MacWeb
Encyclopedia
MacWeb was an early Mac OS
-only web browser
for 68k
and PowerPC
Apple Macintosh computers, developed by TradeWave (formerly EINet) between 1994 and 1996.
MacWeb's major attraction was its ability to run well on low-end hardware footprints as well as fast (but simple) page display. This compactness led to MacWeb's inclusion on many "Internet starter kit" floppy disk
s that were popular at the time. TradeWave also developed a similar Microsoft Windows
browser named WinWeb. However, they were eclipsed by more full-featured competitors such as Netscape Navigator
, and development was eventually abandoned.
.
Although Morgan (1995) states that MacWeb was the second web browser released for the Macintosh, this is not quite true. The MacWWW
browser became available in 1992 and the Mosaic
web browser was released for the Mac in 1993.
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
-only web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
for 68k
68k
The Motorola 680x0/m68000/68000 is a family of 32-bit CISC microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and were the primary competitors of Intel's x86 microprocessors...
and PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
Apple Macintosh computers, developed by TradeWave (formerly EINet) between 1994 and 1996.
MacWeb's major attraction was its ability to run well on low-end hardware footprints as well as fast (but simple) page display. This compactness led to MacWeb's inclusion on many "Internet starter kit" floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s that were popular at the time. TradeWave also developed a similar Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
browser named WinWeb. However, they were eclipsed by more full-featured competitors such as Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared...
, and development was eventually abandoned.
Versions
The first public release was 0.98-alpha on May 31, 1994, and the final official release was version 2.0 in 1996. An unofficial "2.0c" patch was released by Antoine Hébert in 1998 to correct a problem on old machines not supporting color QuickDrawQuickDraw
QuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface which is a core part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still exists as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but has been...
.
Although Morgan (1995) states that MacWeb was the second web browser released for the Macintosh, this is not quite true. The MacWWW
MacWWW
MacWWW, also known as Samba, is an early minimalist web browser from 1992 meant to run on Macintosh computers. It was the first web browser for the Mac OS platform, and the first for any non-Unix operating system. MacWWW tries to emulate the design of WorldWideWeb. Unlike modern browsers it opens...
browser became available in 1992 and the Mosaic
Mosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
web browser was released for the Mac in 1993.
Features
MacWeb contained many useful features:- support for HTML forms
- bookmarks with import tool for Mosaic's bookmarks
- a HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
viewer
System requirements
MacWeb has the following system requirements:- Operating SystemOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
: Mac OSMac OSMac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface... - RAMRam-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
: less than 700 KB RAM - HDD: 680 KB
External links
- MacWeb archive on evolt.org