RSSFirefox Usage Continues to Grow
By Ed Oswald | Published May 12, 2005, 3:54 PM
Firefox continued to gain market share during the months of March and April, garnering a 6.75 percent usage share according to Web analytics firm WebSideStory. Altogether, non-Microsoft browsers accounted for a little over 11 percent of Internet users. The report also showed a continued drop in Internet Explorer usage, although at a slower rate than in previous months.
"Given its current growth patterns, Firefox is still within range of reaching 10 percent market share in the U.S. in 2005," WebSideStory wrote in its report.
The research firm also highlighted the disparity in the usage of Firefox among users in different countries. For example, as of late April, Firefox was used by 23 percent of all German Internet users, while in Japan the browser was struggling to reach a 3 percent market share.
WebSideStory offered an explanation of this disparity. "Much of this has to do with long-standing biases. For example, Internet users in Germany have long supported the Microsoft alternative dating back to the days of Netscape," the firm explained.
"Users in Japan, meanwhile, have always fully embraced Microsoft technology."
WebSideStory says it uses actual browser stats rather than number of downloads. This gives a more accurate representation of browser usage. Mozilla has said its download numbers also include those who are downloading updates, as well as those download multiple copies to install on more than one computer.
In late April, research firm OneStat.com reported usage of Mozilla browsers at 8.69 percent, amounting to a gain of a quarter of a percentage point since its last report in February.
I thought them a little more progressive than that! I suppose the really do have a home for sheeping, and it's part of the reason their technology uptake is so quick.
"Look, they got a new toy! I must buy this new toy, so I am also cool."
But I thought their security concerns would get the better of them eventually!
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|Bla Bla Bla... use the one that suits you best. IE is great, and FireFox falls in a close 3'rd. I'll leave the #2 spot open for discussion. Keep the ball rollin folks... it's caught up on which browser is better when it's plain as night and day.
If you are wanting to play games at Pogo or quite a few other web sites you must use IE or you're not playing.
Also... If FF is so great why is my web server that hosts 37 different business sites showing about 90% of all visitors are using IE? The other 10% are a mixture of Netscape, Mozilla, Web TV, Mac... or other. I don't make up my server logs, but it certainly shows the actual visitors on the server. Take it from there folks. And if you run a web server perhaps you should take a look see at your own server logs and verify this.
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|I refuse to say anything in this thread (for it's not a discussion), anyone who likes a browser will like that browser at all times. I use FF and I am proud of it, please let me be, let Opera users be proud of their choice, let IE users be proud. Let ... (fill in any browser name) users be proud. Why hit someone else in the face for disagreeing with you? THAT doesn't make any sense
my thoughts
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|amen
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|Point well taken! Choose to use what makes you happy. I like Jeep. My neighbour drives a Ford. My other neighbour drives a GMC. It really don't matter... until you get to the Rough Stuff anyway.
Like I said: I drive a Jeep it takes me places others Can't Go, I also use IE because it too takes me places other Can't Go. That works for me.
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|That Jeep of yours can't go on water. Pogo? Meh. We Firefox users have better taste.
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|Whom to believe? Ed tells us it's growing, but I've read since the critical vulnerabilities of 1.03 version hit the scene that Firefox usage is slowing down. Who's right? Why do I care? I don't. But my company does, and they removed all copies of Firefox from every computer at work two weeks ago. I don't care if another million people downloaded Firefox (900,000 are the same people who just downloaded the previous update), and this recurring story is so tired. I'm happy to use Firefox as an alternative browser, but I don't need to be reminded every week with faux evangelism.
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|The simple fact is there is no truly secure browser. IE will have problems, FireFox will have problems, Opera will have problems, etc. No browser will be 100% secure.
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|Today, 2005-05-13,
- Firefox : 4 unpatched floaws of 17 (Less critical)
- MSIE :19 unpatched floaws of 80 (Highly critical)
Get the Facts :D
http://secunia.com/product/4227/
http://secunia.com/product/11/
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|Slowing down does not imply lack of growth....just a slower growth than before.
Which is fine by me. Software that explodes onto the market tends to burn out and die quickly.
