Netscape Navigator: The first Internet browser suitable for the masses

Anyone who is on the World Wide Web these days uses a browser as a matter of course. In the early 1990s, when the Internet was in its infancy, these were still considered completely exotic. Then came the Netscape Navigator.

The internet pioneers realized early on that people need a kind of tool, a web browser, to be able to call up websites without any problems. On December 15, 1994, the Netscape Navigator opened the doors to the World Wide Web for many people as the first browser suitable for the masses.

This is all the more astonishing because Microsoft, with its Windows operating system, already had the best prerequisites for establishing its own browser. However, Microsoft initially almost completely ignored the Internet. The Windows developer initially saw no need to develop his own browser for surfing the Internet.

Netscape responds fastest

After the birth of the Internet in 1989, it actually took four years before the first presentable browser saw the light of day. The so-called Mosaic Browser finally appeared on November 10, 1993 in version 1.0 for Windows. What was not a matter of course at the time: Mosaic not only displayed text, but was able to bring graphics or interactive elements onto the screen.

By the way: Microsoft also bought a Mosaic license at the time in order to later use the source code to program its own browser. As already mentioned: Internet and Microsoft was not love at first sight.

The Mosaic development team also included a certain Marc Andreessen. The programmer had the vision of bringing his own, mass-market browser for surfing the still young Internet onto the market. Code word for this project: Mozilla. According to legend, the word consists of the terms “Mosaic Killer” and “Godzilla”.

In the spring of 1994, Marc Andreessen founded the company Netscape Communications to advance his own browser project. The first beta version, Mosaic Netscape, will follow in October. The fully developed Netscape Navigator appears in December and begins its triumphal procession a short time later.

And this is what the browser looked like:

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The new browser was originally intended to be distributed free of charge. However, this idea was initially dropped. Only academic institutions and non-profit organizations should be able to use Netscape Navigator for free. Since people stormed the Internet at the same time as the browser appeared, the new browser was then free for everyone. Because smart editors of computer magazines distributed the Netscape Navigator as a free supplement to the CD-ROM.

Also read: Internet browser settings that everyone should make

On the fast ascent…

In this way, the Netscape Navigator conquered computers worldwide and within a very short space of time gained a market share of around 80 percent. However, that also woke up the strategists at Microsoft from their internet slumber.

A certain Bill Gates massively pushed investments in the new medium Internet. Finally, in August 1995, Microsoft released the first version of Internet Explorer. The code consisted almost entirely of the Mosaic license acquired in 1993. The first Microsoft browser turned out to be technically outdated and not very user-friendly.

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The browser war with the Netscape Navigator began in 1995 with the appearance of Microsoft Internet Explorer. The programmers of websites also reacted to this. In the years 1995 to 1998, some websites had the following notices: “Optimized for Netscape Navigator” or “Optimized for Internet Explorer”.

It soon became apparent, however, that in the war of browsers the opponents were not fighting with the same weapons. Even if Microsoft initially overslept the Internet trend, the company had much better prerequisites for dethroning Netscape.

Also read: How did Microsoft come about? The history of the technology giant

…follows the rapid descent

While just a handful of developers programmed the first Internet Explorer, the team soon grew to over 100 employees. Even more important: Microsoft had a huge sales channel with its own operating system. Back then, over 95 percent of all new computers sold had a preinstalled version of Windows. Microsoft therefore integrated Internet Explorer into its own operating system from Windows 95 onwards. This ingenious marketing move initiated the rapid descent of Netscape Navigator.

Netscape initially defended itself as best it could. In 1997, the company expanded its browser to include an e-mail program, an HTML editor and a messenger. The name also changed from Netscape Navigator to Netscape Communicator. However, the descent was unstoppable. In 1998, of all things, the takeover by another Internet pioneer called AOL marked the gradual end of the Netscape era. The market share was now only four percent.

AOL continued to develop the browser for a few more years. However, with its own increasing insignificance, AOL finally stopped further programming work on the former Netscape Navigator with browser version 9.0.0.6 on February 21, 2008.

However, traces can still be found in a browser that is now also very popular. Because from the former code word Mozilla and the source code of the former Netscape Communicator, the open source browser Mozilla Firefox was created in 2002.

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