We browse the Internet every day for work, entertainment, catching up on the latest news from all over the world and so much more. We are so enthralled by the World Wide Web and its services that little do we wonder about how they developed and progressed. In fact, many people who are not into technology are unaware of the presence of various web browsers for surfing the Internet.
It is via web browsers that we are able to look up for whatever we want on the Internet, and also visit various websites. These applications help us to do what their name suggests — 'browse' through millions of pages. If web browsers help us visit various websites and links, then search engines enable us to find appropriate websites as per our desire. But let's talk about web browsers first.
In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee created the very first web browser known as the WorldWideWeb and later recalled 'Nexus', after the invention of the World Wide Web. In 1992, a text-based browser Lynx emerged. In 1994, Netscape was the sole web browser on the scene. It was based and improved version of Mosaic, a web browser that was launched in 1993. Mosaic was the very first web browser that allowed embedding of images.
All was going well for Netscape Navigator until things changed and Internet Explorer came in and Microsoft's software began to gain hype. Gradually, Microsoft started ruling the software world and Internet Explorer became the most used browser, with Netscape Navigator fading away in the background and ultimately, out of the entire scene.
But as Google Chrome emerged, things didn't remain permanent for Internet Explorer either. Firefox emerged as Internet Explorer's competitor way before Chrome, but it couldn't take over the legacy of Internet Explorer. Till this date, Google Chrome has the most number of users, making it the most commonly used web browser in the world. Other prominent names among the top browsers include Safari by Apple and Opera.
To see all these browsers gained momentum throughout the years, have a look a the video below by Data is Beautiful.
