Then Microsoft entered the race and hasn't looked back. Microsoft has always given away its browser, while Netscape asked its users to pay for it. That marketing strategy is pushing Microsoft ahead. Netscape finally caught on and is now giving away i ts browser too. Supposedly, if one city was knocked out in a war, the network would be rerouted.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
There are just 13 computers that control the huge list of more than a million Internet Web address. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority at the University of California oversees these computers under a contract with the Defense Department. One of the 13 is the master computer from which the other 12 get the directory information. The casual administration of this system was illustrated recently when the head of the group, Jon Postel, requested that the operators of the 12 computers get its address information from his computer. He made his request by E-mail and about 8 of the 12 operators complied, according to the Wall Street Journal.