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The Thrilla in Mozilla
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The web browser wars have been heating up since the early 2000′s. In the 90′s Microsoft all but devastated Netscape. Little did Microsoft know, that Netscape would give birth to its biggest rival.
With broadband readily available, switching browsers is a matter of a few clicks. And with a bloated, buggy and proprietary Internet Explorer, the Mozilla Foundation released its free Firefox in 2004 (originally called Phoenix, rising from the Ashes of the near-defunct Netscape), and shortly thereafter, Opera Software released its Opera browser. Innovative changes, such as tabbed browsing and specialized plugins have allowed for increased flexibility, openness and personalization for browsers, giving Microsoft a run for it’s money.
In 2007, Microsoft released its Internet Explorer 7–a direct attack on Firefox, the only browser that’s been able to become a major player among web surfers. It’s tabbed browsers, built-in search bar, and anti-phishing and security enhancements have made the browser much more attractive to potential Firefox users. The next entrant into this rumble is the new Google Chrome, and it seems to be a powerhouse of a browser.
Firefox has been winning battles, but who’s winning the war? According to the W3C (world wide web Consortium), Firefox has grabbed a considerable share of the market, nearly 43% of all web browsers are Firefox users. Now, compare that to Internet Explorer’s 48%, then compare that to Microsoft’s near 90% in the beginning of 2003.
Released only a month ago, Google’s proven its near dominance as a mainstay of the web. Chrome has already gained significant portion of the browsers’ eyes. Out of nowhere, Chrome has infiltrated and surpassed more established browsers besting Netscape and Opera combined, as well as besting Apple’s Safari. 3 out of every 10 users, on average, are Google Chrome users.
Will Google go on to eradicate Firefox, and Internet Explorer? Doubtful.
Firefox’s development team is very innovative and with Firefox Add-ons, there is an avid community base supporting the browser.
Until Microsoft Windows (be it vista, XP, or the upcoming Seven), ceases being the defacto standard operating system, Internet Explorer has an advantage by simply being part of the default installation.
But Google has a way of surprising us, and they’ve proven that the web is their playground. These browser wars have increased innovation, forced developers to adhere to a regimented set of standards and have streamlined their operation and minimized software bugs. Ultimately, the winners here are the users and web designers. Designers, until this second round of browser wars in the 2000′s have been the losers. With programming standards that work nearly across the board, the user experience has been greatly amplified.
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