From slamming the Netscape browser to monopolizing the market and finally being robbed of the dominance of Google Chrome, Microsoft’s development in the web browser industry can be described as ups and downs.
Editor’s note: This article is from Tencent Technology, reviewing music.
According to foreign media reports, from the attack on Netscape browser to the monopoly market and finally to the hegemony of Google browser, Microsoft’s development in the web browser industry can be described as ups and downs. Let’s take a look at how Microsoft has lost its monopoly in the web browser industry step by step.
1994: Netscape at the beginning
Although there are other browsers before it, Netscape Navigator is the first browser to grab a significant market share. The company was founded by Marc Andreessen and made an initial public offering (IPO) in 1995, which can be said to have triggered a revolution.
Anderson boasted that Netscape “will make Windows a bunch of poorly debugged device drivers.” Microsoft made a fierce counterattack and eventually led to an antitrust lawsuit.
Netscape CEO James Barksdale talked about meeting with Microsoft in a testimony at the court: “In my 33 years of business, I have never participated in any such Meeting: The competitors are so openly telling us that they will either stop competing with it or it will kill us.”
Netscape was sold to AOL in 1999, but the source code for the browser became the basis for the Mozilla project.
1995 years: Windows 95 Add Internet Connection Wizard
When Microsoft released its first Internet Explorer browser, most people still use a dial-up modem to connect to the network. Prior to Windows 95, you had to purchase a separate program (such as the old Trumpet Winsock) to add the required TCP/IP network components.
The Internet Connection Wizard looked awkward after 25 years, but it was revolutionary at the time.
1995: Internet Explorer debuts in the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version of Windows 95
Every PC user remembers the Windows 95 public release in August 1995, but you may not remember that Internet Explorer is not integrated into the retail version of Windows. Instead, it was released in the Plus Pack and requires additional fees from the user.
A few months later, Microsoft released Windows 95 to OEMs, and OEMs introduced new PCs, including new browsers and new operating systems.
The original version was modified based on the Mosaic code licensed by Spyglass. A year later, with the introduction of Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2, Internet Explorer was upgraded to version 3.0.
1997: IE4 tightly integrates Active Desktop into Windows
In the late 1990s, Microsoft still had the ambition to let its browser run across platforms. Internet Explorer 4 is for Windows 95, Windows NT, Mac OS, and even UN.Released by platforms such as IX.
This is the first browser version that includes the Trident rendering engine. When version 4.01 was released with Windows 98, it was tightly integrated into the desktop with a series of Active Desktop widgets. These widgets are designed to put web-based content directly on the desktop.
This feature has not received much recognition and has not survived into the XP era.
2001: IE6 comes with Windows XP and has been popular for five years
Between 1995 and 2001, Microsoft released six major versions of Internet Explorer. Version 6 appears in the 2001 version of Windows XP and in later versions of Windows Server 2003.
By the year 2001, Microsoft has given up its cross-platform ambitions. IE6 is compatible with Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows Me, but is not compatible with non-Microsoft operating systems.
After this release, Microsoft actually gave up the browser for the next five years, only providing security fixes, but did not introduce new features. As the default browser for Windows, it has maintained its dominant position, especially among enterprise customers.
2001: In order to resolve antitrust charges, Microsoft abandoned the development of a web browser
Why did Microsoft give up Internet Explorer development in the five years since the release of IE6? Just look at it in the landmark antitrust case (the US government sues Microsoft) and you know it. This case depends to a large extent on Microsoft’s predatory behavior in smashing the Netscape browser.
As part of the settlement agreement, Microsoft agreed not to interfere with other browser manufacturers and OEMs to reach an agreement,The settlement agreement was reached before shipment of Windows XP. However, for Netscape, which had been annexed by AOL at the time, it was a costly victory.
1996-2011: ActiveX raises a number of security issues
Microsoft introduced ActiveX technology in 1996. In a post published in January 2001, the author wrote:
“I have been unable to shake people’s distrust of the fundamentals behind ActiveX. After all, ActiveX controls are just a piece of software that can be transferred over the network, automatically installed, and controlled from virtually anywhere. Shouldn’t you Keep an eye on any software that appears on your PC?”
It turns out that this distrust is just right. ActiveX becomes the carrier of spam and spyware. In the 1990s, security expert Richard M. Smith developed a third-party ActiveX control tool. It took Microsoft many years (actually until IE9) to finally introduce options that prevent unnecessary ActiveX controls from executing.
One of the key selling points of the Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10 is that it does not include ActiveX support.
2004: Mozilla Firefox poses a major challenge to IE’s dominance
When the Firefox browser was released to the public in 2004, it seemed unrealistic to challenge Microsoft’s ideas. Most PC users are still not used to open source, and the idea that this small company is competing with a powerful Microsoft is incredible.
