Lou Montulli
Encyclopedia
Louis J. Montulli II is a programmer who is well known for his work in producing web browser
s. In 1991 and 1992 he co-authored a text web browser called Lynx
with Michael Grobe and Charles Rezac while he was at the University of Kansas
. This web browser was one of the first available and is still in use today.
s, the blink tag
, server push and client pull
, HTTP proxying
, and encouraging the implementation of animated GIFs into the browser. While at Netscape, he also was a founding member of the HTML working group
at the W3C and was a contributing author of the HTML 3.2 specification. He is one of only five (or six) inductees in the World Wide Web Hall of Fame announced at the first international conference on the World Wide Web
in 1994.
In 1998 he became a founding engineer of Epinions.com which is now a Shopping.com
company.
In 2004 he became co-founder and CEO of Memory Matrix, which was acquired by Shutterfly Inc.
in May 2005. Montulli served as Vice President of Client Engineering at Shutterfly through the summer of 2007.
In 2008 he became co-founder of Zetta Inc.
In 2002, he was named to the MIT
Technology Review
TR100
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.
, one of the earliest live image websites, famously built in to early versions of the Netscape browser as the Fishcam Easter egg
. The company Netscape hosted this fishcam until long after they were no longer Netscape. After a short hiatus, in 2009 it found a new host; still one of the longest (nearly) continuously running live websites.
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
s. In 1991 and 1992 he co-authored a text web browser called Lynx
Lynx (web browser)
Lynx is a text-based web browser for use on cursor-addressable character cell terminals and is very configurable.-Usage:Browsing in Lynx consists of highlighting the chosen link using cursor keys, or having all links on a page numbered and entering the chosen link's number. Current versions support...
with Michael Grobe and Charles Rezac while he was at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. This web browser was one of the first available and is still in use today.
Career
In 1994 he became a founding engineer of Netscape Communications and programmed the networking code for the first versions of the Netscape web browser. He was also responsible for several browser innovations, such as HTTP cookieHTTP cookie
A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin website to send state information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site...
s, the blink tag
Blink tag
The blink element is a non-standard presentational HTML element that indicates to a user agent that the page author intends the content of the element to blink...
, server push and client pull
Pull technology
Pull technology or client pull is a style of network communication where the initial request for data originates from the client, and then is responded to by the server. The reverse is known as push technology, where the server pushes data to clients.. Usually, customers will look for a site and...
, HTTP proxying
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
, and encouraging the implementation of animated GIFs into the browser. While at Netscape, he also was a founding member of the HTML working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
at the W3C and was a contributing author of the HTML 3.2 specification. He is one of only five (or six) inductees in the World Wide Web Hall of Fame announced at the first international conference on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web Conference 1
The first World Wide Web Conference which was organized by Robert Cailliau was held at Geneva, Switzerland from May 25 to May 27 in 1994 and was hosted by CERN....
in 1994.
In 1998 he became a founding engineer of Epinions.com which is now a Shopping.com
Shopping.com
Shopping.com is a price comparison service owned by eBay and operates websites in USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia. Shopping.com started out with the name DealTime.com which still operates as a related, but otherwise separate website....
company.
In 2004 he became co-founder and CEO of Memory Matrix, which was acquired by Shutterfly Inc.
Shutterfly
Shutterfly is an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service. Shutterfly's flagship product is its photo book line. It is based in Redwood City, California.-Features:...
in May 2005. Montulli served as Vice President of Client Engineering at Shutterfly through the summer of 2007.
In 2008 he became co-founder of Zetta Inc.
In 2002, he was named to the MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
Technology Review
Technology Review
Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
TR100
TR35
The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg...
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.
Ongoing projects
While working on the Netscape browser, Lou built the FishcamFishcam
Fishcam refers to a broadcast consisting of a video camera pointed at a fishtank.- Australia :Channel 31 Melbourne, Australia, had one of the more famous and long-lasting Fishcams. The Fishcam itself was originally used as a replacement to the more common testcards, shown when the station had...
, one of the earliest live image websites, famously built in to early versions of the Netscape browser as the Fishcam Easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
. The company Netscape hosted this fishcam until long after they were no longer Netscape. After a short hiatus, in 2009 it found a new host; still one of the longest (nearly) continuously running live websites.
External links
- Lou Montulli's Personal Web Page
- Where cookies come from from DominoPower Magazine.
- HNSource History Montulli's first conversion to HTML page for WWW-VL
- Fishcam live feed.