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Mother of invention

How the Mosaic browser triggered a digital revolution.

John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com
John Borland
covers the intersection of digital entertainment and broadband.
John Borland
2 min read
 

 
 
 
 

Editors: Mike Yamamoto, Desiree Everts, Scott Ard
Copy editors: Lisa Denenmark, Scott Martin
Design: Pam Dore
Production: Mike Markovich

 
How the Mosaic browser triggered a digital revolution

By John Borland, Paul Festa, David Becker and Mike Yamamoto
April 17, 2003, 4:00 AM PT

On April 22, 1993, a group of students at the University of Illinois released a piece of computer code designed to get information from various public networks.

Little did they know that their pet project, a humble application named Mosaic, would fundamentally change everyday life. While Web browsers with graphical interfaces had traded hands among academics years earlier, Mosaic was the first to be widely adopted and introduce the masses to the Internet.

A decade later, we have yet to assess its full effects on everything from global economics and free speech to holiday shopping and online dating. Coinciding with the anniversary of Mosaic 1.0 next week, this News.com special report offers a historical perspective while examining the new technologies and industries the browser has spawned.

Day 4: Future: Is there life after the browser?

 

Legacy: A brave new World Wide Web
Universally taken for granted, Web browsing has changed society forever and created an Information Age generation.
 
Victor: Software empire pays high price
After billions of dollars and years of lawsuits, Microsoft won the fabled "browser wars." But was it a Pyrrhic victory?
 
Upstarts: Evolution creates second wave
A new crop of browsers is entering a market long thought dead. The reasons? Small hardware and open-source software.
 
Future: Is there life after the browser?
Technologies ranging from instant messaging to blogging raise questions about the software's relevancy in years to come.