American History 1988
Chapter 376 - 365: App Store

Chapter 376: Chapter 365: App Store

The Explorer 3.0 browser was designed based on the Windows 95 platform, incorporating many new technologies.

For instance, it came with the DirectX graphics rendering engine built into the system, allowing Explorer 3.0 to display enhanced visual effects.

There was also targeted optimization and adaptation for signature designs like the Start menu and taskbar in the new version of the Explorer browser.

Of course, aside from cooperation with the operating system, the Explorer browser itself also saw many improvements.

Beyond issues that were heavily reported by users, it further strengthened interaction with users.

Functions such as image downloading and uploading, page printing, and video management were further enhanced.

However, in order to realize the browser platform’s development role and attract more developers, Explorer 3.0 introduced a revolutionary feature—an application store.

That’s right, now as soon as users open the browser, they can find a conspicuous shopping bag icon in the top right corner.

Click on it, and there is a variety of browser plugins provided by the Explorer browser.

What are browser plugins? Briefly referred to as browser extensions, they are programs, as the name suggests, that allow the browser to extend its functionality.

If one must make a comparison, they are somewhat like the mini-programs in WeChat of later generations.

The installation files for the plugins usually range between 50KB and 5MB, allowing for immediate installation and instant experience.

What plugins can be found in the Explorer 3.0’s app store? They are diverse and comprehensive.

For example, there’s the Navigator manager for blocking page advertisements, Da Vinci for beautifying web page displays, and the Shopping Magnifier—a comparison plugin for different shopping websites.

Additionally, there are ticket snatching assistants, web page to PDF export, image collecting, password management, Evernote, tab management, website access assistant, and so on...

The application store included over 20 types of plugins upon its initial launch, and all of them were highly practical mini-programs.

So, where did these plugins come from? Were they all developed by Navigator itself?

The answer is simple, some were developed by Navigator themselves, others came from third-party developers.

Plugins like the Navigator manager and password manager, for instance, belong to the official plugins.

Others, such as the comparison plugin and ticket snatching assistant, are works provided by other developers.

Of course, regardless of who developed these plugins, if they have made it into Navigator’s app store, their safety is beyond doubt.

Because to be presented to users, they must have gone through Navigator’s rigorous vetting process.

Other non-official browser plugins are like black boxes; no one except the authors can review their internal code.

Some cyber hackers have meticulously designed malicious plugins that appear legitimate and useful on the surface.

But this is just to deceive computer systems, and after installation, these plugins will steal user information.

For instance, they may record users’ browsing history and usage information, with some sensitive data potentially falling into the hands of cyber hackers.

Therefore, Navigator officially declares, please cautiously choose non-official plugins as their safety cannot be guaranteed.

However, the plugins in the app store do not have these issues.

Of course, like software, developers who have put in labor should also rightfully reap the benefits.

Some plugins in the Navigator app store need to be purchased by the users.

Generally, their prices are very affordable, with the lowest selling price around 1 US dollar, and those with more complex functions costing slightly more, up to 6 US dollars.

These pricing strategies are also suggestions given by the Navigator official to developers.

With Navigator’s countless browser users, the low pricing strategy will benefit the promotion of plugins.

To put it simply, it’s about thin margins and high volume; the true principle of business is making users willing to pay.

A 1 US dollar price tag is indeed very cheap, but Explorer has nearly 20 million users.

If 20% of them purchased a certain plugin, then its sales would reach 4 million US dollars.

For some individual developers and small companies, this is absolutely an unimaginable fortune.

Most importantly, developing browser plugins is simple; some tech enthusiasts only need to spend a week’s time to churn out an application plugin of about 1MB in size.

Compared to applications that run on the operating system, the development cost is virtually negligible.

Due to low costs and simple development, when Navigator issued a recruitment call, it attracted a lot of geeks to try their hand on the Explorer platform.

Of course, as the browser platform officials, Navigator takes a cut for every plugin sold in the app store.

This ratio is 30%, and the remaining earnings belong to the developer.

To be honest, this model attracted a lot of people because the Explorer platform is large enough, and as the technology provider, they need not worry about distribution channels.

Geeks with skills only need to bring out their work and then submit it for platform approval, and they don’t have to concern themselves with the rest.

Once the plugin becomes popular among users, they can make money while resting; why not?

Now, compare this to traditional software companies; let’s not even talk about the variety of development costs, once the software is completed, they still need to consider distribution and promotion.

Therefore, Navigator’s app store model has attracted a large number of individual developers and some small companies in the IT industry.