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|Show me any other website unafilliated with those intelligent idiots at secunia (I say intelligent on purpose as they find a very good way of showing 'security holes' that are not there. Kinda like saying MS-DOS 6.22 has a security hole: if you type deltree /y windows from the root directory your Windows goes bye-bye...)
One more thing, interesting choice of words, let me show you: "In late April, research firm OneStat.com reported usage of MOZILLA BROWSERS at 8.69 percent..." (emph. added) Mozilla BROWSERS, eh? So for all we know FF could be loosing market share to other 'Mozilla' browsers.
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|This should put some perspective on where it is going. I wonder if these totals are included?
Published: May 12, 2005, 9:00 PM PDT
By Martin LaMonica
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
IBM is encouraging its employees to use Firefox, aiding the open-source Web browser's quest to chip away at Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Firefox is already used by about 10 percent of IBM's staff, or about 30,000 people. Starting Friday, IBM workers can download the browser from internal servers and get support from the company's help desk staff.
IBM's commitment to Firefox is among its most prominent votes of confidence from a large corporation. Based on development work by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, Firefox has been downloaded by more than 50 million people since it debuted in November. Internet Explorer still dominates the overall market by far, though, with Firefox's share in the single digits.
For IBM, the move is a significant step in lessening dependence on a product from rival Microsoft.
By supporting Firefox internally, IBM is also furthering its commitment to open-source products based on industry standards, said Brian Truskowski, chief information officer at IBM.
"This is a real good example of walking the talk when it comes it comes to open standards and open source," Truskowski said.
Because Firefox is based on industry standards--as opposed to proprietary technology--IBM has some "comfort" that it will interoperate well with third-party products, Truskowski said. By contrast, Microsoft's Internet Explorer uses some proprietary technology, such as ActiveX for running programs within a browser.
"What I will avoid is anything that is propriety in nature," Truskowski said.
The company is training its help-desk staff on Firefox and certifying that internal applications will work with the browser, he said.
Truskowski expects that Firefox will ultimately end up costing IBM less than IE because the company can use open-source additions to Firefox. "I hope in making a small investment up front, I can leverage that innovation going forward," he said.
Stacy Quandt, an analyst at the Robert Frances Group, said that IBM's endorsement of Firefox internally aligns with the company's strategy of backing open-source products based on standards. It may also give other companies reason to "pay attention to" Firefox and see it as an alternative to Internet Explorer.
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|IBM is making a mistake, mark my words. Call me a blind stupid idiot or whatever, throw your immature insults at me now, but mark my words. It may be tomorrow, or TEN years from now (emphasizing existing for sophist_dreams), but FF won't last. Bring it on FF tekies.
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|People like you have been proclaiming the death of FireFox since it was "Phoenix" well over two years ago. It's still here, still going strong, still getting better and still gaining market share. Enough said.
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|I'd like to rebut your prognosticating skills, but my crystal ball is in the shop.
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|I for one am happy to see this article. It wasn't so long ago that we heard that FireFox's gain in usage was dwindling since the release of FireFox 1.0. Now and then these things need to be reported to put things back in their proper perspective.
I was a diehard Netscape fan dating back to 1996 but I grew weary toward the end when Communicator was dying, AOL bought Netscape and the Mozilla Foundation was stagnant. With Windows Update I gradually became an IE user flaws and all.
I've used Opera over the years [since it was first released, in fact] now and then and I find it to be a pleasant surprise in many ways and I even registered it. I am a fan because it offers an alternative and it has pushed the envelope with its features. I do not, however, find it to my liking. Nonetheless, I registered it to support the effort.
I support evolution and change. It will take _other_ browser alternatives to make Microsoft change their ways. Opera and FireFox are the answer to this. Both should be supported.
These days I use FireFox 95% of the time, IE 4% [mainly for WU and pages that won't display correctly in FireFox], and Opera 1%.
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|If useage reports are going to go up about Firefox growing every month can we have a reminder artical every so often talking about how much of a market-share Microsoft (only for IE) has over Firefox?
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|I agree with that, why not give Opera statistics
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|Very true, but firefox appeared recently, unlike microsoft, and microsoft will always be on top with the market share, but firefox will keep climbing until the new IE comes out in several months.
