Year in review: Browser wars, part 2

Browsers: A return to arms For a market segment Microsoft was said to have won decisively in the mid-1990s, the company spent a lot of time in 2004 putting out fires on the browser front. Like the ghost of the Netscape browser rising to haunt its slayer, Firefox emerged with a vengeance from the Mozilla open-source group, which was and last year spun off by parent company Time Warner. Firefox started off the year a prerelease, project by a group that had lost much of its credibility after chronic delays and . But Firefox ended 2004 as a force to be reckoned with. While IE went much of the year with a lock on better than 90 percent of the browser market, surveys showed it slipping incrementally through the second half. By November, one survey showed that Firefox had forced the dominant browser for the first time since the browser wars of the last decade. In the meantime, Mozilla made progress on other fronts, including a project to produce a version of Firefox for cell phones and other small devices; a new effort to create an alternative to Microsoft's ActiveX plug-in technology; and an alliance with the to improve the browser-desktop integration in advance of Microsoft's much-delayed Longhorn operating system, in which browser and desktop will be significantly more blended together. As for Netscape, America Online spent the year proving to the world that its storied browser is not dead yet. In the spring, the company started hiring with an eye to , and in the fall--as the Netscape browser its 10th anniversary--word got out that AOL was preparing not only a but a new ; a redesigned portal site; and an accompanying marketing campaign for the storied, bloodied brand. The catalyst for the Firefox explosion was the havoc wrought on the Internet by phishing schemes, spyware and other security menaces. In response to , Microsoft in August issued an operating system update, , that significantly changed the way the browser handled pop-up windows, Web site plug-ins like Macromedia's Flash application, and software downloads. The browsing changes , who predicted hard times for plug-in vendors. It also raised questions about Microsoft's decision to issue the browser changes through an operating system update only, which would require about half the people running Windows to . Microsoft battled more plug-in headaches with the continuation of its defense against the University of California and its Eolas spinoff, which in 2003 won a landmark $521 million patent infringement judgment--later upped to $565 million--against the software giant for IE's plug-in mechanism. In the spring, Microsoft won a significant round against UC when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initiated its own . And based on the composition of the federal appeals court panel that convened in December to hear Microsoft's appeal, legal eagles gave the company of having at least part of the judgment overturned. --Paul Festa Patent Office signals it's set to throw out controversial browser claims in verdict against Microsoft--but it's not over yet. March 16, 2004 The software giant appeals the $521 million patent infringement judgment a federal district court handed down in August. June 8, 2004 Internet Explorer is getting its first update in two years. Many want more, but Microsoft still says no new browser until Longhorn. August 10, 2004 Patent Office hands Microsoft second victory, scraps browser patent claims that could roil Web if upheld. August 18, 2004 Sites and software that depend on ActiveX may falter under Microsoft's new security regime. September 3, 2004 A domain-name registration, a patent application and several recent hires are among the tantalizing bits of info. September 23, 2004 Company to make browser upgrades available only through XP updates, as half the Windows world operates with older OSes. September 23, 2004 Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen says Microsoft faces serious competition from smaller alternative browsers. October 6, 2004 Microsoft's minimal attention to the browser used to be a boon for some software writers. Now it's starting to hurt. October 7, 2004 Standalone browser to be based on IE technology, according to sources familiar with America Online's plans. October 8, 2004 It brought the Web to the masses, then virtually disappeared. Now the 10-year-old browser is set for an AOL makeover. October 13, 2004 The release could make a big impact if pre-release trends propel the browser into serious contention with IE. November 9, 2004 Mozilla Foundation's browser may be free and open source, but that doesn't keep insiders from cashing in. November 17, 2004 AOL releases browser prototype bristling with RSS feeds, tabs, plenty of Netscape branding--and the option to surf in IE. November 30, 2004 Mozilla holds 'fire' in naming fight Opera IPO opens on high note Judge rules Microsoft infringed on Eolas patent Browser campaign slams IE Microsoft says Firefox not a threat to IE Firefox maps its next moves Study: Firefox still gaining on IE Firefox aims for 10 percent of Web surfers Major browsers bitten by security bugs Unearthing the origins of Firefox Nokia cash boosts Mozilla

Year in review: Browser wars, part 2

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