My Experiences with Browsers and Answers to Test Questions

I remember very well the days of the competition between Netscape and Microsoft Explorer. The Wikipedia article pertaining to the Browser Wars is a reflection of my technology experience as an early adult. As a child, I had access to several means of technology common to middle class families at the time. I remember with fondness the days of the Atari 2600, Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and our Commodore 64 computer. I learned about modems for computers in late elementary and early middle school. One of my childhood friends had a father who worked with computers. He always talked about the things his father told him about computers. I also recall with humor the scene in Ferris Buhler’s Day Off where Ferris (Matthew Broderick) changed his grades with the modem on his computer. All this was in the 1980s. I still did not know what the internet was until my junior year of college in 1995. I remember going to the computer lab at Shepherd College with some of my friends from larger metropolitan areas so they could check “this messaging system referred to as ‘e-mail.’” I really did not take the time understand what these things were until my senior.

During the student teaching phase of my undergraduate years, we were required to take an accompanying class in which we were to develop a thorough portfolio of our student teaching experiences. The professor held several sessions in the computer lab, and she had us become familiar with the internet. I remember the browser available for us to use was Netscape Navigator. I remember the little steering wheel for the hull of an old ship with moving comet like objects in the sky that designated that the browser was still performing the task of loading a page. I only became familiar with the internet in college during my last semester in the spring of 1996. I always tell my students the story about my experience with intense changes in technology in that I began college in 1992 writing my papers with a Smith Corona electronic typewriter and ended in 1996 by writing my papers with computers that had Microsoft Word Perfect.

Upon graduating from college, I purchased my first modern computer at the time. It was a Packard Bell with Microsoft Windows 95. I also purchased dial-up internet access through a small local provider. I can’t even remember the exact name of the provider. (I think it was part of the Mindspring chain.) I just remember the frustration of not being able to log on at times because the Net was overloaded and the dial-up process would not complete itself. I remember thinking about how I wished my computer would have worked like the ones at Shepherd in that all I had to do was click on the Netscape Icon and I would automatically be logged on. I did not know anything about DSL or even wireless at the time. Remember this was 1996. I couldn’t even find Netscape on my computer. The only way I could surf “The Net” was by clicking on the icon with the blue, lower-case letter e after the dial-up process was successful.

Most of my early surfing days were done via Microsoft Explorer. Later on, I was able to find downloads for Netscape Navigator, but it seemed as though explorer did not lock up as frequently as Netscape. Oh yeah, that was another frustration during my early days with the internet. In the early part of the first decade of the 21st Century, (2002-03) my wife and I (I got married in 2002) decided to try this service offered by Verizon called DSL. I really liked this because it reminded me of the computer lab as an undergrad in college. Along with this, my wife purchased her first lap top computer, an IBM Think Pad. With this, we also decided to get wireless access with our DSL package. This was really awesome, but in terms of browsers, we both patronized Microsoft Explorer mainly because our computers were equipped with Microsoft Windows operating systems. I do remember wondering in the early-middle part of the decade where Netscape went. It seemed as though it had fallen off the face of the earth.

I was exposed to Mozilla Firefox a few years ago when I used my brother’s computer for something, and he told me to click on the Firefox icon in order to access the net. I really liked using this browser because it opened with two screens. It also allowed me to save the page I was viewing if I had to log off. When I logged back on, that same page automatically opened. I downloaded this browser on all of more recent computers even though the all use Microsoft Windows as the operating system. I wasn’t aware that Netscape had heavy influence in the creation of Mozilla Firefox until I read the Browser Wars article. I also was exposed to Google Chrome in the fall of 2009. I really liked it, but shortly after downloading it, the IBM Think Pad issued to me by my school crashed. I doubt that this was due to Google Chrome, but I just didn’t download it again after that. This pretty much sums up my experience with browsers.


Browser Wars Test Questions

(Upon reading the article on browser wars and the statistics on browsers)

1. What is a web browser?

A web browser is an application tool that enables computer users to easily maneuver through the many facets of the World Wide Web. Along with assisting users with traveling through the World Wide Web, browsers also enable them to retrieve and present information

2. List the most popular 4 web browsers currently?

According to most recent statistics, the four most popular web browsers are Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Safari. Three different versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are more popular that Safari however. Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 are still more commonly used than Safari.

3. What does the term 'browser war' mean and what drives the competition between web browsers? What is the big deal in having the #1 browser?

The term “browser war” describes the competition between several internet browsers for use. This is all about economic advantage. The browser that receives the most use and popularity has the financial advantage in the browser market. As with anything in the economy competition to be the best and profit drives the competition. Having the top used browser assures a greater share in the market place. With this, it also hypothetically puts the corporation in a stronger financial position to invest in research and development in order to continue to improve the browser in order to strive to maintain their economic advantage.

This assignment corresponded well with standard 4 from ISTE's NETS 2008. Learning about the history of internet browsers and the current state of browser use is an excellent assignment 21st century educators to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility. This is an economic issue relevant to anyone who works in a field that depends on the use of the World Wide Web. It is always important as citizens to study these types of issues and to be as informed as possible.