NewsFirefox's Market Share at Record High, Still a Distant Second to Internet Explorer
Posted 11/03/08 at 11:15:47 AM by Paul Lilly
Mozilla's open-source Firefox browser continues to gain ground in the browser wars in what can be considered a major uphill battle. Firefox has flirted with a steady 20 percent market share in the past, and according to Net Applications, October has been kind to the configurable browser, which settled in at 19.97 percent. That number represents a 0.51-point jump over September and is a record high for Mozilla.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's Internet Explorer slipped again last month, continuing its trend as having the fastest declining market share out of the six most popular browsers. But far from being a free fall of sorts, IE's combined share nestled in at a still very dominant 71.52 percent, down from 71.27 percent one month prior. That puts IE at a 4.2-point drop for the year, compared to Firefox's 2.99-point gain.
It will be interesting to see what kind of effect Google's Chrome browser may have on the top two contenders. Currently, Chrome only accounts for a 0.74 percent slice of the browser pie (down from 0.78 percent), but that could change if Google follows through with adding extension support.
Hit the jump and tell us how you see the browser wars shaking out in 2009 and beyond.
NewsIE and Firefox Were the Browser Losers in September
Posted 10/03/08 at 10:44:55 AM by Paul Lilly
According to a new report from Net Applications, both Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox browsers saw a drop in market share last month. That shouldn't come as a big surprise considering that Google's Chrome browser made its debut in the same time period, but what's interesting to note is that the combined drop exceeds the gains posted by Chrome.
At some point, Microsoft has to be getting concerned. IE still dominates the browser landscape by a wide margin, but that won't always be the case if it keeps giving up market share. IE slid .63 points to 71.52 percent in September, which adds up to a 3.95-point drop on the year, or down 5.2 percent. Firefox's slide was a little less slippery at .22 points settling in at 19.46 percent, and has gained ground on the year with a 2.48-point climb, or up 14.6 percent.
It also wouldn't take a leap of faith to assume most Chrome users were previously surfing with IE and Firefox, and if true, that would mean more IE users made the jump than those using Firefox. You can draw your own conclusion on that one.
NewsEarly Chrome Adopters Reverting Back to IE, FF
Posted 09/24/08 at 09:10:13 AM by Pulkit Chandna
Leading internet research firm Net Applications has revealed that many early Chrome adopters are now reverting back to Internet Explorer and Firefox. User comfort is finally overcoming the curiosity that the browser initially educed.
Net Applications’ latest weekly browser usage figures are out. Chrome accounted for only 0.77% of all internet traffic in its third week - down from .85% in the preceding week.
The data also has brought to light another peculiar trend: usage of Google’s browser shoots considerably in the evening and wanes during working hours.
NewsIE 8 Gains Fans Quickly, but Enough to Reclaim Lost IE Market Share?
Posted 09/16/08 at 12:06:14 PM by Paul Lilly
According to daily browsing statistics provided by Net Applications, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 has garnered a fair bit of interest from users, with the latest beta increasing market share from 0.23 percent at the beginning of the month to now sitting at 0.41 percent. Still, Google's new Chrome browser (also in beta form) has been more popular, breaching the 1 percent mark early in September and now claiming 0.79 percent of the market.
Looking at the overall picture, Microsoft can't be too concerned. Net Applications notes an average market share for IE 7 and IE 6 of 46.38 and 24.08 percent respectively, which when combined with IE 8's 0.31 percent average, has Internet Explorer still dominating the browser wars with 70.82 percent of the market in the first half of September. In August, IE claimed a slightly larger slice at 72.15 percent.
Meanwhile, open-source stalwart Firefox also noted a slight drop since August, with combined market share taking a small dip from 19.73 percent to 19.38 percent. What's interesting to note here is that Microsoft's IE 6 still grabs a larger share than all three Firefox browsers combined.
Hit the jump and let us know what browser you're using.
NewsTake a Look under the Hood of Your Favorite Web Browser
Posted 09/13/08 at 02:43:11 PM by Justin Kerr
The current sea of web browsers is awash in promises, but what makes Firefox better then Internet Explorer? And is Google’s Chrome really any faster or better at rendering web pages then Safari? Neowin.net was looking to answer this very question when it authored an excellent roundup of browser rendering engines. The report helps to break down which browsers and applications make use of each of the four most prominent technologies: Trident (Microsoft), Gecko (Mozilla), Webkit (Apple/Google), and Presto(Opera). While both Trident and Presto are both closed source projects, Gecko and Webkit remain open source and are likely to be the basis of any future browsers entering the market. It is an excellent reference for users looking to switch browsers and is a reminder that we should pay attention more to the underlying engine being used then the name of the browser itself. Market share of the various engines is a very telling indicator of general compatibility on the web. It will also help you the next time a Mac head goes on rant over how much better Safari is than Chrome. You now have the tools you need to put him in his place.
NewsIs It Time for a New "Browser War" - or Is It Already On?
Posted 09/11/08 at 08:07:07 PM by Mark Edward Soper
Yahoo's Douglas Crockford, the man who created JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), says it's high time for a new browser war, eWeek reports. In his keynote address to the Rich Web Experience conference earlier this month, Crockford claimed that the last time core building blocks of the Internet such as HTML and and ECMAScript were revised (1999) was the result of the Internet Explorer versus Netscape Navigator browser war.
While Crockford says we need a new war, I'd argue that we've already got a dandy one going on right now: IE is being challenged by Mozilla Firefox, while Google Chrome has just entered the ring to go head-to-head with Opera and Apple Safari to fight for third place.
To find out why I think Browser War II is already on, and why it might turn out a lot better than the first war of the browsers, join us after the jump.
NewsGoogle Upgrades Gmail for Stubborn IE6 Users
Posted 09/09/08 at 05:15:45 PM by Paul Lilly
For those who either (A) believe Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 represents the pinnacle of browser design, heralded as being not only the greatest browser of its time, but of all time, leading to a general malaise towards Firefox 3 and 3.1 Alpha, IE7 and IE8 Beta, and Chrome Beta, or (B) are forced to stick with IE6 because of compatiblity issues, work policy, or any other of a handful of reasons preventing you from upgrading, then Google has good news for you.
Recognizing there are still users who surf like it's 1999 (yes, IE6 was released in 2001 but that wouldn't have set up a song reference, now would it?), the gargantuan search company has been hard at work rewriting Gmail's code base to make it more friendly for IE6 users. This means that if you have the latest IE6 updates from Microsoft installed, you should now be able to enjoy previously unavailable features like colored labels, group chat and rich emoticons, invisible mode, AIM integration, Gmail Labs, an updated contact manager, and remote sign out.
Now if only Crytek would upgrade Crysis' code base so the game would run smoothly on our GeForce 3 TI500 videocard, we'd all be happy campers.
FeaturesEverything Firefox Users Need to Know About Internet Explorer 8 
Posted 09/02/08 at 11:00:00 PM by Norman Chan
Microsoft released the second Beta for Internet Explorer 8 last week, which paves the way for a final release later this year. The new browser demonstrates a number of usability, security, and privacy features that make it a huge improvement over IE 7, including abilities that FireFox users have taken for granted since the FireFox 3 (and even in previous versions). Familiar features such as a better Address Bar, crash recovery, and improved in-page search won’t get Firefox devotees to switch over, but genuinely innovative tools like InPrivate browsing and Tab grouping may warrant your attention. We sort through the full list of Beta 2 features to see what ideas IE8 did and didn’t borrow from its world record-breaking open-source rival.
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