Firefox Momentum Slows 558
linumax wrote to mention an Information Week story about an apparent slowing of Firefox's usage growth. From the article: "San Diego-based WebSideStory released market share numbers for Firefox, IE, and other browsers that noted Firefox has crept up from April's 6.75 percent to September's 7.86 percent, a single percentage point gain in five months. During the first few months after its November, 2004, release, Firefox was adding another point each month. 'It looks like Firefox has hit the push-back point,' said Geoff Johnston, an analyst with WebSideStory. 'We always knew there was a finite number of early adopters out there and a finite number of Microsoft haters who would switch to something new, but we didn't know what that number was. It looks like we're approaching it.'"
slows? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:slows? (Score:5, Insightful)
That, and there's an apparent fetish for Growth-Growth-Growth! It's sad that when the stock market doesn't see 15% returns annually in a company, it's automatically assumed that they aren't successful.
It's not just about growth--it's also about quality of product and longevity. If Firefox maintains a steady percentage of the market, growth is implicit, as more people begin to use the Internet. I'd say the numbers they have now could be construed as adequate success, especially considering that Mozilla doesn't have the marketing buxxx that Micro$oft does.
The numbers (and growth in adoption of Linux in government and the enterprise) tell me that Firefox is here to stay.
Re:slows? Webstat data collection is flawed. (Score:5, Interesting)
I didn't give up on Firefox, it's my primary browser. But I'm not counted by the web statistic collection firms, so their data is a fraud. These firms must develop better data-collection methodologies or be exposed as frauds and face legal sanction.
The FEMA aid request site was one. (Score:3, Informative)
How about the FEMA site section for online claims requests, which explicitly requred IE 6.x. Slashdot article here [slashdot.org].
This was particularly a problem since the volunteer-provided internet access tended to be donated older computers running free software, often from a "live CD". But not being able to use it to fill out the aid forms massively reduced its usefulness.
The telephone alternative to online signup was
Re:slows? (Score:3, Insightful)
In the United States, punctuation marks are always put inside of the quotation marks. It's different in some other countries, like Britain, but for American English the GP had it right.
Re:slows? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:slows? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:slows? (Score:3, Informative)
Poster was writing informally as one who is listing items. Correct usage, despite not being formal — but then again, this is not a dissertation.
Poster's original positioning of the full stop is correct in formal American English. Reference is available here [commnet.edu]. I'm not American, I've just come across this often enough to wonder
Finite this, finite that (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Finite this, finite that (Score:2)
Re:Finite this, finite that (Score:2)
Sure, there were plenty in those categories. However, every single person I have introduced to firefox has preferred it to IE and the IE wrappers (yahoo sbc browser, etc). Within a short time of their switch, many of them were comfortably and productively using the best features of firefox (tabs, search bar, etc). Interestingly enough, they have been primarily those of the majority, the computer in
Black and White thinking (Score:5, Interesting)
I use Linux on my desktop and I have a PowerBook. Which category does that put me in? The last time I checked, I couldn't run Internet Explorer... but someone please correct me if I'm wrong here.
Firefox has achieved many of its goals regardless, with 10% of the web not using Internet Explorer (Firefox + Opera + Safari + Konq) websites are no longer able to simply plug Microsoft technology into their websites and run with it. I can't remember the last website that I visited that didn't function properly in Firefox -- which was a very common problem in the bad-old-days of IE5/ActiveX (again, through no supposed hatred on my part). Microsoft is a better netizen today than they were five years ago. Their development is more open, and their technologies are more cooperative. There is much more of a free market in webspace now, which is a good thing.To the managers out there, 10% is acceptable. (Score:3, Insightful)
The fact that they are 'artsy' types (OS X users) or 'propeller heads' (Linux users) just makes the decision that much easier if you'd selling socks or food or something.
Never underestimate the power of 'saving a buck by screwing somebody' (somebody using the other browsers) when it doesn't really cost them anything.
The sales figures are going up anyway. Or the site is just advertising and that's an expense regardless, and nobody ever got
Re:To the managers out there, 10% is acceptable. (Score:3, Interesting)
If a web page can't be displayed by 10% of the people, its no biggie.
