The Gold Edition sported several new features, such as an integrated mail client and WYSIWYG functionality for Web design. Built upon the same technological foundation as the first two versions, this browser came in two different flavors: Standard Edition and Gold Edition. In the very same month, Netscape matched Microsoft's third release with Netscape Navigator 3.0. And it marked the first usage of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which allowed developers more control and predictability over how their pages would display. IE3 featured a flexible programming model with support for multiple scripting languages. Just as importantly, Microsoft won over the Web-development community. (Prior to IE 3.0, users had to download helper applications to display or hear these file types.) The browser included a wealth of new features, such as Internet Mail and integrated support for GIF and JPG files as well as MIDI and streaming audio. In August of 1996, Microsoft released a completely rebuilt version 3.0 of Internet Explorer for Windows 95. The Winner: Round 3: Internet Explorer 3.0 vs. And Netscape's fortune would soon change. Andreessen's browser, which was still faster, more functional, and better able to display most Web sites, maintained a significant market-share advantage over IE, but the pressure was on.

Netscape took IE 2.0's rushed release as a clear sign of aggression, and the company rapidly began to make revisions to Navigator. The browser also included an integrated Usenet newsgroup reader. The Secure Sockets Layer, for example, was an important cryptographic protocol that provided secure data communications.

This hasty revision added several features aimed at improving developer efficiency and decreasing consumers' concerns about security. In response, Microsoft rapidly released a new 2.0 iteration of Internet Explorer a mere three months after the debut of IE 1.0. By bundling its browser with the easy-to-install Plus! Pack Add-On for Windows 95, Microsoft rapidly developed a following for IE. Prior to IE's release, tracking down and installing a Web browser was no easy task for everyday PC users: Ensuring dial-up compatibility and configuring TCP/IP functionality involved a fair amount of technical expertise.

The August 1995 release of Internet Explorer 1.0 set off a series of contentious battles and feature escalation between the two browsers, but a major factor in IE's growth was accessibility. Thus, the foundation for Internet Explorer was none other than Mosaic, the browser formerly dethroned by Netscape. Rather than start from scratch, Microsoft licensed browser technology from Spyglass. When it became clear that the World Wide Web was becoming a vital part of popular culture, Microsoft decided it was time to enter the Internet fray. Click image to enlarge and to launch image gallery.

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