Question

Case Project 1: Popular Web Browsers in the Marketplace - at least 2 pages of content Define Web browsers. Conduct research using hard copy or electronic sources to learn about the leading Web browser applications available in the marketplace today. Quoting credible sources, name four of the most well-known Web browsers and explain why these are the most popular. Include the costs of these four and any limits to installation such as compatibility. Include when these were first introduced into the marketplace and the list of revisions/versions as of today. If you were to design a new Web browser, what would be some of the new features/functionally you would include and why. Include all sources on a separate reference page in APA format. Remember to cite your source and include all references.

Answer 1

WEB BROWSER

A web browser, or simply "browser," is an application used to access and view websites. Common web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari.

The primary function of a web browser is to render HTML, the code used to design or "mark up" webpages. Each time a browser loads a web page, it processes the HTML, which may include text, links, and references to images and other items, such as cascading style sheets and JavaScript functions. The browser processes these items, then renders them in the browser window.

Early web browsers, such as Mosaic and Netscape Navigator, were simple applications that rendered HTML, processed form input, and supported bookmarks. As websites have evolved, so have web browser requirements. Today's browsers are far more advanced, supporting multiple types of HTML (such as XHTML and HTML 5), dynamic JavaScript, and encryption used by secure websites.

The capabilities of modern web browsers allow web developers to create highly interactive websites. For example, Ajax enables a browser to dynamically update information on a webpage without the need to reload the page. Advances in CSS allow browsers to display a responsive website layouts and a wide array of visual effects. Cookies allow browsers to remember your settings for specific websites.

While web browser technology has come a long way since Netscape, browser compatibility issues remain a problem. Since browsers use different rendering engines, websites may not appear the same across multiple browsers. In some cases, a website may work fine in one browser, but not function properly in another. Therefore, it is smart to install multiple browsers on your computer so you can use an alternate browser if necessary.

A learning system based on formalised teaching but with the help of electronic resources is known as E-learning. While teaching can be based in or out of the classrooms, the use of computers and the Internet forms the major component of E-learning. E-learning can also be termed as a network enabled transfer of skills and knowledge, and the delivery of education is made to a large number of recipients at the same or different times. Earlier, it was not accepted wholeheartedly as it was assumed that this system lacked the human element required in learning.

However, with the rapid progress in technology and the advancement in learning systems, it is now embraced by the masses. The introduction of computers was the basis of this revolution and with the passage of time, as we get hooked to smartphones, tablets, etc, these devices now have an importance place in the classrooms for learning. Books are gradually getting replaced by electronic educational materials like optical discs or pen drives. Knowledge can also be shared via the Internet, which is accessible 24/7, anywhere, anytime.

POPULAR WEB BROWSERS:

Here are some of the pros and cons of the four popular web browsers.

• Google Chrome. By just about any metric, Google Chrome has been the browser of choice for most internet users over the last couple years.
• Apple Safari.
• Microsoft Edge.
• Opera.

Google Chrome
By just about any metric, Google Chrome has been the browser of choice for most internet users over the last couple years. It’s easy to use and its graphics interface has a low profile. However, if you want to customize Chrome with extensions and apps, there are more than enough options. The bottom line is: this is the best browser for users who spend a lot of time in G-Suite documents, or want the security benefits of frequent patches and updates.

Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, and was later ported to Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. The browser is also the main component of Chrome OS, where it serves as the platform for web apps.

Most of Chrome's source code comes from Google's open-source Chromium project, but Chrome is licensed as proprietary freeware. WebKit was the original rendering engine, but Google eventually forked it to create the Blink engine; all Chrome variants except iOS now use Blink.

As of July 2019, StatCounter estimates that Chrome has a 71% worldwide browser market share on traditional PCs and 63% across all platforms.^[16][17] Because of this success, Google has expanded the "Chrome" brand name to other products: Chrome OS, Chromecast, Chromebook, Chromebit, Chromebox, and Chromebase.

Advantages:

• Chrome is an extremely fast web browser; it loads and displays pages very quickly.
• You can drag tabs out into separate windows, without difficulty, and back in again with your mouse.
• Google Chrome has a very basic, simple design, making it easy to use.
• The start-up page lists the most frequent pages you’ve visited and allows you to click and access them with ease.
• Chrome automatically translates pages into a language you understand for your convenience.
• You can search the internet through your address bar at any time.
• If a site crashes on one of your tabs, other open tabs will not be affected.
  You may browse the internet without being logged using Chrome’s new private feature: Incognito.
• Unlike Firefox and Safari, you can alter the colour and theme of the browser.
• Chrome is faster than Explorer and FireFox.
• Chrome takes only seconds to install.

