Firefox usage stats

[francis]

ZDNet is probably not one of the regular haunts of the non-IT aware, but it's hard not to be amazed by their browser stats in relation to Firefox (http://news.com.com/Firefox+aims+for+10+percent+of+Web+surfers/2100-1032_3-5425918.html?tag=nefd.top) (more commentary on What Do I Know (http://whatdoiknow.org/archives/001908.shtml)). If the trend does follow suit, maybe, just maybe, MS will have to do something. Here's hoping...

[David]

Hmm - pinch of salt required. There's no doubt that there is a Firefox frenzy going on at the moment. You can't visit a developer site without having those firefox slogans thrust at you - "let's take back the web!" - "how the web ought to be!"...

Hurrah! Our saviour has arrived - you could be forgiven for thinking the second coming was imminent.

Projeccted statistics seem to imply that browser use is a simple case of sliding scales. Well, I'm sorry but there are developers, who will flock to Firefox and adopt it as a long-lost brother and then there are all the other users out there who never heard of Mozilla, let alone Firefox. Maybe the New York times ad will change that but I doubt it.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against Firefox - far from it - competition is good and IE is starting to look its age. But I seriously doubt the claims being made and the hype just smacks of desperation.

[James]

I think Francis is more realistic when he says:

MS will have to do something

I think the best the Moz brigade can hope for is that MS accept that they have a point and release a better version of IE.

Over the last month I have helped four friends or family with PC-related problems. They use their computer to check email and surf occasionally. They have not got a clue about Mozilla etc. They are more representative of an average PC user, not us.

It is good that Mozilla is increasing its share, but I think this growth has a finite cap, which will be when all developers and computer addicts are on Moz. The rest of the world aren't interested.

I think the NY Times advert is a great idea though, I await the results keenly.

[Phil]

Over the last month I have helped four friends or family with PC-related problems

do yourself a favour and put Firefox on there for them - it'll save you a lot of hassle when they *don't* come back to you in a months time with a machine rendered unusable by spy/mal/adware caught through IE

[Tom]

There are some larger factors to consider (1) the barbarians are at the gates and MS is only just managing to fight off the challenge of open source software in its prime OS and Office markets - many small govt depts in Europe are moving over and MS is having to persuade the likes of Munich City Council to stay on board (Steve Balmer interrupted his holiday last summer to go and bribe them) (2) the Chinese are determined to set their own standards eg a Linux based OS called Red Flag which govt depts are being compelled to use (3) poor countries everywhere (eg Peru) have to go Open Source because they cannot afford MS prices (4) the likes of IBM and Sun have a vested interest in seeing a breach in the MS battlements.

With allies like this an open source browser could well flourish. Remember what Young Bill did to Old IBM: he split off software sales from hardware sales. I read an article in Fortune last week saying that so much functionality is being pumped into browsers (eg by Google) that operating systems are becoming less significant. This was of course the old Netscape dream - Marc was a decade too early.

[francis]

Microsoft are introducing Windows XP 'starter edition' to India (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/sep04/09-29WinXPStarterIndiaPR.asp), and IIRC, Russia. It's a cut-down, cheaper version of 'our' operating system intended to allow those countries who normally couldn't afford the OS to buy into it.

Firefox 1.0 launches on Tuesday.

[Tom]

I wish them luck, because I like standards, but as they say 'free is a hard price to beat'.