[{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/659/original/GEr4Q-JX0AA_8iV.jpg?1706226675","metadata":{"caption":"Source: X (formerly Twitter) https://twitter.com/CommodoreBlog/status/1750484377987920290"}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003cp\u003eWeb browsers were not \"a thing\" during the heydey of 8088/8086/80286 IBM Compatible MS-DOS computers, which were generally made in the 1980s. The first web browser, called WorldWideWeb, was written in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a computer scientist, on a NeXT computer, with the software going into the public domain in 1993. (\u003ca href=\"https://home.web.cern.ch/science/computing/birth-web\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCERN\u003c/a\u003e) Browsers were ported to PCs and similar computers like Amiga around 1993. Netscape Navigator came out in 1994, taking off in 1995. Microsoft Internet Explorer was released in 1995. (\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_web_browser\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eWikipedia: History of the web browser\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe IBM PC came out in 1981, the PC/XT in 1983, the PC/AT in 1984. PS/2 computers arrived in 1988.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese computers predate the heyday introduction of web browsing software by approximately 5 to 10 years. But that does not mean folks have not been porting or backporting web browsers to older hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModern browsers have so much that Tim Berners-Lee's browser didn't. Advanced graphics, style sheets, JavaScript and much more. How does all that translate to using a browser on vintage equipment? Not well.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpecifically for the 8088, 8086, and 80286, the chips do not have enough processing power to provide anything near a modern web browsing experience (Berner-Lee's NeXT Cube was 25MHz Motorola 68030-based) (\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eWikipedia\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo browsers that work with older equipment forgo some or many of the features of modern browsers. Some have graphics mode, some are text based. Most workable MS-DOS browsers do not have \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTPS#History\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHTTPS security\u003c/a\u003e. And graphics like JPG, PNG, and GIF are rudimentary if not missing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Note will discuss some of the browsers available for vintage IBM PCs and compatibles.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/651/original/one_one_two.png?1705519392","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003ch2\u003eWhat Makes a Web Browser 8088/8086/80286 IBM Compatible?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Note is only confining itself to the processors mentioned and only MS-DOS, the predominant operating system. By the time the first Windows web browser came to market (\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_web_browser\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eInternet Explorer in 1995\u003c/a\u003e), 80386 and 80486 computers were common. Any browsers for Windows 3.1 and earlier would have been backported.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a list of common hardware that software had to use in the time period:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProcessors: 8088, 8086, 80286\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eClock Speeds: 4.77 MHz to 8 MHz\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDisplays: CGA, MGA / Hercules, EGA, \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Graphics_Array\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eVGA\u003c/a\u003e (640x480 max, no hardware acceleration to speak of)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMemory Sizes: 512K to 4000K RAM or so\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHard Disk: 10MB to 40MB\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNetwork Interfaces: 10MB Ethernet TCP/IP (8-bit for 8088/6, 16-bit for 80286), Serial SLIP, PPP\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo summarize: slow processors, slow and small displays, limited memory and slow communications.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeb browsers calaining compatibility with this set of hardware must work with these hardware restraints. Any software requiring Windows 3.11 (80386) or higher or MS-DOS \u0026gt; 6.22 (like Windows 95) are not in this class.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n        \u003ch2\u003eSites Claiming to List Compatible Browsers\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet's face it: finding software for a specific purpose on specific hardware can be rather hard unless you know exactly what you're looking for. And hunting for browsers, I knew very little. Here are some sites claiming to list MS-DOS compatible web browsers:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWikipedia - \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Web_browsers_for_DOS\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCategory:Web browsers for DOS\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKOMPX.COM - \u003ca href=\"http://www.kompx.com/en/web-browsers-for-dos.htm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eWeb browsers for DOS\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBROWSERS.EVOLT.ORG - \u003ca href=\"https://browsers.evolt.org/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eevolt.org Browser Archive\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe thing to look out for: Many browsers claiming MS-DOS compatibility are for 80386 and above machines common in the 1990s with DOS Extender technology or Windows DOS boxes with the same. These will not work with 8088/86/286 machines.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/650/original/one_one.png?1705519282","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003ch2\u003eReview of Workable Web Browsers for MS-DOS\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelow are reviews of those web browsers that seem to work and have enough features to be of note.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/652/original/one_one.png?1705520933","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003ch2\u003eMicroWeb\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMicroWeb is billed as a DOS web browser and has been bundled with FreeDOS. It consists of a single 91K EXE file.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMicroWeb uses Michael Brutman's\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003emTCP networking library\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u0026nbsp;for the network stack. You will need a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC/TCP_Packet_Driver\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDOS packet driver\u003c/a\u003e relevant to your network interface hardware.