The so-called browser war of the late 1990s is long over. Feisty little Netscape Communications, which pioneered Web browsing software, was crushed by giant Microsoft , which came late to the battle but won in the end. A federal court has ruled that Microsoft's success against Netscape was achieved in part by a pattern of brutal business tactics that violated antitrust laws. But something else also contributed to the Microsoft victory: Over time, Microsoft made its browser better than Netscape's -- easier to use, faster and more compatible with different types of Web sites.
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