Disadvantages:

• Chrome uses up a lot of memory (RAM) when running it.
• If you accidently close the browser, Chrome will close all the tabs opened without warning.

Apple Safari
We might as well start off with the one, glaring drawback of Safari: It’s available only to Apple users. However, if you are working on a macOS or iOS device, Safari has a lot going for it. Ad blocking is built right into the browser, as well as RSS support for aggregating lots of information in one place. And because tabs can be automatically synced across all your Apple devices, we highly recommend Safari for anyone in a Mac environment.Safari is a graphical web browser developed by Apple, based on the WebKit engine. First released on desktop in 2003 with Mac OS X Panther, a mobile version has been bundled with iOS devices since the iPhone's introduction in 2007. Safari is the default browser on Apple devices. A Windows version was available from 2007 to 2012.

Advantages

• Very simple to start and use and friendly with spell check.
• Home page of "Top Sites" which shows a picture/link to your top 12 visited sites.
• Homepage of "Bookmark". Looks just like iTunes but shows recently visited sites.
• Simple to organize and customize tabs and bars to your specifications.
• Fast web browser

Disadvantages

• Founded by Apple Inc. therefore limited to Apple products.
• Updates to Safari are rare.
• Some websites dont support Safari.
• Although pop ups are rare, hard to turn off pop ups.
• Boring look.

Microsoft Edge
Note that Edge is a different browser than Internet Explorer. The latter still exists, but we’ve decided to skip it for various reasons. Although Edge works only on Windows 10 systems, it has two things going for it. First, Microsoft has announced a feature that will incorporate virtualization into Edge to quarantine downloads for testing before they’re opened on your computer. Second, the Windows 10 browser comes with some fantastic Office 365 integration. We highly recommend Edge for users working in a business enterprise environment.Microsoft Edge is a web browser developed by Microsoft. It was first released for Windows 10 and Xbox One in 2015, then for Android and iOS in 2017, And for macOS in 2019.

Edge includes integration with Cortana and has extensions hosted on the Microsoft Store. Unlike Internet Explorer, Edge does not support the legacy ActiveX and BHO technologies.

Originally built with Microsoft's own EdgeHTML and Chakra engines, Edge was rebuilt as a Chromium-based browser in 2019, using the Blink and V8 engines. As part of this change (codenamed Anaheim), Microsoft made preview builds of Edge available on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and macOS, in addition to Windows 10. The first public release followed on January 15, 2020.

Adavantages:

• Microsoft Edge comes with high speed.
• Microsoft Edge comes with Reading Mode.
• Microsoft Edge Reader mode is quite convenient.
• Microsoft Edge comes with improved Security.
• The users can use Microsoft Edge to draw on & annotate the web pages.
• This works a lot better if you have a touchscreen computer and pen.
• Microsoft Edge integrates with the Cortana Digital Assistant to offer voice control, search and personalized info to users.

Disadvantages:

• Microsoft Edge does not have Extension Support, no extensions means no mainstream adoption.
• There are not any interface customization options.
• Microsoft Edge does not have address bar.
• Microsoft Edge Browser does not display the protocol that used to connect to the active site.
• Microsoft Edge was storing the private data when browsing in InPrivate Mode.

Opera:

We’ve saved the most controversial for last. The Opera browser isn’t one of the most popular browsers around, but it does deserve consideration. Although it requires more customization and under-the-hood-work than its competitors, its privacy settings are unmatched. With a built-in virtual private network feature and some of the most robust ad blocking on the market, Opera is a great way to take a break from cookies and targeted advertisements.

Choosing a web browser may seem like such an inconsequential thing, but just think about the rate of cloud adoption. If you plan on utilizing more software-as-a-service solutions in the coming years, one tiny feature in a browser could make all the difference. Contact us today about planning your cloud deployment over the coming years.

Opera is a freeware web browser for Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux operating systems.Developed by Opera Software. Opera is a Chromium-based browser using the Blink layout engine. It differentiates itself because of a distinct user interface and other features.Opera was conceived at Telenor as a research project in 1994 and was bought by Opera Software in 1995. It was commercial software for the first ten years and had its own proprietary Presto layout engine. The Presto versions of Opera received many awards, but Presto development ended after a milestone transition to Chromium in 2013.There are also three mobile versions called Opera Mobile, Opera Touch, and Opera Mini. A gaming browser called Opera GX was launched on 11 June 2019.

Advantages

• The Wand Password Manager - remembers multiple user names and passwords for websites.
• Mouse gestures.
• Secure browser.
• Customizable searching - type "g virginia" into the url bar and you will be directed to the Google page for "Virginia". This can be customized to any search, like ebay, wikipedia, or even your browser history. This comes with Opera, so there is no set up.
• Fast browsing.
• Speed dial.
• Available for Linux.