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimum requirements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo run you will need:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntel 8088 or compatible CPU\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCGA, EGA, VGA or Hercules compatible graphics card\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA network interface (it is possible to use your machine's serial port with the EtherSLIP driver)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA mouse is desirable but not 100% required\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e640k RAM is desirable. EMS/XMS are not required\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca id=\"user-content-limitations\" class=\"anchor\" href=\"https://github.com/jhhoward/MicroWeb/tree/master#limitations\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLimitations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eText only (this may change in a later release)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHTTP only (no HTTPS support)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo CSS or Javascript\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVery long pages may be truncated if there is not enough RAM available\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMouse cursor is currently not visible in Hercules mode\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe interface is spartan. The last version seen: Version 0.53 dated July 8, 2023.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore information is on \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/jhhoward/MicroWeb/tree/master\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGitHub\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/653/original/Untitled.png?1705522020","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003ch2 id=\"h_5720726736681705522207987\"\u003eArachne\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArachne is an Internet suite containing a graphical web browser, email client, and dialer.[Originally, Arachne was developed by Michal Polák under his xChaos label, a name he later changed into Arachne Labs. It was written in C and compiled using Borland C++ 3.1. Arachne has since been released under the GPL as Arachne GPL.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArachne primarily runs on DOS-based operating systems, but there are also builds available for Linux.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;It has a TCP/IP connection suite (unspecified, likely \u003ca href=\"http://wiki.freedos.org/wiki/index.php/Networking_FreeDOS_-_WATTCP\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eWatt32\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimum requirements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo run you will need:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntel 8088 or compatible CPU\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCGA, EGA, VGA or Hercules compatible graphics card\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA network interface (it is possible to use your machine's serial port with the EtherSLIP driver)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA mouse is desirable but not 100% required\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e640k RAM is desirable. EMS/XMS are not required\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca id=\"user-content-limitations\" class=\"anchor\" href=\"https://github.com/jhhoward/MicroWeb/tree/master#limitations\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLimitations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGraphical (it has its own interface, fonts, etc.)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHTTP only (no HTTPS support)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLimited CSS support, no Javascript\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe interface is unique with a chipped stone look. Arachne supports multiple image formats including JPEG, PNG, BMP and animated GIF. It supports a subset of the HTML 4.0 and CSS 1.0 standards, including full support for tables and frames.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe last version seen: Version 1.99 dated December 23, 2021.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis may only work on a 80286. It was slow, hard to set up and prone to fall back to the command line for obscure reasons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore information is on\u003cspan\u003e \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachne_(web_browser)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eWikipedia\u003c/a\u003e. The website is \u003ca href=\"https://www.glennmcc.org/arachne/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/658/original/one_one.png?1705526864","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003ch2\u003eDillo\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRequires an 80386, even Dillo for DOS 3.02b.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eLinks\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinks Lite apparently also requires an 80386.\u003c/p\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/655/original/Untitled.png?1705523721","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n        \u003ch2\u003eAlternatives to Using HTTPS\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnfortunately older machines just don't have the processing power to handle HTTPS but there are a few options available:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTry to use HTTP instead of HTTPS.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse a proxy server such as\u003cspan\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://github.com/DrKylstein/retro-proxy\"\u003eretro-proxy\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003ewhich converts HTTPS to HTTP. For example, you can configure a proxy server by setting the HTTP_PROXY environment variable before running MicroWeb. e.g.\u003cspan\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003ccode\u003eSET HTTP_PROXY=192.168.0.50:8000\u003c/code\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse the\u003cspan\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.frogfind.com/\"\u003eFrogFind!\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003eweb service to view a stripped down version of a site. For example, if MicroWeb is redirected to an HTTPS site then it will generate a FrogFind link for your convenience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","metadata":{}},{"element_type":"user_image","content":"https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/user_assets/assets/000/000/656/original/one_one.jpg?1705524394","metadata":{"caption":""}},{"element_type":"text","content":"\n        \u003ch2\u003eKnown HTTP Websites\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a non-exhaustive list of HTTP capable websites to use with vintage browsers:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrogFind! An HTTP search engine - \u003ca href=\"http://frogfind.com/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttp://frogfind.com/\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e68k.news - \u003ca href=\"http://68k.news\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttp://68k.news\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe first CERN website - \u003ca href=\"https://info.cern.ch/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps://info.cern.ch/\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInternet Archive Wayback Machine - \u003ca href=\"http://web.archive.org/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttp://web.archive.org/\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n      ","metadata":{}}]