Mosaic

Mosaic definition - computer

The Web browser created by Marc Andreessen, Eric Bina and others at the University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). It was the first multimedia browser for the Web, allowing text, images, sound and video to be accessed via a graphical user interface.

The "Killer App" of the Web
Mosaic was released on the Internet in 1993 and became "the" application that caused the Web to explode. Originally developed for Unix, it was ported to Windows and Mac within a few months. Both Andreessen and Bina later went to work for Mosaic Corporation, which was formed to market Mosaic, but wound up developing the Netscape browser. The company was renamed Netscape, and the Netscape browser reigned supreme for a while.

The University eventually licensed Mosaic to Spyglass, Inc., which Microsoft acquired. Thus, the Mosaic browser ultimately evolved into Internet Explorer. See Web browser and Netscape.


_MOSAIC.GIF


Mosaic Browser

Looking very much like any of today's browsers, Mosaic was a major catalyst in revolutionizing the world. It helped cause the Web to explode, and ultimately, the Internet to go commercial. (Image courtesy of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.)






Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
Copyright © 1981-2009 by Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.
Related Discussions (1)
TopicRepliesLatest Post
mosaic123 months ago

Browse Forums