Few would disagree Google is the premier Web services company, offering the world's most popular search engine, the world's leading video Website in YouTube, a successful Webmail product in Gmail, and even a fledgling social network in Google+. Perhaps no effort cemented Google's presence as a Web giant than the Chrome Web browser, which the company launched Sept. 1, 2008. Just three years in, Chrome has 15.5 percent market share, according to Net Applications, and over 120 million users worldwide, according to Google's last count in May. The company's speedy V8 JavaScript parsing engine, paired with sandboxed tabs that limit crashes to one tab per failure and a user-friendly interface, have contributed to Chrome's rise. Google is also trying to move the needle forward for HTML5, the Web language standard that the search giant, Facebook and other native Web development companies are embracing to propel their applications forward. Google leveraged HTML5 to create offline access to its Gmail, Google Docs and Google Calendar applications last week. Using HTML5, Google also created this homage to the evolution of Web development over the past 15-plus years, spanning the Mosaic browser to Chrome. It also highlights crucial Web development technologies that make Web browser applications more appealing. This eWEEK slide show delivers a colorful journey through a brief history of browser development.
of
Mosaic
Born at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Mosaic surfaced in 1993 and laid the groundwork for technologies that make the Web easier to use. This includes the ability to display images in line with text instead of displaying images in a separate window. NCSA ceased developing and supporting the browser in 1997.
Netscape Navigator
An offspring of Mosaic and a darling of browser users through the early years of the Web revolution of the 1990s, Netscape Navigator was created by Marc Andreessen, who sold his company, Netscape, to AOL in 1998. Microsoft helped accelerate its fade by bundling Internet Explorer with Windows.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft's Internet Explorer remains the largest Web browser in the world, with 55 percent market share, thanks to years of bundling on Microsoft Windows PCs. Chrome is nibbling at IE share, though IE 9 has impressed users since its launch in March 2011.
Opera
Founded originally as a research project at Norwegian telecommunications concern Telenor, the Opera browser was spun out into a separate company named Opera Software ASA. The browser doesn't command much market share on desktops, though Opera Mini remains the most popular mobile Web browser in devices not made by Apple.
Safari
Apple's proprietary Web browser is the default Web surfing app for Apple's Macs, iPod Touch, iPhones and iPads. Popularity of the iPhone and iPad have boosted Safari's mobile browser share to 55 percent, according to Net Applications.
Firefox
Firefox stormed onto the scene in 2004 as the cool, new open-source browser and took some share over time. Firefox appeared headed toward 25 percent market share and higher, versus IE, in 2008 until Chrome supplanted it as the innovative newbie. Firefox remains a popular browser that has been steadily upgraded. It's hard to argue with its effectiveness even with Chrome in the mix.
Google Chrome Browser
Many Mozilla workers hate Chrome, particularly because it supplanted, or at least split, Firefox's darling status among techies. Thanks to Chrome, Firefox’s market share is stalled at 22 to 23 percent, while Chrome has gained 5 browser percentage points a year since its launch in 2008.
Chrome OS
It’s not a browser, but the Chrome Operating System provides the back end for Chrome. Chrome OS enables Web applications to run on notebooks, requiring very little storage. There's no telling yet if it will catch on, but Google is convinced Chromebooks from Samsung, Acer and other PC makers signal that the Chrome OS is the future of computing. Why? Because applications are hosted in the cloud and accessible from low-cost computers with minimal storage that can be easily replaced without losing data.
HTML5
It's not a browser, but it's a technology essential to deliver improvements in Website performance and sophistication. HTML5 comprises Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript (JS). The technology is still under development, but promises advances in the way programmers render audio, video and other content online for consumption by others. Without HTML5, Web browsing would be limited to the capabilities stretching back to the late 1990s.
Windows Azure is a public cloud platform for building, hosting and scaling applications. Try Windows Azure free for 90 days and get 20GB outbound and unlimited inbound data transfer.
Cloud Computing News & Reviews 
Data Center Efficiency: 10 Tips to Boost Productivity, Reduce Pow[..]
iPhone Apps to Kick Off the 2012 Summer Season 
Email Security: 10 Steps for Dealing With Dangerous Messages
New iPad, Nokia Lumia 900: 10 Gadgets to Boost Your Summer Produc[..]
Smartphone Winners and Losers: 10 Handsets on the Market Now
Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8 Look to Redefine PC Experience
See All Slideshows
Few would disagree Google is the premier Web services company, offering the world's most popular search engine, the world's leading video Website in YouTube, a successful Webmail product in Gmail, and even a fledgling social network in Google+. Perhaps no effort cemented Google's presence as a Web giant than the Chrome Web browser, which the company launched Sept. 1, 2008. Just three years in, Chrome has 15.5 percent market share, according to Net Applications, and over 120 million users worldwide, according to Google's last count in May. The company's speedy V8 JavaScript parsing engine, paired with sandboxed tabs that limit crashes to one tab per failure and a user-friendly interface, have contributed to Chrome's rise. Google is also trying to move the needle forward for HTML5, the Web language standard that the search giant, Facebook and other native Web development companies are embracing to propel their applications forward. Google leveraged HTML5 to create offline access to its Gmail, Google Docs and Google Calendar applications last week. Using HTML5, Google also created this homage to the evolution of Web development over the past 15-plus years, spanning the Mosaic browser to Chrome. It also highlights crucial Web development technologies that make Web browser applications more appealing. This eWEEK slide show delivers a colorful journey through a brief history of browser development.