Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
The Internet Browser Revolution
Tuesday, March 02, 2010 by Matt Hymel
In the early 1990's, the birth of AOL gave way to internet
familiarity and usability from a personal computer standpoint. The
one function utilized by the worldwide program turned out to be
chat rooms and online conference rooms. Shortly after AOL's
success, Internet Explorer was released, packaged exclusively with
Plus! for Windows 95. In a way, the internet browser was born in
1995. Although it enjoyed great success for ten years, the
inevitable competitors began to emerge and battle for the title of
"Browser Bruiser."
Of course, in the beginning, the fight was all about who had the
most muscle or in this case the most users. Internet Explorer
became the "prototype" of internet interface accessibility, which
rooted in both the consumer and enterprise mindset. With such a
powerful following, any competitor would surely have to flex their
accessibility muscles or take an alternative route.
In comes Firefox whose vision of free and open source web
browsing unlocked the possibilities of browser capabilities. In a
matter of 5 years, or half the time of Internet Explorer, Mozilla
Firefox surpassed IE as the most used browser (not dependent on an
operating system) with almost a quarter of recorded usage share of web browsers.
Twenty five years after the first release of Internet Explorer
and the browser revolution has begun. Users have embraced internet
accessibility and now demand unique user interfaces and efficient
connections. Google, the search engine giant of the last decade,
has established their presence with Google Chrome, stressing the
speed and customizable features of their respected browser. Safari
and Opera claim a small percentage of the browser market as well,
however, with not as strong a following.
Where does the revolution go from here?
The first step was ousting the king. Internet Explorer 6 has
proven that its vulnerability isn't worth the continuing support,
as Google has backed away completely. The browser industry has
grown competitive enough to provide sufficient options outside of
IE 6, including an in-house option of IE 8. However, to pry a
familiarity away from users, especially enterprise users, will be a
long and daunting task.
The next step will be variety. The browser has certainly diversified in both function and interface, but
users still look for an experience appropriate for themselves. In a
fast growing technology field with mobile web becoming a new
standard, internet interface will have to stay one step ahead of
user trends and technology capabilities.
Of course, after all the bells and whistles are advertised, the
long-term success of any browser will be its security issues. The
web community has finally initiated the burial of IE6 for this
specific reason, and will never accept anything but the most secure
internet browsing experience.
Will there ever be a browser "king" again, or will browser usage
continue to spread out among competing brands?
Until next time -
Matthew Hymel
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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