Browser Wars Are Back.

Over one-hundred years ago, the railroad became the foundation of our economy, just as the web is becoming today.

The Internet swept us into its "web" so fast it's hard to believe that less than 10-years ago most of us thought windows were the framed glass panes through which we could see what lurked outside, and a mouse was a timid, small rodent with the power to make creatures 50 times larger than itself, scream bloody murder and jump up on the nearest piece of furniture in sheer terror.

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, set in motion this ball of fire which lead to what is now known as the browser wars. Unfortunately, Netscape had to contend with the already established giant, Microsoft, who wanted to control the Internet revolution despite Andreessen getting there first. Microsoft had no interest in the Internet until Bill Gates woke up one day and saw the Internet as the next big thing. Microsoft, using its immense power won and Netscape was acquired in 1999 for $4.2 billion by AOL, and Andreessen became its Chief Technology Officer.

Now it looks as if Mozilla, who rose from the ashes of Netscape, may start up the browser wars once again daring to ruffle Microsoft's feathers with Firefox 3.0.

Firefox now has 170 million users around the world and an 18 percent share of the browser market, according to Net Applications. That is especially impressive given that most of its users have made the active choice to download the software, while Internet Explorer is installed on most PCs at the factory.

Microsoft is coming out with Internet Explorer 8, nevertheless, Mozilla says Firefox 3.0 runs twice as fast as its previous version, is smarter, uses less memory and makes it much easier for users to personalize.

Adding to the competition are Apple’s Safari Web browser which has a little over 5 percent of the market and Flock,who is attempting to develop a browser that helps users share photos, videos and blog entries more easily.