But this browser (based on the original Netscape code) is very stable and offers new features such as tabbed browsing and support extensions. At the same time, IE6 is static, constant, and plagued by security issues one after another.
Technology media has begun touting Firefox, and in just a few years, Firefox is rightIts old competitors have created real threats. At its peak, Firefox’s market share was as high as 40%.
2006: IE7 adds tabbed browsing, but it’s too late
The challenge from Firefox awakens this sleeping giant in Redmond, and Microsoft released the first new version of Internet Explorer in five years. The biggest change is the increase in page browsing, which has been a major reason for people turning to Firefox.
IE7 also includes a series of new security features and improvements for the enterprise, but it does not win back many consumers and small businesses. In fact, it was launched as the default browser in the fateful Windows Vista, which didn’t make much difference.
2008: With the launch of Chrome 1.0, Google began the journey of browser dominance
In 2008, Google’s rumors that it was ready to release its own web browser proved to be true. The original Google Chrome browser was only for Windows computers.
In order to introduce its new product, Google released a 64-page comic book explaining how the browser works.
The release for Linux, OS X and mobile platforms was subsequently released. Tired
The old, slow browser PC and Mac users immediately turned to Chrome. Chrome has embarked on a long and stable journey to the undisputed market dominance it enjoys today.
By 2010, the trouble with Internet Explorer 6 was terrible for Microsoft. It is still very popular, but it is also very insecure and does not meet modern network standards. Developers have publicly abandoned support for Internet Explorer, and users are rushing to Mozilla and Google’s alternative browsers.
After the release of Windows 7’s default browser, Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft took an unusual step: launching its own ad. The goal is to make the majority of Windows XP advocates believe that it is time to abandon the old browser. “You don’t drink milk nine years ago. Why use a browser 9 years ago?”
Of course, the target audience for these ads includes business users who are eager to use the old operating system that has been around for nine years.
2010-2013: EU antitrust regulators force Microsoft to let users choose which browser to use
Microsoft lost the case in another antitrust case, this time facing the EU. In order to resolve the allegations of antitrust actions, the company agreed to add “browser options” to all new Windows it sells in the EU.
The idea is that anyone setting up a new Windows PC can make their own choices from the five browsers presented in random order.
Unfortunately, the company messed up and stopped offering browser options after 18 months. This technical error caused Microsoft to be fined more than $700 million.
2012: In Windows 8, Microsoft splits Internet Explorer into two
Windows 8 will revolutionize PCsIt can turn a laptop into a tablet with a revolutionary card-like user interface.
As part of this ambitious vision, Internet Explorer on Windows 8 is included in two different versions. The traditional desktop version is very similar to the previous version, but the “modern” IE is only full screen, the address bar is at the bottom, and the way the labels are handled is strange.
The modern version of IE was almost abandoned in less than three years, just like Windows 8.
2013: Microsoft’s ultimate version of Internet Explorer 11 appears in Windows 10
No one knows it when it was released, but Internet Explorer 11 is the last version ever. It is the only version that Windows still supports, and although it is included with Windows 10, it is no longer the default version.
The reason why Internet Explorer continues to be tenacious is largely because enterprise customers who have previously designed their business applications cannot work on modern browsers. Microsoft tried to use the “Internet Explorer model” to attract users away from its old platform, but the usage rate of IE 11 is still high.
Microsoft is still providing security patches for IE 11, but the development of new features stopped in 2016.
2015: Microsoft Edge replaces Internet Explorer on Windows 10
If Windows 10 is a negation of Windows 8 (even skipping a full version number to add some extra distance), then Microsoft Edge is a denial of Internet Explorer. In Windows 10, Edge is the default browser, Internet ExpThe lorer is just an option.
In order to build the EdgeHTML rendering engine at the heart of the new browser, Microsoft engineers started with the old Trident engine and removed the code for backward compatibility. This transition process also abandoned ActiveX and some confusing document patterns.
Unfortunately, Edge was not completed when it was released with the first generation of Windows 10. For example, it took another nearly a year for the extension to appear. What annoys Microsoft is that most users of new Windows 10 PCs use only one Edge and start downloading other browsers they like.
2019: Microsoft uses the open source Chromium engine to restart Edge
Microsoft said that Edge’s original goal was to build a modern browser that focused on network standards rather than backwards compatibility. In some ways, it does a very good job on this task, but compatibility brings huge engineering costs.
Even if only a few percent of the sites are not properly rendered in the Edge, this is enough to give users peace of mind using Google Chrome.
So, at the end of 2018, Microsoft announced the abandonment of EdgeHTML and will use the open source Chromium engine to rebuild its default browser. The Chromium engine is also at the heart of the Chrome browser. As of August 2019, the new browser was widely released in three channels, including all versions of Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android it supported. (Tencent Technology Review / Music)