"Once the Windows shell itself lets you browse the Web, the need for a separate web browser application becomes less apparent. But while web browsers as such might one day fade into the mists of history, that day hasn't yet arrived. And even if browsers per se vanish, [COM] components such as the Web Browser object and the HTML viewer will survive."
Browsers offer a reliable way to use hardware without any configuration. It is easy to forget how difficult something like video playback could be (relying on player software) before sites like Youtube came along.
Microsoft implemented it, called "The Microsoft Network" (MSNv1): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_Dial-up#The_Microsoft_Netwo... . It used the Win95 Explorer as interface. Internet Explorer 1 (rebranded Mosaic) shipped with Win95b / Win95 Plus add-on CD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)
See MSN1 in action, the introduction film with Jennifer Aniston: https://youtu.be/kGYcNcFhctc?t=17m16s (watch it for 2-3 min to get the idea; or direct link to MSN1: https://youtu.be/kGYcNcFhctc?t=19m16s)
Read Bill Gates (former internal) 1994 memo: "Windows: The Next Killer Application on the Internet": http://www.microsoft.com/about/companyinformation/timeline/t... . "The memo starts with a background on the Internet in general, and then proposes a strategy on how to turn Windows into the next "killer app" for the Internet." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish
Keep in mind that this wasn't the original NCSA Mosaic
"Spyglass, Inc. licensed the technology and trademarks from NCSA for producing their own web browser but never used any of the NCSA Mosaic source code. Microsoft licensed Spyglass Mosaic in 1995 for US$2 million, modified it, and renamed it Internet Explorer."