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|and Opera will never climb as high as firefox, because opera is a peace of manure in kind words.
it is ad supported, wtf is that?
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|ad supported, yes. But you know, some companies have to make money, and can't get money just handed to them for a simple product. And yes, firefox is a very simple product, it's the extensions that make it worth anything.
What's wrong with selling an excellent product. Microsoft does it, right? Oh, you must be one of "those" people.
You can't get everything for free, I hope you realize that before you starve.
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|For ur info, firefox makes a lot more money then opera will ever make. And how is firefox a simple product, when it keeps climbing and climbing in shares, and popularity, a simple product wouldnt' be able to achieve that.
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|it's simple in that it's pretty much featureless. That's fine that FF can make so much money through donations and underwriters (Google, IBM). But I want a program run by one company, not subsidized by many.
For your information, Firefox doesn't make ANY money, except through tech support (where a phone call will cost you as much as registering Opera), they're handed money by the users.
Just because it's simple doesn't mean it won't do well as far as browsing shares are concerned. IE is simple (waaaay to simple), and look at how well it's doing.
Opera is a bit more honest in this regard, it doesn't ask, it tells you that it needs money up front.
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|"firefox is a very simple product, it's the extensions that make it worth anything."
I'd say that is a true statement. It is also the idea behind Firefox... They want it to be a small browser, containing only features that most people need. They could make a version of Firefox that included EVERY extension... but then you'd have this bulky browser with so many features you don't know what to do with. I only have 2 extensions installed, and I'm more than happy with it :-)
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|stupid
its true firefox is aimed at being a simple product
but its slower, and uses up more space than opera with LESS features
opera has mail and everything included, once those firefox extensions start going in it REALLY slows down
on my home pc a 3500+ it doesnt, but on computers that are
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|its true firefox is aimed at being a simple product
but its slower, and uses up more space than opera with LESS features
opera has mail and everything included
Precisely the reason I don’t used it. You need everything included ? Use Netscape 4 – the biggest pile of crap ever developed.
If you have the slightest programming knowledge then you agree that a modular program is 1000 times better that a monolithic application. I don’t need to give any arguments here.
I think that Mozilla foundation made an excellent choice when they decided to separately develop FF and Thunderbird (their e-mail client). Let the people who now how to develop e-mail clients do their job and let the browser developers do theirs. In this way no project is just an add-on to the other. You get maximum quality for both.
Users should not ask to be treated as stupid people. If you need Thunderbird go ahead and download it. If you need FF do the same. Don’t ask companies to take away that power so that you can write in a forum “WOW !! Everything is included !!!”. If you ask for it, you deserve it, but don’t drag all the users on this path.
once those firefox extensions start going in it REALLY slows down
REALLY ?!
on my home pc a 3500+ it doesnt, but on computers that are 2ghz it really is noticable
This is genuine FUD. Who paid you to post such miserable affirmations about Firefox ? 2 Ghz computer to use FF ?!!
For your information: I am using FF for 1 year now 99% of the time on my laptop Centrino 1.3Ghz. I never encountered any performance problems. I also regularly check forums related to FF development and testing and I never heard of such problems.
Any browser that uses 100% of CPU power on a 2 Ghz box is absolute crap. You make such a terrible affirmation about Firefox and yet you provide no evidence about this behavior.
A very efficient tactic to kill a product is to spread FUD about it. Hear about this people: don’t use FF, otherwise your 1 year old computer will just hang because your processor is not powerful enough for web browsing. This is happening only if you use Firefox !!! So stay away !! Don’t even try it ! Those few that have tried it are in deep pain right now !!
anbd will vulnerabilities coming out left and right, its not worth the trouble
The only really bad vulnerability that I remember is the one regarding UNICODE characters for international domain names. FF is here for quite a long time now but this is the only vulnerability that really worried me.
opera is the best though IMO
I don’t think you are an Opera fan. This is just a cover up. If you would say you are an IE only fan nobody would consider your FUD. But since you pretend to like Opera some people might get fooled by your "unbiased view".
For those who are not tired of statistics feel free to check the browser, operating systems and search engine statistics from my web site:
http://www.mihaiu.name/websitestatistics.html
Regards,
Razvan
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