With few exceptions, Microsoft's share of the browser market has been steadily declining since at least November 2009, which is how far back Net Marketshare lets us look. Back then, Microsoft's Internet Explorer was the dominant browser on desktops with a 64.46 percent share. And today? It's still dominant with a 52.63 percent share of the market, but the gap is quickly narrowing.
Apparently Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser leads the pack in more ways than just market share. With regards to IE9, socially engineered malware (SEM) barely has a chance of wreaking havoc, according to a study put together by NSS Labs. The study's data has IE9 way out in front of all other browsers tested with a better than 99 percent protection rate.
Up until today, the jury was still deliberating on whether Microsoft's decision to skip XP support for its Internet Explorer 9 browser and focus its attention squarely on Windows 7 was sound or stupid. Judging by the market share numbers, it appears Microsoft knew what it was doing. According to data from Net Applications, IE9's share of the browser market more than doubled in the month of April compared to one month prior.
The current HTML Working Group charter defines HTML5 as being “a platform-neutral and device-independent design.” Pretty straightforward, right? Well, try telling that to Microsoft. Earlier this week, when it launched IE10 Platform Preview 1, the world's leading software vendor claimed that Internet Explorer is the only browser that delivers a “native HTML5” experience. Microsoft's ludicrous claim didn't go unnoticed. While rivals Mozilla and Opera were quick to respond, it was the former that stood out with a parodic bug filing on its Bugzilla bug tracking system.
The fine art of browser vendors touting their respective browsers while simultaneously deriding competing ones has been reduced to a very banal affair of late, with most vendors simply concentrating on browsing speeds and HTML5-related enhancements. Does even a single browser vendor not possess the will and imagination necessary to break this trend? Apparently, Microsoft has done just that by comparing IE9’s power consumption habits with that of other major browsers, including Safari 5, Opera 11, Chrome 10, and Firefox 4. Hit the jump for the results.
Technology is sort of like Father Time, in that it waits for no one. So while you're getting acquainted with Microsoft's newly released Internet Explorer 9 browser, the Redmond outfit is already paving a path to IE10, proof of which can be found hidden inside IE9. If you dig deep enough, you'll find a dialog box referencing Microsoft's next-generation browser.
Internet Explorer 9 went gold on Monday and Redmond is already mighty pleased with the enthusiasm that has greeted the release of the latest version of what is still, technically speaking, the world’s most popular browser. According to Microsoft, IE9 was downloaded 2.35 million times during the 24 hours following its release, which translates to “over 27 downloads every second, or over 240 downloads every 9 seconds.” Keep reading after the break to find out how these numbers compare with the launch day showing of other major browsers.
In case you missed it, Microsoft last night put its final coat of polish on Internet Explorer 9 and 
We know, we know, the Internet police will have to pry Chrome/Firefox (Opera/Safari?) from your cold, dead hands. But for what it's worth, the final version of Internet Explorer 9 just dropped from Redmond and is ready for download. If you're already sitting pretty with the Release Candidate, you may be able to upgrade without having to reboot your system (we've had mixed results), you know, just like the other browsers allow. Otherwise, a reboot will be in order. Is it worth it?
As Microsoft looks to kill off Internet Explorer 6, the Redmond software giant made official the launch date for IE9: March 14th, 2011. The final code will be available for download from Microsoft's servers starting at 9 AM PST on Monday, making good on Microsoft's promise to deliver its next generation browser in the first quarter.Connect with MaximumPC
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