I guess I'd have to disagree. 10% is somewhere around the time where you need to be concerned about people not being able to see the page. This is especially true in a market with tight profit margins. Losing 10% of your customers is a major hit when you only have say a 5% profit margin anyway. It wouldn't kill the business, but I'd say it's enough to justify the often minor work of making sure your website works on Firefox as well as
Re:Finite this, finite that (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Finite this, finite that (Score:2)
Hey hey we're the Infinite Monkees/and people say we monkey around/but we're too busy typing/to shut our systems down...
Right but... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Right but... (Score:5, Insightful)
Start catering to the scenarios that are important then... provide deployment tools and reference guides for unattended installation. Last time I was tasked with a (Windows) Firefox deployment, I found out that settings are stored in a random directory per-user. All pre-installation configuration had to be done by manually changing default values in the compressed original package. Settings and policies were just not available to be set via the registry (easy to script) or Group Policy (easy to manage).
Despite what you may think about Microsoft's business practices, they have got the scenarios down. Both Windows and Office have OEM Pre-installation Kits, and products are designed with corporate and OEM deployment scenarios in mind, not just as an afterthought. At the very least, they don't *actively resist* large-scale deplyments by so rudely thumbing their noses at admins with settings stored in text files in randomly-named directories. Ugh.
Re:Two things that hold up Firefox in institutions (Score:3, Informative)
Reference: http://www.techspot.com/staff/38/thoughts-on-fire
So just to review (Score:5, Funny)
1. they are one of those annoying people who think they're cool when they have "the latest thing"
2. they are one of those annoying people who hold an irrational hatred of microsoft.
There's no other reason. No sir. Nobody in the entire world looked at each browser and made a sound, logical choice to use the one that best met thier needs. No, that would never happen.
Re:So just to review (Score:5, Informative)
from the article:
Geoff Johnston, an analyst with WebSideStory. 'We always knew there was a finite number of early adopters out there and a finite number of Microsoft haters who would switch to something new
So, to paraphrase Mr. Johnston:
The only possible reasons why someone would use firefox are:
1. they are one of those annoying people who think they're cool when they have "the latest thing"
2. they are one of those annoying people who hold an irrational hatred of microsoft.
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
Basically, his point is that the people who were still using Netscape 4 long after IE had kicked it around the block are going to be equally slow to switch away.
Me too. (Score:5, Funny)
I too am shocked. Subtle sarcastic humor always goes over so well on Slashdot.
Re:So just to review (Score:3, Insightful)
Hey, man—there is nothing irrational about my hatred of Microsoft!
You are correct, sir (Score:2)
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
Yeah, like running some OS for which IE isn't available, like Linux, FreeBSD, or OS/2. Or running one for which the IE port is ages old and runs like completely and total crap (Mac OS X).
After all, we all know that people who run these OS's only do so because of irrational hatred for Microsoft, as every other rational person chooses their OS based on the fact that IE is available for it.
(I hope MS is paying these "analysts" well to make such boneheaded statements...).
Yaz.
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
I think everyone i've ever met can safely be put into one of these categories:
1) IE comes with windows, and they don't care enough to ever switch
2) had some severe negative experience with IE, but didn't know enough about computers to fix, switched
3) hate microsoft in general, switched
Not one person I can think of made any sort of careful rational compariso
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
Maybe the post contained some kind of strange social custom [reference.com] that you don't understand.
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
or they were participating in a joke.
Re:So just to review (Score:4, Funny)
Nobody in the entire world looked at each browser and made a sound, logical choice to use the one that best met their needs.
How, if not by sarcasm, could a ration person make such a statement? It's either +4 sarcastic or +4 insane, obviously sarcastic won out.
Re:So just to review (Score:5, Funny)
"No, you missed the sarcasm. I don't quite know how, by the end it was laid on so thick that it oozed into the next post."
So was it a Comedy Buffer Overrun Exploit or a Brute Force Crack-Up Attack? D(istinctly) D(evoid) O(f) S(incerity) maybe? I know it was too dry for Phishing.
billy - Karma Engineering?