The Explorer browser platform has greatly lowered their barrier to entry into the industry, which is a multi-beneficial move.

Of course, as the officials, Navigator also released some free plugins in the app store.

The Navigator assistant that blocks ads, the password manager that safeguards user information, they are all practical and free.

The entire application store became more attractive, and users loved the feeling of browsing for goods within it.

That was the killer feature Explorer 3.0 presented, competing not just with Netscape, but also with millions of platform developers.

Such is the construction of an ecosystem community, who owns the users, attracts more developers.

And the more platform developers there are, the healthier the ecosystem becomes, which in turn attracts even more users.

This is the internet’s Matthew effect, where advantages often lead to more advantages.

Following the update to Explorer 3.0, Netscape’s actions immediately drew intense attention from the industry.

As a benchmark company on the internet, its every move became the subject of analysis.

Especially on Wall Street, there were not a few who had been bearish on Netscape when it cut back on its browser business a while ago.

Now, with the much-anticipated release of Explorer 3.0 by Netscape, how it performs will largely determine the subsequent direction of its stock.

Indeed, Netscape lived up to its reputation as the dominant force in the browser market.

Just in terms of user experience, it had visibly improved over the previous version.

Thanks to the visual application components of Windows 95, the new platform’s browser aesthetics were taken to another level in terms of UI design.

The improved reaction speed and several optimized operations garnered a lot of positive feedback from users.

Because of the positive media coverage, Wall Street immediately reacted, and Netscape’s stock rose by 5% that very day.

In addition, Netscape’s application store model also sparked a lot of discussion.

Many felt that Netscape might have pioneered yet another industry innovation.

It distributed its product for free to the public and then sought to monetize through value-added services on the platform.

This new internet model was shaking the traditional industry norms, and everyone was waiting for further market feedback.

However, Wall Street analysts were already busy crafting their articles, boldly predicting the new revolution Netscape was about to bring.

"Free plus developer plan" will be the future of the internet, with Netscape creating history!

Compared to the industry and Wall Street’s passive observation, Microsoft here was truly alarmed.

Gates’ worst fears had finally materialized—yes, Netscape’s application store was exactly what Microsoft was most worried about.

They were providing developers with a free and supportive development platform.

Most importantly, the barrier to entry was incredibly low, allowing everyone to become a developer and launch their own products on the platform.

This was something even Microsoft had not accomplished, as the high threshold for software development was too much for small teams to bear if they failed.

Gates once again called a high-level meeting, raising the priority of the browser above MSN.

He reiterated the significance of the internet to Microsoft and the fact that the browser was the interface controlling users’ access to internet content.

So, at the end of September, just one month after the launch of Windows 95, Microsoft removed their Navigator browser from the Plus pack.

And without requiring users to download it, Windows 95 would automatically update the software in the background once it detected the computer was connected to the internet.

Then something magical happened—the next day, many users discovered a new piece of software on their desktop—Navigator.

It just appeared out of nowhere, without anyone’s consent.

Only at that time, people didn’t understand computers very well, nor did they have a sufficient awareness of their privacy rights.

So, faced with this scenario, people only grumbled for a moment and then let it go.

In the lawless era of the early internet, playing dirty in software had virtually no consequences.

Meanwhile, Microsoft was also collaborating with computer manufacturers.

They required that the Navigator browser be included as a component in the pre-installed systems.

This was an attempt to promote their own browser right from the source, but things didn’t go smoothly.

Because Microsoft’s browser was so bad, it didn’t add any brand value for the computer manufacturers.

Perhaps knowing their position was weak, Microsoft didn’t enforce this requirement for the time being.

However, in order to promote Navigator, they had more tricks up their sleeve.

For instance, for Windows 95 users, the system setting for the default browser was Navigator version 1.1.

Yes, after a month of intensive work, Microsoft released a minor update to Navigator.

Although the user experience was still poor, it could barely fulfill the role of a browser.

Yet this time, the forcible change in default settings finally started to irk many users.

They didn’t want to use a Navigator which was as bad as crap; Netscape’s Explorer 3.0 was leagues ahead of Microsoft’s offering.

Those who knew how manually switched the default browser back to the original Explorer.

Those who didn’t, could only call Microsoft to complain about their bully tactics.

However, Microsoft’s customer service was mostly dismissive, showing no real concern for these complaint calls.

But somebody was ready to step in and help those treated unfairly—only Netscape could defeat Microsoft at this point.

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