History of Computers - Mosaic Web Browser
Page created by Elizabeth Awad
Introduction
The Mosaic Web Browser was created in 1993 by Marc Andreesen and Eric Bina. Although it wasn't the first web browser or first graphical web browser, it was the first popular web browser. The web browsers at the time were only available to be used on the expensive Unix machines, so the professors and engineers who had access to these machines were most of the people using the web browsers. The Mosaic Web Browser was easier to use and more accesible than previous browsers [1].
Overview
Marc Andreeseen and Eric Bina, students at the University of Illinois' National Center for Supercomputing Applications, created the Mosaic Web Browser. It was originally released for UNIX users, but was later provided to the general public under a noncommercial license so they could download it for free. This made it easier for more people to access and use [2].It was the first web browser with cross-platform support [3] It was different from other browsers because it was more appealing to the user with icons, bookmarks, a more attractive interface, and inline images with text [4]. This browser permitted programmers to post images, sound, video clips, and multi-font text within a hypertext system. After seeing and navigating the many pages with pictures and words, many people wanted to create their own homepage and as a result the Mosaic Web Browser gained popularity fast. The increasing users allowed the web to have a bigger audience. After graduating, Andreeseen left NCSA and decided to take over Mosaic himself. Alongside Jim Clark, Andreeseen created Mosaic Communications corp. In 1994, Andreeseen and Clark renamed the company Netscape Communications and came out with a new version of browser, Netscape. The Mosaic Web Browser was a basis for the newer versions of Netscape and Mozilla [5].
Significance
The Mosaic Web Browser was significant because it has been credited with popularizing the Wolrd Wide Web and was one of the first browsers accessible to more than engineers and profesors with expensive machinery. It was the first web browser to include images and text on the same page and also had hyperlinks that you could just click to retrieve the information needed. The Mosaic Web Browser helped develop other to a wide range of commercial developments used today including Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox [6].
References
- ↑ http://history-computer.com/Internet/Conquering/Mosaic.html
- ↑ http://history-computer.com/Internet/Conquering/Mosaic.html
- ↑ http://www.cs.umd.edu/class/spring2002/cmsc434-0101/MUIseum/applications/browser.html
- ↑ http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/enabling/mosaic
- ↑ http://www.wired.com/2010/04/0422mosaic-web-browser/
- ↑ https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/nsf0050/internet/mosaic.htm