Re:So just to review (Score:2)
Gee, here I was thinking that grandparent was being sarcastic.
Bound to happen (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft haters? (Score:2, Insightful)
Most people I know who use firefox still use and prefer MS Windows to the alternatives.
Software compatibility is important and being able to go into a shop and buy any software for Windows means Windows will remain for a while.
When the tiny Apple or Linux section in computer shops grows and software is generically released for more platforms things will change.
My local PC world (in England) is already being taken over by Apple Macs so its only a matter of time now
It's having an effect, I think (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:It's having an effect, I think (Score:5, Interesting)
I converted my wife to Mozilla (before Firefox existed) because IE was fucked up on her computer, and it was easier to install Mozilla than to figure out was wrong with IE. Only then did she "get" stuff like tabbed browsing and text resizing that works. She's got a new PC since then, and Firefox was the first thing installed on it.
Most Likely (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Most Likely (Score:3, Interesting)
Most geeks love Firefox extensions (I do), but Joe User just isn't interested in dealing with that stuff. Opera offers more functionality straight out of the box, and almost nobody outside the tech community cares at all about open source.
I think Firefox might have reached market saturation. I wish it weren't the case, but I fear it may be
not surprising (Score:4, Insightful)
does not go out and download / install firefox. does not surprise me.
on the otherhand, 7% + market share in such a short time is pretty good. and has firefox improves, (use less memmory) you will see improvments in the marget share. firefox has to be much better then "IE"
for a normal user to switch to it, so the rapid marget will slow down and will creep up slowly...
-Nex6
-nex6.blogspot.com
Re:not surprising (Score:3, Insightful)
I think it's safe to say that Firefox has saturated its core market of tech savvy, security-conscious users. At this point, they need to reevaluate who their target market is and adjust their marketing strategy accordingly. After all, they were never going to get 95% marketshare simply by virtue of *not* being Internet Explorer. At this point, they need to get their foot in the door with one of the major PC vendors (De
MS haters vs enlightened users? (Score:4, Insightful)
So you have to be a "MS hater" to see the disadvantages with IE now?
Anyway, yes, it is expected something like this will happen, but I think not for that reason, but rather because there's a finite number of people willing to change browsers when there's already one part of the OS. Firefox being more secure? Sorry, they don't even read computer news sites.
next step (Score:5, Interesting)
Obviously the current marketing effort led by the Firefox team has reached, or is soon to reach, the most people it can. There now needs to be a second push to help promote this browser up past 10% market share. Once one in every ten users is using Firefox, then maybe the 'word of mouth' changes will begin to increase more-so.
Personally, I have installed it on my parents' machine, all my tech-saavy coworkers, and I promote it every chance I get. Once we hit the 10% mark, all the people that were too lazy to do it might just say, hey, well, everyone else is doing it, why not me?.
Re:next step (Score:2)
Stupid conclusions (Score:5, Insightful)
No, even if you accept the numbers, it means the pool of IE users willing to change to Firefox has dried up. It's pretty damn arrogant to assume that if Firefox isn't acceptable to somebody, nothing is. I use Firefox myself for the time being (roll on Konqueror 3.5 with Adblocking built in), but I'm not going to claim that it's perfect.
One thing I can never find with these stories is how they come up with the figures. Examining httpd logs and using Javascript tricks is about as accurate as guessing. Do they conduct proper surveys or are they just another snake oil vendor? The fact that their website is broken in Firefox isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.
Version 1.5 (Score:4, Insightful)
Recently the released improvements to the Mozilla suite in the release products have slowed. I strongly suspect that version 1.5 will bring yet more people on-board. I'm using the Thunderbird 1.5 beta for my email right now and it is a fantastic improvement over the current release version.
[Minor whinge] I wish I could print an email without all the irrelevant headers... preview what will be printed and (optionally) change the format.
Re:Version 1.5 (Score:2)
Exactly.
I've often felt that if Mozilla/Firefox gave users an easy way to compose and publish precise SVG using a WYSIWYG interface, including international language support, across platform, that usage would increase markedly.