Disadvantages

• No progress bar for loading websites.
• Some websites do not load properly in Opera.
• Not as customizable as Firefox.
• There is a built-on torrent program, but it is much slower than a non-browser program like uTorrent.
• The interface is very small, which some people dislike.   

Browsers, the windows to the Web, have become an essential tool for many Internet users. In spite of how important it is and having been in existence for a reasonable period of time, its evolution has not been a rapid one although options like Firefox Hello, Chrome Task Manager and some really edgy features on Microsoft Edge showed us how advanced browsers can get over time.

Surely in the future we’ll get many more browser features that’ll make surfing even easier and more convenient, and in this post I’m going to list 10 such features that I hope browsers would include in their future versions.

1. Link Preview

Ever tried Wikiwand, that beautiful alternative to Wikipedia? One of my favourite thing about it, is the link preview feature. The preview feature itself has gained popularity over time, operating systems implemented that in their tabs and Youtube did something similar with its player where you can preview the video frames when you move the cursor along the scrub bar.

It’s a very useful feature where the reader will be able to get a sneak peak of what’s to come. This feature on web browsers can let us see quick previews of web pages when we hover over text links to those pages. Users then will be able to either recognize or contemplate on what they’re about to click.

2. Minimaps:

Text editors are notably famous for implementing this feature, where you can see the entire page on a small box, most commonly at the top-right corner of the page. You can move a marker on that minimap to scroll through those areas of the page itself.

Imagine that feature on browsers. How easy would it be to go to wherever we want on a very long web page with little to no scrolling and searching

3. Vertical Tabs:

If you’re prone to opening a lot of tabs in your browsers, which most of us are at some point, vertical tabbing can be of immense help. No more rummaging through tabs, trying to guess which is the right one, no more cycling through them one tab at a time.

Opera had this feature once but didn’t keep it for long. There are few browser extensions that can create vertical tabs too. But I’d like to see this feature built-in in all the major desktop browsers in the future though. These days more and more designs are opting for side menus, hinting users’ preference for vertical layout for such elements.

4. Dockable Tabs:

With tabs, docks are definitely a great option to have for when you’re researching something on the web. It can be one or two tabs docked on the browser window, that will be visible on the screen for easy reference, and you can go ahead with your research in the other open tabs.

It works much like the Youtube video player in the mobile app. Once you pull the player down, it gets docked and stays visible on the screen while continue your search for more cat videos.

5. Link Types Indicator:

Don’t mistake this as the link preview feature, where a preview of a linked webpage can be visible on hovering. By link types I mean whether it is internal or external or a link to any of the common type of files like PDF, or an unsupported file format that can only be downloaded.

Internal and external links indicators are pretty straightforward, letting users know whether the linked page is of the same site or some other site. As for file types, displaying indicators for a list of common file types seems reasonable. And then there are those files that can not be opened by browsers and will instead be downloaded.

6. The Cookie Law Warning:

The Cookie Law is a piece of privacy legislation that requires websites to get consent from visitors to store or retrieve any information on a computer, smartphone or tablet. Whether it’s cookies or HTML local storage or some other form of data collection and storage on the users’ machine, it has to be made known to them and done with their consent.

Many websites have implemented this on their own, but why not have this feature built in on browsers? When a web site uses a technology to collect or store data on users’ machines, the users should get a small warning at the top or bottom of the browser. This makes it easier on developers too.

7. Selective Zoom:

An option to zoom into a selected portion of the text, now, that will be an extremely convenient thing to have for those who wants to take a closer look, literally. Certain Android phones allow a double tap to make it easy to zoom in, but this is a feature everyone should have access to on their browser.

8. Default “Pointer” Cursor for Links & Buttons:

Links looking like buttons, buttons looking like links, it can get confusing sometimes. Links have always caused the mouse cursor to look like a pointing hand when being hovered over so that user’s will know that it’s a hyperlink that will take them to another page or will cause an action.

Why can’t this be the default cursor option for buttons too? And if you can think of any other element that can have it – let’s add that to the list.

9. Restricted Tab Mode:

“Restricted tab mode” is what I’d like to think of as restricting the number of tabs that can be opened. There are extensions for Chrome and Firefox that allows you to decide how many tabs that can be open at any one point. Whether it is to limit the amount of distraction or to help you streamline your thought process, this option should be one that comes on default with browsers.

10. Go to Top button:

Minimaps for small screens will not be that practical, but what about a tiny “go to top button” at one of the corners? Wouldn’t that be something? The Safari mobile browser has a feature where a tap at the top of screen within the browser will take us to the top of the page. This feature should be avialable for all mobile browsers, to save us from scrolling so much just to get back to square 1.