Browser Wars
Once the internet was opened up to the public in 1993, many became curious about what it was capable of. Marc Andreessen, a computer science graduate student from the University of Illinois, and his friends became curious about the World Wide Web. They were able to create the internet’s first user-friendly, graphical web browser, MOSAIC, and put it online for everyone to download. Although it was quite successful, they needed money to make the browser global, which was when Jim Clark, owner of Silicon Graphics, stepped in and began working with MOSAIC’s creators. By 1994, they were able to launch a software company, Netscape Communications. With the goal of building a new browser and making the internet the center of commerce and communication, Netscape quickly worked to launch their own web browser, Navigator, before any competitor launched their own before them, like the most powerful Microsoft.
Bill Gates and his company Microsoft were the lead in computer business at the time with their PCs and Windows software. They were aware of Netscape’s release, but did not do anything about it until Navigator reached over a million downloads. It did not take long for Gates to realize the web was something Microsoft needed to take over as well, as Netscape was becoming a rising competitor. This realization marked the beginning of what was known as the Browser Wars.
As Navigator’s success kept going, in 1995, Microsoft proposed an offer to Netscape to work together, which apparently ended in Netscape’s decline and a heated debate. Netscape’s revenue continued to skyrocket with a projected 60 to 80 million dollars and on the day of their initial public offer, their stock went through the roof; it was reaching the title of the fastest growing software company ever. Marc Andreesen felt as if Microsoft had been beaten and spoke very low of them. Gates and his team were completely insulted and lit a fire under them to dominate Netscape.
By the end of 1995, Microsoft released their own browser, Internet Explorer, which Gates made known that it was going to be used to destroy Netscape. Microsoft’s team working with Internet explorer had many advantages with their financial resources and talented coders. This allowed for them to catch up to Netscape quickly. They tracked Netscape’s every move and copied it, continued releasing new versions of Internet Explorer, and worked day and night to make sure that their browser would not lose. Gates even took it a step further and hired salesmen to sell the browser to every Microsoft customer, who used dark, hidden tactics to stop PC manufacturers from installing anything but Internet Explorer. Netscape struggled with profits and began going downhill. Due to Internet Explorer’s growing popularity and Microsoft’s billions of dollars in worth, the browser was made free with Windows, a power move by Microsoft.
By September 1997, Microsoft was back in top; Netscape had been making single figures and had to be acquired by AOL, ending their fight in the Browser Wars. But, Microsoft continued to fight with the government in an Antitrust lawsuit, started by their Netscape enemies. They were accused of using their monopoly to prevent consumers from using Netscape products, which contributed to the end of Netscape. It was brought to court and Gates was guilty. They initially wanted Microsoft to be broken up, which caused its value to plunge to 30 billion overnight. Seeing this happen the court retracted their idea, and Microsoft continued its success with new CEO Steve Ballmer.
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