views:

152

answers:

4

I´m looking for publications about the history of the internet browser. Papers, articles Blog posts whatever. Cannot find anything on ACM IEEE etc. and my blog search also didn´t reveal anything remarkable. Please help

+2  A: 

There's Eric Sink's blog post: "Memoirs From the Browser Wars".

Eric Sink was one of the members of the team that implemented Mosaic, the first web browser. He litterally is part of the the history of the internet browser :-)

Carl Seleborg
First *modern* web browser, in that it handled graphics. Did you know that the actual Warner brothers (the brothers whom Warner Bros. studio is named for) actually started out running a nickelodian where people paid a nickel to watch Edison reels? I love it when the founders of a scene stay active 30 years later (even if Firefox drags its feet from time to time).
Anthony
+5  A: 

Did you take a look at the entries in Wikipedia? It's a useful starting point.

Here are a few to start you off:

Wikipedia - Web browser

Wikipedia - Timeline of web browsers

Wikipedia - Browser Wars

Edward Wilde
A: 

I would start with Wikipedia as Eward mentioned.

But after you read wikipedia, check the bottom of the articles for the sources used. Then read those sources. If this is for a school paper I doubt you'll get full points for using wikipedia.

epochwolf
+2  A: 

The keywords I would search for in a decent library index (or Google) are:

  • Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of first HTTP client and HTTP server)
  • WorldWideWeb (HTTP client mentioned above. Notice no spaces in name.)
  • NCSA Mosaic (first graphical web browser, evolved into Netscape and eventually Firefox)
  • Marc Andreessen (project leader for Mosaic, founder of Netscape. Also one of the first technologists to envision a browser-based operating system, what we might now call "web-apps".)
  • Browser Wars (should cover most of the major players involved in how we think of modern Web browsers).

Most of this stuff is covered in the articles suggested in the previous posts. Just hope this helps you pick out the terms that will help you with finding scholarly sources.

The HTTP client (now better known as the Web browser) is one of the key components of the World Wide Web (or just "the web"), which is distinguishable from the more generic "Internet" in that it uses a combination of technologies (most notably: HTML, HTTP (client and server) and Domain Names). The reason why you may be having trouble finding good sources in your search is that you are searching of "history of the web browser" which is kind of like searching for "history of guitar solos" in that the info is out there but combined with the larger topic. While you may get some results, most of the information you want will probably be integrated into sources on the history of the web. That's why I suggested searching for Tim Berners-Lee first, as he invented all of the major components essential to the web.

Anthony