Computer Support Network

The current browsers wars will be on topic for this week’s Tech Wars Software feature but I wanted to preface with this weekend’s Firefox milestone.  The newest version of Firefox reached 104 million downloads over the weekend, a milestone that was achieved in just over a month.  Firefox has held onto its #2 spot in the browser wars for over 4 years but the speed with which the general populous upgraded to the newest version is quite remarkable.

According to the analytics firm Net Applications, Firefox holds onto a 21.8% market share, less than half of Internet Explorers 55.92% but far ahead of both Chrome at 11.57% and Safari at 6.61%.  Firefox 4 represents the first “full” redevelopment the browser has seen in three years and totes a number of new features and performance updates.  What is amusing is that many of the toted new features have been taken almost directly from Google Chrome (Something we will cover on Friday).

Firefox’s claim to fame has always been the efficiency of the browser and generally heightened security over Internet Explorer.  With the newest release Firefox takes this further with a new Content Security Policy designed to stop both XSS attacks and malicious code deployment.

Firefox has a fine lead over much of the competition but faces a difficult future as Chromes fan base seems to be doubling about every 6 months and the popularity of Apple products has redoubled exposure to Safari.  The pertinent question here, however, is who will be the first competitor to take down Internet Explorer?

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

When Google released the beta version of Google Chrome earlier this year it was received with a mixed reception. The browser that had been announced as faster and more secure then either Firefox or Internet Explorer proved instead to be little more than a cosmetic alternative. Now however, Google is ramping up its Chrome promotion campaign by cutting default stature from Firefox.

Until recently Firefox had been the default browser selected as part of the Google Pack. For those unfamiliar with it, the Google pack is a set of productivity applications that Google packages for users. The package includes applications such as Spyware Doctor, Picasa, Adobe Reader, Google Earth, Norton Security Scan, and now Google Chrome. Advanced users won’t likely be bothered by the need to select one extra option. Casual users on the other hand are unlikely to go through the extra trouble, and will accept whatever is given to them by default. Additionally, Google has also removed all of the Firefox promotions that used to be included in Google Properties. Mozilla Firefox is depended on Google as their main source of income so if Google continues to aggressively oppose Firefox the company could find themselves in economic hardship.

A second part of the Google Chrome campaign is actually set to put Internet Explorer in more damage than Firefox. Google reportedly plans to sign a deal starting in 2009 which would have computer manufactures preinstall Google Chrome as the default browser on computers. It has long been acknowledged that casual users will remain with whatever default internet browser is installed on their computer. This is primary factor in why Internet Explorer remains the most used Internet Browser despite numerous superior alternatives. A distributer for the deal hasn’t been announced but if it ends up being a partnership with a computer giant such as Dell, this could upset the current browser war into Google’s favor.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department

Among the younger generations of web viewers the Firefox browser developed by Mozilla has already overtaken the market. In an effort to continue this trend Mozilla has announced that it will be looking towards the community of the release of its next generation. Firefox already has a high degree of open source functionality but by putting a call out to the community directly they plan to extend their service even further.

Ultimately the importance of this comes back to web development in general. For years Microsoft Internet Explorer has remained unchallenged in the world internet browsing; to this day they make up 51% of the market. The problem with this is that despite its overall user base Internet Explorer has long been regarded as the worst browser and by far the least friendly system to design web content for. The logic behind how this is even possible comes from the fact that for these years Microsoft has been able to monopolize the market. Every Windows computer ships with Internet Explorer preinstalled and so it’s what the common public uses. When you already have the market cornered there is little need to improve your service. But all this looks to change in the near future.

In the last year Firefox usage on the web has increased from 31.0% to 42%. If this trend continues Microsoft may finally find themselves with no choice but evolve. If Internet Explorer is bought up to the standards of Firefox numerous new design possibilities will arise. Designers will no longer be bottlenecked by an inferior browser. What this means for consumers is a better stronger web environment for everyone.

- Richard Keene
IT Computer Support of New York
Design and Optimization Department