Browser War, A World Wide War

Assignments, projects, research, facebook status update, tweeting, make-up tutorials, watching kdramas – browsers played an important role in doing such things. We use browsers in our daily lives. It simplified access to the online world. However do we know its history? Do we know the people behind these things? Do we know what they had gone through to give us everything we are enjoying right now? This is what the documentary “The True Story of the Internet: Browser Wars” made me realize.

Just a little back story, this documentary showed an epic battle between Netscape and Microsoft. Jim Clark and Bill Gates are both dropped out from school and decided to pursue their passion in the World Wide Web. Both the teams’ goal is to “go out there and take over the world”. As what the host of this documentary had mentioned “In computer business, the company that has the most power controls the other as a software platform. The battle between the two was upfront. So when the Netscape’s Navigator boomed, the Microsoft team didn’t back down and went up for the fight. They have to destroy their enemy. So they created Internet Explorer that brought them to their victory.

The documentary was not just about who won the browser war but also the evolutionary innovation of the browsers and the corporate competitiveness. This drove the two companies to bring out the best in them. Jim Clark, a co-founder of the Netscape, said he was looking for something new, something big. This fueled Clark to make their company to the top level. Meanwhile, the Microsoft company, as described by the host, we’re a place for the nerd nirvanas. It simply means that it wasn’t that easy. They have to be alert, competitive, creative, persevered and wise in order for them not to lose their place in the market. One of the software engineers even said “if he hasn’t called you idiot 19 times” (referring to Bill Gates). They have to go through all this but was able to pull it off.

In 1997, the war between the two ended. The Internet Explorer was able to win the title but the browser still continues up to this moment. And because of these two companies, we have now, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera Mini, et. al. Their constant competitiveness, made the internet alive and beneficial. It is a great gift to humankind.

I found Joy in this tech-y world . . .

“Basta radyo, Bombo!” I would wake up to these words every single day. Everyone in the family loves listening to the radio. My mother would turn it on first thing in the morning and would listen to news. She loves listening to Bombo Henry’s comments on social, political and economic issues though I find it really harsh at times. My father too prefer listening to news on the radio rather than on television because of his work. Our helper listens to dramas during the day. I admit I also listen to Mama Cookie and Papa Prince’s program “Talk to Mama” and “Talk to Papa” whenever I don’t have class. Although it sometimes annoy me because people would share problems mostly about their love life while I sat in front of my desk trying to find “x”. My sister looks at the radio as if it was some gold whenever there are announcements of class suspensions. And when Sunday comes, we all gather in our patio listening to Baranggay Love Story. We would all curse at the same time whenever the letter sender goes gaga. My mother could use the whole tissue roll when the drama kicks in. Though I hope they would use modern songs because it lulls me to sleep and makes me frustrated when I woke up and realized I haven’t heard the rest of story. However my mother, my aunts and some of my cousins would join in the singing as if there’s some concert going on. Thanks to the radio we could bond every Sunday. And all of these was made possible by information technology.

Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, email, video calls, google and the list goes on. These things made us feel like “It’s a small world after all!” I sometimes get surprised when my friend knew one of my other friend’s friend. It helps me get in touch with my friends in high school because we rarely see each other. It also helps me communicate with my cousins and relatives who are working abroad. Because of the internet connection, I could watch Korean dramas and my sister gets to see fashion trends and tips. Though it keeps me awake at night, it makes me feel productive. Weird? Kdrama fans would surely relate. At night, our house would transform into a movie house when FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano starts. They would turn the volume up and my mother would position herself in front of the television with her matching “clap-clap” and “padyak-padyak” to cheer on Cardo whenever scenes get intense.

One of the most important role played by the information technology in my family is that it gave us a huge blessing when my mother’s doctor declared that she was already one of the many cancer survivors. She had undergone chemotherapy and radiation. Thanks to those medical researches, it had saved billions of lives. And if given the chance to turn back time, I would like to go back to the time where my parents were looking at the screen with their tear-stained faces during my mother’s first ultrasound scan silently screaming their gratitude to our dear Creator that their first daughter is completely healthy and is breathing.

These are just one of the many beautiful things that technology can offer us. If we use it properly then life will give us good things too. But if we don’t, then we will get what we deserve. I am Joy and I belong in this tech-y world.

Joy Valerie