BROWSERS

A web browser is defined as a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content. The browser is able to read HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or XML (Extensible Markup Language).

When the World Wide Web or the Information Highway was started it linked computers at colleges, research centers and military centers so information could be shared. All information was in the text format (no graphics) and was very much like today's text messaging. Several colleges opened the information to a set group of colleges and allowed each of them to see and share the text. You had to know where the information was and be accepted by the group to view it.

A group World Wide Web Consortium was formed to create a way of searching and a language that was uniform so all computers could share the information. The language developed was HTML. It was an open source language and changes in the language had to be approved by the group. The group also created a method for assigning addresses to computers (URL). Soon developments were made that allowed searching, graphics, video, interactive applications and security. The first successful browser developed was Mosaic developed at the University of Illinois. There were several commercial (pay per use) browsers, but Mosaic was free and open source and took over the WWW.

Browsers were (and still are) the gateway to the information on the WWW. They could be used to limit some information or to point users to particular sites. It became a profit center for AOL, Prodigy and several other internet service providers. It was a way to point users to the items in your store. These new modified browsers had search engines to help users find information and products.

Browsers:In addition to general browsers, special browsers with particular properties to suit engineering, science, law and other fields were developed. Today there are over 35 browsers in use. Today we will limit our talk to the top 4 used by PC's. Apple has their own browser called Safari and is designed specifically for MACs. Macs can use these PC browsers.

Internet Explorer: Known as I.E., it was developed by Microsoft and is supplied with Windows computers and is tied to the internal code of Windows and cannot be removed without damage to the operating system. Because it came with Windows it soon became the most popular browser in use, controlling over 90% of the market. Prior to I.E, Netscape - a browser developed by the the creators of Mosaic - held most of the market.

The current version of I.E. is 8.0. It was developed to work with Windows 7, the newest Windows version. Microsoft has been playing catch up on features and speed with several of the other PC browsers. I.E. 8 has caused problems with older PC's and given other browsers a boost. It also has several problems with reading web pages and requires that the code of these pages to be different.

Also, the entire IE line is plagued with security issues. Much of the spyware, adware, and computer viruses across the Internet are made possible by exploitable bugs and flaws in the security architecture of Internet Explorer, sometimes requiring nothing more than viewing of a malicious web page in order to install themselves. The market share for I.E. has dropped to 64%. Microsoft has announced it will soon introduce version 9 to solve some of these problems.


Firefox: Firefox started the current browser wars after its debut five years ago. It is a descendent of IE's old rival, Netscape. Like all other browsers, it's free. Firefox is an open source browser that has led the way in increasing the speed of browsing. For the last 4 years it has been the choice of the more experienced users and has 24% of the market.

Firefox is faster than IE and better conforms to Web standards. This means it displays most Web sites correctly. Firefox is also strong on security; security problems are fixed in a timely manner. It is highly customizable. You can download add-ons—themes, extensions and plug-ins. Themes are buttons, colors and layouts. Plug-ins are core programs that make Firefox work better. They are usually included in the Firefox download. Extensions are a particular strength. These are little programs, nearly always free, that add or enhance features. For instance, you can get an extension that pops up reminders. Another verifies the integrity of Web links. There are literally thousands of things you can add. Regular upgrades continually improve Firefox's speed and stability. New features are always being developed.

Opera: Opera has been around for several years and features unique controls for browsing. It has built in features that allow the use of text to speech and mouse moves for faster surfing. Other features include tabbed browsing, page zooming, and an integrated download manager. Its security features include built-in phishing and malware protection, strong encryption when browsing secure websites, and the ability to easily delete private data such as HTTP cookies. Opera is known for originating many features later adapted by other Web browsers. A list of the “Mouse gestures” can be found at http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/gestures/

Despite these factors, Opera has captured only a small fraction - 2% - of the worldwide personal computer browser market. It does, though, have a stronger market share on mobile devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and personal digital assistants.

Chrome: Chrome was developed by Google and made a giant step in the market. Google's reputation for quality and the features of this browser have made it the choice of many users and it has a 6% share of the market. It is fast, doesn't crash the browser when coding errors occur and has the Google clean look. Most sources agree it is the fastest and safest browser around as of the writing.

Chrome is very secure. Like Firefox, it is responsive to security threats. It even implements security features Firefox doesn't have. This includes a sandbox feature that isolates Web pages from the system. Malicious code can't break out to infect your computer. That's scheduled for Firefox, but hasn't arrived yet.

Chrome's interface is a bit different. It has more screen area so the interface is minimal and streamlined, which might take some adjustment.

Where Chrome lags is extensions. Many useful extensions for Firefox aren't available for Chrome. Also, the extension database and installation procedures aren't user-friendly. This is improving, but it's still a consideration.


Browsers are becoming homogenized. As time passes, they incorporate similar features to compete. If nothing drastic happens, they'll all be the same within a couple years. So, choose a browser with short term benefits foremost in mind. And don’t be afraid to switch.