Re:Version 1.5 (Score:2)
These are people whose daily Internet use consists of Hotmail, Amazon and CNN. They are not on the fence, waiting for the next batch of innovation from Firefox to switch
FYI: Different situation in Europe (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm just wondering why the market share in Europe is so much higher? I mean, I doubt that there is such a different user basis?! (The linked article talks about 20% market-share in Germany and Poland...)
Re:FYI: Different situation in Europe (Score:2)
We're just more intelligent here in Europe
And better looking too!
lamebait>
Re:FYI: Different situation in Europe (Score:5, Informative)
Germany is at 24%
Finland is at 34%
Czech Republic is at 23%
Poland is at 22%
France is at 16%
These numbers are measured by independent French firm XitiMonitor, which publishes a monthly report on browser market share.
In a related note, see also http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=node/view/18802 [spreadfirefox.com] , which demonstrates a steady monthly growth for Firefox in Europe, with a rough estimation of more than 37 millions users in the Old continent.
Disclaimer: I am a Mozilla Europe employee.
Re:FYI: Different situation in Europe (Score:5, Interesting)
To my mind the difference in adoption rates between Europe and the United States (which I'm presuming is the inferred basis of comparison) boils down to the respective mind-sets of their populations.
Many European countries have a reputation for fast adoption of new technologies in the last century. While America remains the most powerful consumer nation, I believe there's a profound difference in the way technology is used. Putting aside the geek community, many more of the Europeans I've dealt with seem to view internet usage as a social/recreational experience. Comparatively the non-technical Americans I've known, seem less inclined to 'play under the hood'.
Disclaimer: I'm Australian so if you think I've got a facile understanding of these cultures, feel free to call me on it.
Re:FYI: Different situation in Europe (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it is not that Americans do not like to tinker, it is that they do not like tinkering in the computers. A lot of this comes with where the people grew up, and what do they know. People like tinkering in what they can modify and show off. Because the computer here is not synonymous with communication or bragging rights, very few try to know and learn about them. (Notice how those that do, i.e. the gamer community, modify the crap out of theirs, and a lot of these stories seem to come out of US).
I bet you will be interested to find that there is a huge car modding and tweaking community (people who replace and tweak engines, not tailpipes), which thinks that Europeans are completely ignorant about cars. I would guess that more Americans would now the difference between a carburator and fuel injection than Europeans. (I myself am not of that community, and have only a slight knowledge of carburator/fuel injection systems, I just heard of them)
Different cultures, different interests, different results.
This isn't necessarily a bad sign (Score:3, Interesting)
As such, just because downloads are flagging doesn't mean interest is.
Web Developers (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, but for many web developers IE is broken. It's annoying having to write one set of code to run in the non-standard IE environment and then another set of code to work in the standards-based browsers. Take for example Alpha Transparency for PNG images. You can get it to work in IE by using Microsoft's method but you can't just slap a PNG in with alpha transparency and expect it to work in IE.
Re:Web Developers (Score:3, Interesting)
Firefox has reached that ~10%.
Other browsers (Safari + Opera + Konqueror) have maybe 5%.
Which means that IE is down to 85%, and web developers can no longer create IE-only web sites, and apply pressure at Microsoft to be more standards compliant.
Which caused the come of IE7, which has fixes for many of the reasons we web developers hate IE, such as CSS, the box model and the PNG problems you are talking about.
So - it's ok that the adoption ra
Re:Web Developers (Score:3, Insightful)
End users don't care what makes a developer's life easier. Businesses who have to pay for the extra time you waste futzing around with all that stuff might possibly be convinced to care, but end users for whom everthing is free anyway have no reason to care and they never will. Until the entire open source world realizes this, Microsoft doesn't really have anything to worry about.
Firefox will need this help (Score:2, Interesting)
That some major government mandates the default installation of a browser that meets W3C standards to some debatable extent, (say 90%), on all computer systems purchased. Within this restriction, vendors would be required to meet some standards on a 100% basis. With OpenDocument, Massachusetts has done its part. Now, they should extend this to browsers.
If that happens, Firefox will take off.
