The Ultimate Browser 

For many people, Netscape is synonymous with the Internet.  The Netscape Communications Corp., whose corporate symbol is a fire-breathing monster nicknamed Mozilla, makes the Netscape Navigator software used by millions of people to operate and browse the Internet’s popular World Wide Web. 

But fans of Japanese science fiction films know that Mozilla’s role model, Godzilla, had some difficult fights.  Indeed, a titanic struggle is looming between Mozilla and « Microsoftra, » better known as Microsoft Internet Explorer. 

Browsers are programs that allow computer users to view and navigate through electronic documents on the Internet’s World Wide Web, one of  the most popular and fastest-growing segments of the global computer network.  A few years ago, there was only a handful of browsers, and all agreed to adhere to a set of standard rules for displaying information. 

Then Netscape entered the market, and the rules changed.  Netscape started adding features without waiting for approval from the standards committees.  It allowed Web developers to do fancier things with text, like showing boldface type and centering.  Consumers loved it, developers loved it, and Netscape quickly left all its rivals in the dust. 

And now there is a race to develop the most exciting features.  Explorer has a new one called scrolling marquees, in which text dances across a Web page.  Netscape has blinking text.  One can expect the features war to escalate from now on. 

It will be interesting to see how Explorer fares against Navigator in the months to come.  From a business standpoint, Microsoft is the nightmare opponent for Netscape.  It is the most feared competitor in the software industry today, and vows to give away its Internet browser and server software if that is what it takes to dislodge Netscape.  Netscape is still a scrappy little start-up company, despite the billions of dollars it is said to be worth in the stock market.  It is one of the few companies to have humbled mighty Microsoft. 

So the browser showdown is set.  However it turns out, Microsoft deserves credit for producing a Web browser that displays Web pages quickly, is economical with system memory and is still easy to use.  I will be keeping it on my computer next to Mozilla and hoping that the two do not get into a tussle that cuts my power lines, crushes my hard disk and causes my data to flee in terror.