The first web browser for Windows was released 15 years ago by Thomas Bruce of the Cornell Legal Information Institute. June 8th marked the 15th anniversary of the 0.1 release, with a succession of followup releases soon after. Cello 0.2 was released on June 14th, 0.3 on June 16th, 0.4 on June 18th, 0.5 on June 24th, and 0.6 on June 30th. Fortunately, there were no more days left in June or else the web browser fad may have caught on. Cello quickly went into disuse and ceased being updated less than a year later.
For those interested in nostalgia, here is Thomas's original release announcement.
From: Thomas R. Bruce Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 22:00:52 GMT-1:00 Organization: Legal Information Institute (Cross-posted to many lists and groups. Please forgive necessary duplications) Folks: This is an announcement of Beta Release 0.1 of Cello, a World-Wide Web browser for Microsoft Windows 3.1 Features: -- (HTTP/HTML) browser, with user-configurable colors and fonts. -- Full-featured Gopher (though unfortunately not yet Gopher+) client, including a hyper-ized CSO which permits (sorta dumb) SMTP mailing. -- Transparent access (via WWW) to FTP, HyTelNet, Telnet, etc. etc. ad infinitum. -- Graphics and PostScript viewing and sound playing via MSWindows Associations...feature, using add-on, shareware viewers such as SNDTOOL, GV057, and the Windows version of GhostScript. -- Ad-hoc Telnet, FTP, and Gopher sessions. -- SLIP/PPP support with dialup scripting language. -- Supports wide range of LAN configurations via Distinct TCP/IP runtime stack. Things you should know: -- Hardware: Cello needs a Windows 3.1-capable machine with enhanced mode and (preferably) swapping enabled. It is hungry for extended RAM. -- Software: Cello depends (for now...we're working on a Winsock version) on the Distinct TCP/IP runtime stack. The LII has licensed the use of a runtime version of this software for use by US academic institutions for a period of one year, starting June 1, after which we will renegotiate the license. Commercial organizations and non-academic users are strongly urged to contact Distinct directly at mktg.distinct.com. The Distinct software adds enormous functionality to the package, including SLIP/PPP support with scripting, and configuration for many types of LAN and networking layers. We are working on a Winsock version which will be available without restriction later this summer. --How to get it: FTP to fatty.law.cornell.edu, the /pub/LII/Cello subdirectory. The distribution is in multiple files. At a minimum, you will need README.1ST, which contains unpacking instructions. CELLO.ZIP, which contains the executable and Help application DIS.ZIP, which contains the runtime stack. Optionally, you should also get: VIEWERS.ZIP, which contains a graphics viewer and sound player for use with Cello. GSWIN.ZIP, which contains the Windows version of GhostScript. PLEASE NOTE that fatty is but an humble little Sparc and you can bring it to its knees fairly easily, so if you have another source for the GhostScript stuff please spare me and everyone else by going to the alternate source; the file is 2+ MB. Installation: Installation is performed by following the instructions in README.1ST, then using the online help. Additional support is available from a listserv list called appropriately enough CELLO-L. To subscribe, send a message to listserv@fatty.law.cornell.edu with the one-liner: sub cello-l your full name in the body of the message. cello-l is watched by the developer and by a few folks who graciously assisted in alpha testing and who know more about the software's treacherous behavior than its author; the listowner is Will Sadler at Indiana University Law School. We are also working on an archive of installation hints and tricks. Please try to take it easy on comp.infosystems.www; Tim already has too much to deal with (grin). Who'n'heck are these guys?: The Legal Information Institute, operating under the auspices of the Cornell Law School, is an entity set up to distribute legal information in hypertextual form by various means, including the Net. Since there wasn't a Web client for the platform used most by lawyers and legal academics, we took it into our (ill-advised) heads to write one. This is it, almost. For further information: lii@fatty.law.cornell.edu. Regards, Tb.