Why change browsers? (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, I do know of MANY people who have zero interest in even trying Firefox. They don't care about tabbed browsing, they already know the ins and outs of MSIE. Generally these aren't the people who actually have to remove their spyware and virii, so they don't fully understand security issues and associated pains.
I think it boils down to this: Most geeks like Firefox and have already switched. Joe Sixpack and Ted the PHB have in interest in learning how to use a new browser, or even learn how to click on a different icon.
(And then there's the camp of newbies that think "the internet" is built into their "computer" and is only accessed by clicking on the magical blue e)
Re:Why change browsers? (Score:2, Interesting)
So how about an IE Skin and an icon change?
Re:Why change browsers? (Score:2)
Smells like a lawsuit. Microsoft will claim that someone is trying to harm their spitshined MSIE image by making a "shoddy clone" of it.
Plataeu is not a bad thing (Score:5, Insightful)
the number of web users is still growing rather rapidly. Even if their marketshare stays steady for many months, especially this time of year (I'll get to that in a sec), it still means that their userbase is growing.
This time of year, school is starting. people are getting new computers or their first computers for themselves (finally, a computer that's not shared by the family!). There's a distinct spike in computer purchases around now. Firefox's 1% gain this month is a very good thing. it means that even though their marketshare growth is remaining constant, they're making up for it in volume.
also, does their marketshare count only for windows installations? or does it count for all platforms? I mean, I know a bunch of mac users who , for some reason (usually because they're coming from windows), prefer firefox over safari.
personally, I use firefox for testing on the mac. but that's about it. I still think safari is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of just the usability factor. firefox just feels like a windows app. Camino's ok, but feels a bit strange sometimes.
Numbers? (Score:3, Interesting)
Looking at two other sites I have that have much less traffic, IE's numbers are around 20% or less. Two months ago it was the opposite -- IE was around 50% of TJR's traffic, and certainly more than 20% on the other sites. Something big happened in the past two or three months that drastically changed browser numbers. I think WebSideStory's data is old or just plain inaccurate.
Re:Numbers? (Score:2)
Oh... (Score:2)
Success! (Score:2)
A very simple explanation for a chunk of it (Score:2)
Different kind of significance (Score:2)
Vermont being home to a lot of small, home-grown industries, and not a lot of big ones, I've noticed something. Companies start small and (hopefully) grow. At some point, many hit a critical point where they're no longer small enough to work the same old way they used to. They have to take on some aspects of bigness, in order to continue growth. (At this point, some companies also say, "Big enough, I don't want to take on the changes necessary for fur
Seasonal shift (Score:2)
Part of me wonders if this isn't simply a seasonal shift, as well, as I've noted before regarding other numbers.
Many students heading off to college just got new machines which, for the vast majority, run Windows and had IE on them right away. Until they've been at college for a while and have been burned by spyware, malware, or otherwise, this will be a factor.
Additionally, this is the time of year when a number of job changes happen. I know that I moved into a corporation where IE is the browser. Yeah,
Google and Europe (Score:2)
Most statistics are useless however, until Google show theirs.
Hilarious (Score:2)
"Well, the study shows that the use of Firefox is still growing. Microsoft is really in trouble."
"I don't want to piss off Microsofot, how can we put this in a negative light?"
"I know, let's say that the growth is slowing!"
"Yeah, that's the ticket!"
Free Ride Market (Score:2)
People seem to forget (Score:2)
Why I switched to opera (Score:2, Insightful)
firefox takes more microsoft share (Score:3, Funny)
- A
How about packaging a version with some extensions (Score:5, Interesting)
What about having a prepackaged version that has maybe a dozen themes and 15 or 20 of the most popular extensions? Maybe even have something that comes up when you run it for the first time that walks you through enabling some extensions that are preinstalled. That would make it much easier for a new person to become familiar with the true power of Firefox.
A lot of people don't know what Adblock is. They've never heard of WeatherFox, or FoxyTunes, or CuteMenus, or Linkification, or DownloadStatusbar or any of the other really cool extensions. Some of these are extensions that most users would probably use if they new about them. You and I have no problem because we are geeks... but what about the Average Joes out there that don't know the first thing about installing extensions or changing themes? Lets walk them through it visually and give them some choices right up front.
