Browser Wars

When the World Wide Web was first created, it was inaccessible to most people. Software engineer Marc Andreessen envisioned a way to make the Internet accessible to ordinary people instead of just programmers and researchers. He and other programmers began creating a graphical web browser called Mosaic for free. It went viral very, very quickly.

Jim Clark, eventual co-founder of Netscape, contacted Andreessen after noticing how far Mosaic spread. He offered Andreessen and his colleagues a deal and they accepted. This is how Netscape was formed. They worked to create a new browser based on Mosaic. In their early stages, Microsoft reached out to Netscape about business ventures, but Netscape shut them down - they wanted to take Microsoft down and finally challenge the tech monopoly.

Netscape’s browser hit one million downloads quickly. Bill Gates did not appreciate the development of this innovative software. He and Paul Allen had started Microsoft, which effectively monopolized the computer and web market. Finally, they had a veritable competitor in Netscape, and they were afraid they were going to be wiped out. When Netscape launched in 1994, Gates realized that he needed to make a browser himself. Netscape hired antitrust lawyer Gary Reback in order to defend themselves from Gates’ legal wrath. Reback noted that Gates had come after many fledgling companies and destroyed them. Reback was famous for coming after Microsoft.

Microsoft arranged a meeting with Netscape. Netscape claims that Microsoft threatened them and said if they didn’t merge with them they would take their ideas. Microsoft, of course, denies this and claims that it was a set-up. If Netscape’s claim was true, however, it meant that Microsoft was breaking antitrust laws.

Shortly after this, Netscape made an initial public offering. It was unconventional, because the company had only been around about a year. However, their stock was very profitable. After revenue began to climb, Andreessen got cocky and began to publicly express his disdain for Microsoft. He called Microsoft, “a set of poorly debugged device drivers,” and this was what finally pushed them to the edge. They focused on creating Internet Explorer so that they could destroy Netscape. Thomas Reardon is the lead programmer credited with creating the web browser.

Internet Explorer had the upper hand because they could afford to give the browser away for free. By 1997, Internet Explorer crushed Netscape. Netscape ended up getting bought out by AOL. Still, the Netscape engineers made plenty of money, even if they didn’t win out in the end. Microsoft, however, ended up getting a historic antitrust lawsuit placed against them after this for predatory practices that placed a chokehold on consumer’s options. Gates was found guilty and Microsoft’s stock market valuation dropped by billions overnight. Their company was supposed to be split into two, but that order was rescinded. However, Gates did lose his CEO position.