§
§With the advent of
graphics-based Web browsers such as Mosaic and Netscape Navigator, and
soon after, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the World Wide Web took
off. The Web became easily available to users with PCs and Macs
rather than only scientists and hackers at Unix workstations.
Delphi was the first proprietary online service to offer Web access,
and all the rest followed. At the same time, new Internet service
providers (ISPs) rose out of the woodwork to offer access to
individuals and companies. As a result, the Web grew exponentially,
providing an information exchange of unprecedented
proportion. The Web has also become "the" storehouse
for drivers, updates and demos that are downloaded via the browser as well
as a global transport for delivering information by
subscription, both free and paid.
