Entrepreneur Invents Early Web Browser. 1990s.

Описание: I left the east coast and came to work for the now somewhat famous startup General Magic in 1992. I was a vice president. I became fascinated by the Palo Alto, California environment and the enormous creativity and experimentation going on there.

The gentleman presenting his technology in this 1996 video is Marc Brown who at the time worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) as a researcher and IT architect. His team sent me this video & I have kept it all this time. What he was presenting showing the Palo Alto restaurants (they were extraordinarily good) seemed at the time to be fantastic to folks like me. I was just beginning to work to learn to use my first browser – Netscape.

Palo Alto became a hub for the development of web browsers in the 1990s due to a confluence of factors. Why?

Palo Alto is home to Stanford University, a breeding ground for innovation and talent, fostering entrepreneurial culture with collaboration with technology companies.

Silicon Valley of which Palo Alto is a part is renowned for its dense concentration of venture capital firms. This means that start-ups had easier access to funding, which enabled them to take risks and innovate. The area had a strong technology ecosystem in place including leading tech companies and a large pool of skilled engineers and entrepreneurs.

Silicon Valley's culture encouraged experimentation, innovation, and risk-taking making it a fertile ground for the rapid development and growth of new technologies.

Companies like Netscape, which played a pioneering role in web browser development, were located in or near Palo Alto.

There were also important research institutions like Xerox PARC, which were influential in various technological advancements.

California's legal and regulatory environment was conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation, including policies that made it easier to start businesses.

The lifestyle and weather in Silicon Valley attracted talent from around the world.

The first web browsers were a significant driving force behind the rapid expansion of the internet. During the 1990s, significant advancements in web browser technology were achieved by various individuals and groups, most notably Tim Berners-Lee at CERN, who invented the World Wide Web and the first web browser, and Marc Andreessen and his team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who developed the Mosaic web browser. These developments served as the foundation for future web browsers.

Here is a list of some of the earliest: and most influential browsers from that time.

WorldWideWeb (later renamed Nexus) - 1990: Developed by Tim Berners-Lee, the WorldWideWeb was the first web browser and editor. It was later renamed Nexus to avoid confusion with the World Wide Web.

Line Mode Browser (or LMB) - 1991: Also developed under the leadership of Tim Berners-Lee, this was the second web browser ever created and the first to be accessible on multiple platforms.
ViolaWWW - 1992: Developed by Pei-Yuan Wei, this was one of the earliest graphical web browsers.

Mosaic - 1993: Developed by a team at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) that included Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina, Mosaic was the first widely used graphical web browser and is often credited for popularizing the World Wide Web.

Cello - 1993: Developed by Thomas R. Bruce, Cello was the first web browser for Microsoft Windows.

Netscape Navigator - 1994: Marc Andreessen and his team, many of whom were involved in the development of Mosaic, created Netscape Navigator. It quickly became the dominant web browser of the mid-1990s.

Internet Explorer - 1995: Microsoft's entry into the browser market. It was initially based on a version of Spyglass Mosaic, which Microsoft licensed from Spyglass Inc. Internet Explorer eventually overtook Netscape Navigator to become the most popular browser.

Opera - 1996: Developed by a team at Telenor, the largest telecommunications company in Norway, before being spun off into a separate company.

I have fond memories of my days in Palo Alto, my times eating at just about all of the restaurants Marc Brown mentions in this video, and my times working with incredible innovative explorers, engineers and marketing geniuses like so many of those who were at General Magic during those days.
David Hoffman filmmaker