I think this would go a long way to ensuring that the people who do give Firefox a try, never look back.
On a similar note, is there way I can package my installation for friends? I'd like to be able to make a copy that I can email to a few people so they can have the exact same setup I have... and I'd also like to be able to set it up on one machine and copy it to my other machines without having to manually install each extension on each machine. Anyone have a link that details how to do this or some directions/tips/whatever? Thanks!
corporate and university adoption (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree with the articles premise that most of the early adopters have been converted. The rest will be slow going but I believe Firefox can still achieve at least 25% of the browser market.
At UNT College of Business, my school job, the lab group is just now rolling out firefox to all the lab computers. This represents a sizeable exposure for Firefox in a demographic that may soon make personal or corporate decisions about open source and browsers. I think it could be a good idea if the Mozilla foundation worked to get Universities offering Firefox as an alternative on every lab or kiosk machine on campus.
I would also venture to believe lots of large corporate IT departments are just as slow to adopt new software, even when it works. I have also wondered how thorough the enterprise deployment software is for Firefox. Does firefox have adequate support for corporate or large scale installations?
FF Dominance myth (Score:5, Insightful)
While I'm a happy Firefox user, I tend to think it was a naive presumption that Firefox would ever directly battle IE for market-share dominance. People who thought it was a serious contender in this regard fail to understand the nature of the average internet user.
I believe firmly in the technical superiority of Firefox. The developers have shown they take security seriously and the open-source model is continually proving itself with this application, not to mention the lack of integration into the OS which solves a number of IE woes. The extensibility of Firefox is another strength, allowing an element of customization to the non-technical user.
Where I disagree with many, is claiming that Firefox will become dominant. Gone are the days when the internet was primarily composed of scientific/technical people. We're now a continually shrinking percentage of the population, which, as much as I decry certain aspects of the 'dumbing down', is as it should be. Mass adoption has brought down connection prices, broadened the services offered to us and released a flood of new information and technology.
Firefox will continue to go from strength to strength, however the majority of new users and non-technical existing users will follow the Microsoft bandwagon. While the choice of a competing and IMHO superior browser is important to many of us, to the vast majority it's completely irrelevant. They have web access implemented in their operating system hence they see no need to even research browser alternatives.
The real benefit of Firefox for the masses, is the adoption of it's strengths (tabbed browsing, etc.) into IE. For the rest of us, we can sit comfortably and support our own preferred browser.
Microsoft haters? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why is this surprising... (Score:3, Insightful)
Two stories that say Firefox use still growing (Score:3, Interesting)
From Xiti [zdnet.co.uk], a French Web monitoring company.
From NetApplications [informationweek.com], a US Web monitoring company. Both say that while FF is growing, it's not growing as fast as some of the other alternative browsers. Of particular interest is that both say IE is still slowly losing ground.
Firefox lacking sex appeal (Score:3, Funny)
To avoid being labelled as smut vendors, an "independent" developer can come up with a plug-in to do this.
Leveled off, but not at 7% (Score:3, Interesting)
Firefox exploded from 5% in January 04 to 21% in May 05. Now it's crept back down a bit off that high.
Don't really have a reason to offer, but here's the stats:
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.
Let's face it: IE and Firefox are very similar (Score:5, Interesting)
1. better security
2. tabbed browsing
3. pop-up blocking
4. more polished UI for certain things (like the options dialog)
#2 and #3 are in IE. #1 is a big deal, but you've always been able to get the same effect by changing security settings in IE. With Microsoft switching to those settings, the difference is negligible. #4 I like, but it's just a tweak; it's not like MS couldn't do this.
So, in all honesty, Firefox has always been, more or less, IE+. The key point is that open source developers managed to get something that worked as well as IE, then add some nice bonus features. In regard to the bonus features, it's not like Microsoft (a) wouldn't borrow good ideas from Firefox, and (b) would have a tremendous amount of trouble adding some additional features to an existing application. From that perspective, anyone who expect Firefox to blow IE out of the water was fooling themselves. There was a nice lull in IE development which allowed some catch-up time, and it's good that the Firefox team could take advantage of it.
