders, so it remains an almost tolerated illegal practice. The web also brought in spammers, almost anyone who has an email knows all about annoying spam. Constantly trying to take your money, it targets the people who do not know much about computers or are new to the web.
As you can see there is much more use to the web than you may think, as it does not just allow you to communicate, but use it as a tool to your advantage. The web is waiting, enriched with knowledge and new ideas waiting to be discovered. So lets use the web together, in positive ways, to express our opinions, carry out tasks, etc. Basically, the invention of the web is one of the most important turning points in history, as it changed the way we communicate more than anything else has.
The web has also had some negative effects, like piracy, and spam. After the web was well known, criminals were as always getting into the seen. File sharing has been a big concern, as these websites allows for copyrighted material to be distributed easily for anyone to download. The problem is that it is hard to track down on the uploaders and downloaders, so it remains an almost tolerated illegal practice. The web also brought in spammers, almost anyone who has an email knows all about annoying spam. Constantly trying to take your money, it targets the people who do not know much about computers or are new to the web.
As you can see there is much more use to the web than you may think, as it does not just allow you to communicate, but use it as a tool to your advantage. The web is waiting, enriched with knowledge and new ideas waiting to be discovered. So lets use the web together, in positive ways, to express our opinions, carry out tasks, etc. Basically, the invention of the web is one of the most important turning points in history, as it changed the way we communicate more than anything else has.