Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services, Microsoft, Mozilla, Browser Tips
New statistics show Firefox is moving steadily to the top
Is there still really a browser war? Microsoft hasn't updated its browser in how many years? So obviously they might not seem to care about internet users. Nonetheless, new statistics are showing that Firefox and Safari are gaining more ground as the browser of choice for web users. Internet Explorer has been losing ground steadily since Firefox was initially released. This new batch of browser market share stats put together by Market Share by Net Applications, shows that IE is at its lowest point since 2005, sitting at 82%. While Firefox is gaining ground from 7.5% in September 2005, to 12.4% in September 2006. The new IE 7 is supposedly due out this month (beta release is out now) with a complete redesign and overhaul, but will consumers bite? Are internet users sick of the lack of updates and compliance issues with IE? Will Google continue to lead and grow the evolution and mass adoption of Firefox? We shall only see in next Septembers browser stats.
We want to hear what you have to say about this. What browser do you use? And what makes it better than all the rest?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Haplo said 3:33PM on 10-12-2006
Firefox because:
The tons of extensions you can use to expand its funcionality.
The security (tho I've never had too much problems with this, even when using IE).
Besides all it's advantages, Firefox has a certain aura... I can't describe it, but it sets it appart from the other browsers.
Been using it since day 1 and can't see myself going back to IE.
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Carlos said 3:48PM on 10-12-2006
Well, lets look at it this way. From my experience, I prefer Firefox for the ease of use, the fact that pop ups are nonexistent and all the different plug ins and extensions to make it your own.
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Bob Jones said 4:46PM on 10-12-2006
The bias in this post is pathetic, its moving up not to the top - that would imply its somewhere near a majority.
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ben said 4:50PM on 10-12-2006
I use firefox because
1. i love my extentions and would die without them
2. The reason i switched to firefox - ie somehow broke and was crashing all the time
3. security security security
4. i find that it is much easier to use
5. it actually notifies me why a page doesnt work unlike ie(eg need a shockwave update)which just crashes
6. much cooler looking especially with themes
lastly its much cooler not to be just like everyone else
be cool get firefox
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Patrick said 5:19PM on 10-12-2006
Although I have been an avid fan of Firefox, I switched to Camino because it seemed to be so much "lighter" and "quicker" on my Mac PowerBook G4.
However, I recently switched to Opera and I have to say that I am absolutely digging this web browser. I love the fact that I can browse, check RSS feeds (has a pretty good built-in reader), and check my emails all from one program.
I like that you can change the look (theme) of the browser along with the smooth widgets that come with it. (If you are an Opera user, I recommend the "Touch The Sky" and "Do Too" widgets. The Touch the Sky widget is the coolest weather widget/gagdet I have ever seen.)
Anyway, Opera also is not nearly the memory hog that Firefox is on my computer. On my computer, it is faster than Firefox. It's a really nice, very underrated browser.
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greyham said 7:21PM on 10-12-2006
Although i have tried firefox and just tried the rc2 yesterday it just isnt right for me. IE7 is MUCH better and could be a browser that i'd use but it still needs working on. Opera is what I use its great has tons of features and alot that you can customize if you want (i only customized a few) and well it handles tabs better than firefox. It has mouse gestures, themes, widgets, email.... the only thing firefox has that Opera NEEDS is Extensions.
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Jonathan said 7:43PM on 10-12-2006
Internet Explorer. Mostly, because I'm lazy. Sure, Firefox has all these fancy doo-dads, but IE serves my needs just fine. While I spend ~ 3 hrs a day on the internet, I don't live by it, and the add-ins don't really serve a purpose for me. Admittedly, my opinion's a little jaded--I've been using Vista and IE7 for a couple of months now, so tabbed browsing is a non-issue (besides, it's been available on IE for ~ a year now, provided you download MSN Desktop w/ the toolbar). Going back to my home computer w/ XP/IE6, I do miss it.
I've tried Firefox, of course. Nothing wrong with it. But for 95% of the population, IE works just fine.
Couple of other comments. Before I do, I am, of course, refering to WinXP/IE6.
First, concerning 'compliance issues'. From a programmer's standpoint, you are, of course, correct. From a user's standpoint...who cares? It is, and has been for a long time, the standard browser. So compliance issues, as far as the end user is concerned, are non-existent--everyone codes websites based on IE's non-compliance.
Security is a moot point. Firefox isn't a whole lot better. (I hesitate in saying this, since no doubt I'm going to get shouted down by those that feel otherwise...screw statistics, eh?)
Pop-ups...exactly what era are we living in? XP/IE6 have been blocking popups since SP2 came out. (Incidentally, I just went to a site that I knew to pop up a 'fastclick' screensaver popup, and what do ya know...it popped up in *both* Firefox and IE6).
One last thing. I've never understood the raging zealots who run around screaming how bad IE is, and how good Firefox is. Feel free to choose the browser you want, just don't try to tell me one is actually better than the other. Unless you're a power user, both browsers will serve up the web just fine.
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Patrick #2 said 8:35PM on 10-12-2006
I agree with the other Patrick above, Opera is excellent, though it has its snags. The amount of options it offers is excellent, and you don't even realize you need them till you start using your schools comp. The built in bittorrent client is very nice featured I wanted to add to those already mentioned. Everything in one nice versatile app is very simple and nice to have.
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Rebecca said 9:51AM on 10-13-2006
I tried switching to firefox a while back, after reading on Download Squad and elsewhere about how superior it is to explorer (which is what I use), but there was a problem: once I installed firefox, anytime my computer went to sleep, when I woke it back up again it wouldn't connect to the internet until I restarted the computer. Any idea why this happened? I finally gave up on firefox because of that.
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Mike said 10:46PM on 10-13-2006
As a web developer I thought that I would really dig all of the neat features in Firefox. I gave it a try and I still have both browsers installed on my PC. But, I just find myself spending almost all of my time in IE.
In the end, most of the users who use my web sites are using IE. If I stick with IE, it is just one less thing that I have think about.
Yes, I know that Firefox has an IE plug-in so that I can easily check my web pages with both browsers -- and I have used that sometimes for checking my sites.
But, even with all the plug-ins, Firefox is just not compelling enough for me to switch. I've been doing tabbed browsing in IE for a long time now with the Yahoo Toolbar at first and now with the Windows Live toolbar.
I was a martyr for the underdog technologies for a while when I was a UNIX programmer and Linux user. That crap just gets tiring. I'm not a zealot either way with the browsers and I do think that Firefox is great. I just don't have the time to try to champion another underdog.
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