Browsers+Section 7
Internet Explorer still had roughly half the market, Firefox 3.6 was the alternative, Chrome was the fast newcomer, Safari 5 got Reader, and Flash versus HTML5 became a public fight.
The default browser of Windows 7 and roughly a third of the web
Internet Explorer 8, bundled with Windows 7, was the single most-used browser version of 2010. It had tabs, a separate search box beside the address bar, Accelerators, InPrivate browsing and a compatibility-view button for sites built for older versions. Internet Explorer overall still held roughly half of worldwide browser usage in 2010, though its share fell every month.
The alternative browser with a thousand extensions
Firefox 3.6, released on 21 January 2010, was the browser of choice for people who cared, with about 30 percent of worldwide usage. It added Personas skins, plugin-crash protection and faster JavaScript; its extensions (Adblock Plus, Firebug, Greasemonkey, Download Statusbar) were its real advantage. Firefox 4 betas with tabs-on-top appeared through 2010 but the final release slipped to 2011.
The fast newcomer with tabs on top and one box for everything
Chrome went from about 5 percent of worldwide browser usage at the start of 2010 to roughly 15 percent by December. Version 4 added extensions in January, version 5 in May was the first stable release for Mac and Linux, and version 8 in December bundled a PDF viewer. Its minimal blue-grey frame, tabs above the address bar and single omnibox reshaped how every other browser looked.
Reader mode and extensions, in brushed aluminium
Safari 5, released on 7 June 2010 for Mac and Windows, added Reader (a clean article view), extensions, Bing as a search option and a faster Nitro JavaScript engine. On the Mac it was the default, on Windows it was a curiosity, and on the iPhone and iPad it was the browser Flash-hating Apple wanted the mobile web built for.
Small share, big ideas: Turbo, Speed Dial and tab stacking
Opera had only around 2 percent of desktop browser usage in 2010 but kept inventing features others copied: Speed Dial, mouse gestures, Opera Turbo compression, and, in Opera 11 in December, tab stacking and extensions. Opera 10.5, released in March, had a new Carakan JavaScript engine and a red O menu in the corner.
Hardware acceleration and HTML5, in a minimal new frame
Released on 15 September 2010, the IE9 beta was Microsoft's answer to Chrome: a stripped-back interface with tabs beside the address bar, GPU-accelerated rendering, and real HTML5 and CSS3 support. It did not run on Windows XP, which locked out about half of Windows users.
Nine years old, still used by millions, hated by developers
IE6, released in 2001, still had a meaningful share of browser use in 2010 (around a tenth worldwide, concentrated in China and corporate offices). Google dropped support for it in Docs and Gmail in 2010, a funeral was held for it in Denver, and Microsoft launched a countdown site urging people to upgrade in 2011. Every web developer of the era had an IE6 story.
The social browser backed by Marc Andreessen
RockMelt, released as a beta in November 2010, was a Chromium-based browser with Facebook friends down the left edge and feeds down the right, built on the idea that the browser should be social. It was a hit with the press for a few weeks and was bought and shut by Yahoo in 2013.
The plugin that ran YouTube, FarmVille and every banner ad
Flash Player 10.1, released in June 2010, ran the YouTube player, Hulu, Pandora, FarmVille, every browser game and most animated adverts; Adobe said it was installed on about 99 percent of...
The web ran on plugins, and every one of them wanted an update
In 2010 the browser was a host for plugins: Flash for video and games, Java for RuneScape and bank sites, Silverlight for Netflix, QuickTime and RealPlayer for media, Adobe Reader for PDFs. Each...
Yahoo, Google, Ask, AVG, MyWebSearch... stacked five deep
Toolbars were the plague of the 2010 browser: bundled with Java updates, antivirus software and free downloads, they stacked below the address bar until the page was a slit. The Ask Toolbar, Google...
Native video, canvas and the end of plugins, still a draft
HTML5 was a working draft in 2010, but the fight over Flash made it a household word. YouTube launched an HTML5 player beta in January, Apple published a showcase in June, IE9 beta supported it in...
21 January 2010
Firefox 3.6 is released29 April 2010
Steve Jobs publishes "Thoughts on Flash"7 June 2010
Safari 5 adds Reader and extensions10 June 2010
Adobe releases Flash Player 10.115 September 2010
Internet Explorer 9 Beta is released8 November 2010
RockMelt, the social browser, launches in beta7 December 2010
Google launches the Chrome Web Store and shows Chrome OSMozilla shipped Firefox 3.6 with Personas skins, plugin-crash protection and faster JavaScript, the version most Firefox users ran through 2010.
Apple released Safari 5 with a Reader mode for articles, an extensions system and a faster JavaScript engine.
Microsoft's IE9 beta brought hardware-accelerated graphics, HTML5 support and a minimal Chrome-like interface, but would not run on Windows XP.
Backed by Marc Andreessen, RockMelt put Facebook friends and feeds in the browser frame itself; it was bought and shut by Yahoo in 2013.
Google opened an app store for its browser, unveiled Chrome OS, and began shipping the unbranded Cr-48 notebook to testers.
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