But now we're at the stage where FF and IE are essentially equals. Microsoft engineers could very easily have significant improvements to IE in the works; something that could become the standard for web browsing. If that happens, it's going to make the FF team look out of touch, spending all that time just to clone a previous generation product and make some improvements to it. True vision is something that FF development is lacking.
Re:Nothing new. (Score:5, Insightful)
If MSIE had approximately 97% usage at it's peak, and FireFox is now close to 8%, how could most of FireFox's market share come from Mozilla browsers and Opera? 97% + 8% != 100%
Re:Nothing new. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Nothing new. (Score:3, Interesting)
Also many webapps are bothering to support firefox. If that trend continues and firefox improves itself a bit to offer more features, then I think the growth trend will continue, albeit at a non-insane pace.
Counting vulnerabilities is stupid. (Score:5, Insightful)
Finding 1,000 different "vulnerabilities" that cause the app to crash does not equal 1 vulnerability that gives remote admin access to the machine.
And that story only shows FireFox's adoption rate to be slowing. You can interpret that any way you want to. But if your interpretation is correct, then why is Microsoft introducing FireFox-like features in the next release of IE?
Re:Counting vulnerabilities is stupid. (Score:3, Informative)
It runs just like any other user level process and is restricted as such. You have the same rights to the system running Firefox as you do IE. The real problem is that IE was too trigger happy at installing active-x and other ridiculous security flaws. The same effect as if Open Office suddenly decided to install random extensions from the web. With SP2 things are significantly better. It remains to be seen what we get w/ IE7.
Confusion might lie in the fact that
Re:not integrated into the OS? (Score:3, Interesting)
Exactly. 90%+ of IE's functionality is integrated into the OS. You can't reasonably uninstall it without breaking tons of crap (like the html help viewer). When we say IE, we don't mean iexplore.exe. We mean the entire web browser.
Of course Konqueror is integrated into KDE in the same way.....
This being said, I take issue with the fact that "Microsoft Haters" are switching to Firefox. Most real Microsoft Haters are alr
Re:Nothing new. (Score:5, Funny)
Have you been watching IE numbers, for the first time in last 4-5 years, they dropped below 90%, what did those 7-8% percent users switched to, lynx ?
Re:Nothing new. (Score:2)
Re:Nothing new. (Score:2, Interesting)
What if lots of people buy the ps3 with hd (good way to evade the console tax in some places of the world) and want to browse the web too? They're gonna get firefox. The next IE-killer might as well be gecko based, too, or derived directly from firefox.
Re:Nothing new. (Score:5, Informative)
If you compare numbers, please compare them correctly. According to Secunia, IE has much more OPEN security holes than Firefox has.
http://secunia.com/product/4227/ [secunia.com]
http://secunia.com/product/11/ [secunia.com]
I also suggest you to read this article about the "Fun with statistics", which is about the security holes in Firefox and IE:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-6333507-1.htm
Re:Nothing new. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Nothing new. (Score:3, Insightful)
There can be only one (Score:5, Funny)
That's quite probable; Firefox is a nice browser, but I don't recall seeing "confers immortality on all who use it" as a listed feature (unlike Internet Explorer, obviously).
Perhaps they'll add that in the next release. Then we'll see who's laughing.... forever!!! Muwahahahahahah!
auto install, auto pain (Score:2)
You know, this is one common complaint that really bugs me. I've heavily used computers for over two decades and I still don't trust a web browser to auto install plugins. There are at most maybe six browser plugins that most people would ever really need. When I set up a machine I install a few plugins right out the gate and don't bother with it later.
Try 1.5 beta (Score:2)
Ever since version 1.0 came out, the FF development focus has been on what will be version 1.5 All of the 1.0.x updates have been for security... and you can only patch an application so many times before further patches starts to degrade and break the original code.
Version 1.0 is getting old and crusty, 1.5 is where the action is.
Re:Its also got more unstable (Score:2)