Bill Gates

We should build HTTP directly into the operating system since it was just another protocol on top of the TCP IP protocol that the internet is based on. we should provide reusable UI component to any application that wants to display HTML. That's a good engineering building block to build is this HTML renderer that any application can sort of frame in and use.

We should build HTTP directly into the operating system since it was just another protocol on top of the TCP IP protocol that the internet is based on. we should provide reusable UI component to any application that wants to display HTML. That's a good engineering building block to build is this HTML renderer that any application can sort of frame in and use.

So of course, Microsoft, the strategy here is we will develop a browser application that used the building block that others could also use to render HTML. So they actually go to Netscape and say, hey, we have this great HTTP stack, we have the HTML engine, we have these wrappers to go around it. Instead of rewriting all of it, just use our off-the-shelf code that we intend to ship with Windows.

So of course, Microsoft, the strategy here is we will develop a browser application that used the building block that others could also use to render HTML. So they actually go to Netscape and say, hey, we have this great HTTP stack, we have the HTML engine, we have these wrappers to go around it. Instead of rewriting all of it, just use our off-the-shelf code that we intend to ship with Windows.

Famously, Netscape did not do that. And so IE, Internet Explorer, actually ends up being kind of the only application that used all these Windows components And once they got going on the browser, they convinced the Windows leadership that actually we can do this fast. We should get this done as a part of Windows 95, not wait for the next big release.

Famously, Netscape did not do that. And so IE, Internet Explorer, actually ends up being kind of the only application that used all these Windows components And once they got going on the browser, they convinced the Windows leadership that actually we can do this fast. We should get this done as a part of Windows 95, not wait for the next big release.

Yes. So anyway, how does NCSA, Mosaic, and Spyglass come into this? Well, the nuance is Spyglass had actually massively changed the Mosaic code. They were trying to create the Spyglass browser that was sort of based on this NCSA code base, but it wasn't very good. And so that is what Microsoft was able to get their hands on. They could not license the original NCSA version.

Yes. So anyway, how does NCSA, Mosaic, and Spyglass come into this? Well, the nuance is Spyglass had actually massively changed the Mosaic code. They were trying to create the Spyglass browser that was sort of based on this NCSA code base, but it wasn't very good. And so that is what Microsoft was able to get their hands on. They could not license the original NCSA version.

That was gone or at least not available for license. And so they sort of tried backing out a lot of the Spyglass stuff, Ultimately, it wasn't that helpful in creating Internet Explorer, and they spent just as much time trying to undo a lot of it and then build the Internet Explorer stuff on top. So ultimately, did it actually accelerate their path to market?

That was gone or at least not available for license. And so they sort of tried backing out a lot of the Spyglass stuff, Ultimately, it wasn't that helpful in creating Internet Explorer, and they spent just as much time trying to undo a lot of it and then build the Internet Explorer stuff on top. So ultimately, did it actually accelerate their path to market?

And was it actually Mark Andreessen's code? Some of it was in there, but, you know, it's not like they grabbed it off the shelf and now it's IE.

And was it actually Mark Andreessen's code? Some of it was in there, but, you know, it's not like they grabbed it off the shelf and now it's IE.

David's holding to it. It's just so delicious. It is delicious. And the two big takeaways here, at least from this additional version of the story, is one, what they actually wanted to do was make Windows web-enabled in a really deep, integrated way, not just have this one little application called a browser. And technically, there was a lot of commingling there, a lot of what became...

David's holding to it. It's just so delicious. It is delicious. And the two big takeaways here, at least from this additional version of the story, is one, what they actually wanted to do was make Windows web-enabled in a really deep, integrated way, not just have this one little application called a browser. And technically, there was a lot of commingling there, a lot of what became...

The code underpinning Internet Explorer was actually Windows code implemented in Windows operating system to do these protocols. And two, still a lot of work to make IE after the deal.

The code underpinning Internet Explorer was actually Windows code implemented in Windows operating system to do these protocols. And two, still a lot of work to make IE after the deal.

Netscape, we should say, goes from 1 million to 15 million users in one year. I mean, just instant product market fit. It was so clear that people wanted to browse the web. A lot of the time in technology in this ecosystem, we're always looking around like, is that going to become a thing? Is that going to become a thing? That was from 1994 onward, never a question about the internet.

Netscape, we should say, goes from 1 million to 15 million users in one year. I mean, just instant product market fit. It was so clear that people wanted to browse the web. A lot of the time in technology in this ecosystem, we're always looking around like, is that going to become a thing? Is that going to become a thing? That was from 1994 onward, never a question about the internet.

It's such a good quote. And there's so much behind it, too. If you really dwell in that quote, what does it mean? If one of the things he's saying is Windows is a platform upon which independent software vendors write applications. So Windows is the way that currently people write software for businesses and consumers to use.

It's such a good quote. And there's so much behind it, too. If you really dwell in that quote, what does it mean? If one of the things he's saying is Windows is a platform upon which independent software vendors write applications. So Windows is the way that currently people write software for businesses and consumers to use.