When you think about the internet you easily know the URL bar search bars and various websites that are used in our day to day lives. The use of the internet didn’t start there. The first workable prototype for the internet was in the 1960s and was called ARPANET. This invention allowed the use of multiple computers to communicate on a single network. By the 1970s two scientist Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf worked together to create TCP/IP also known as Transmission Control Protocol and internet protocol. With this invention, it set how the use of data could be managed and used across multiple networks that not only helped create the idea of the internet. By 1990s the internet had a real form and could be recognized. It was created by computer scientist Tim Bernes-Lee. With it allowed us to communicate in ways that way that we couldn’t before. Communication was much faster, and we didn’t have to rely on in-person contact or sending letters. Tim felt as though prior to the creation of the internet he said “In those days there were was different information on different computers but you had to log on to different computers to get at it. Also sometimes you had to learn different programs on each program on each computer” (Web foundation). So Tim went to work and on a way to solve that problem and make it easier to connect in a way that didn’t require multiple computers and different programs to learn. By 1990 Tim created the first Webpage “WorldWideWeb.app” and the first web server “Httpd”.
When thinking of web browsers you commonly know about Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer. These weren’t the original browsers that we know and love in an advanced technological world. We can define web browsers as “A software program that allows a user to locate and access and display web pages” (Techopedia). Mosaics wasn’t the first web browser that came out in the 20th century. Web browsers can date back as early as the 1980s which led to the creation of WWW the World Wide Web. These pages consisted of HTML required to program in order to access a page. With the release of Mosaic, it did away with this idea of entering HTML to access to the web and made it more graphically appealing idea of the World Wide Web. Mosaic became a tool that was reliable and easy to use. Mosaic was fast and allowed people to see images within pages. Compared to other browsers prior to Mosaic where could only show images in separate windows and it popularized the use of bookmarks and icons so it was more user-friendly. During the time there were other web browsers but they were for Unix machines and those machines were rather expensive. When it came to having access to the web it was mainly for the use of academics and engineers who had access to this form of technology. The creator of Mosaic Marc Andersen created Mosaic in a way that it was easier to use and was graphically and aesthetically pleasing. With the invention of Mosaic, it introduced the invention of a hyperlink. Previously hypertext links had reference numbers that the user typed in so they could retrieve linked documents. With the invention of the hyperlinks allowed users to simply click on a link to retrieve a document. In 1993 when Mosaic has released it immediately became popular more than 5,000 copies were being downloaded each month. With the ever-expanding Mosaic, it’s growth was so great that it made it to the front page of the New York Times.
Tim Bernes Lee creation of the internet not only set a stepping stone for how we use the internet in today’s standards so did the use of Mosaic. Mosaic was a revolutionary tool that is often missed when it comes to the modern form of the internet. Tim Beres Lee invention of the internet is always recognized as a major factor in a source of communication. With Mosaic, we were now able to look at text and images on the same page. Browsers prior to it couldn’t do that. The design of the web browser was more user-friendly and was much easier to use. This tool also introduced hyperlinks allowing a user to click a link and being able to retrieve a document from it.
WorkCited
Andrews, Evan. “Who Invented the Internet?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 18 Dec. 2013, www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-internet.
“History of the Web.” World Wide Web Foundation, webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-the-web/.
Dalakov, Gerogi. “NCSA Mosaic of Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina.” History of Computers and Computing, Internet, Internet Conquers the World, NCSA Mosaic, history-computer.com/Internet/Conquering/Mosaic.html.