RSSSlow, but steady usage share growth in IE8's first day
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published March 20, 2009, 4:52 PM
The early numbers from Web analytics firm NetApplications indicate a slower than expected, but steady uptick in usage share for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, a product which was introduced at noon yesterday on the East Coast. It's not being pushed as an update to the Windows operating system, so trading up for now is still a voluntary affair for users.
Still, if NetApplications' numbers are accurate -- based on the browser traffic it receives from Web sites it analyzes professionally, compared against the Web as a whole -- about as many new users have tried IE8 a day after launch as tried Google Chrome the day after its launch. Worldwide usage share as of 3:00 pm EDT was pegged at 1.90% and climbing. That's just slightly ahead of Google's initial uptick the day after it was launched, according to the firm's numbers.
But Chrome's numbers never really climbed much after that first day; in fact they subsided. Still today, Chrome's usage share stands at 1.15%, indicating that many users were interested in the novelty of the browser, but not enough to test it for very long. IE8's users, by contrast, are likely to be full-time adopters; so the success of Microsoft's initial promotion may be gauged not by how much these numbers taper off, but by whether they grow linearly or incrementally.
Overall, Internet Explorer's usage share for all versions combined stands at over two thirds of the world's browsers -- this after enjoying three-fourths of the world's traffic at this time last year. Mozilla Firefox browsers account for nearly 22% of traffic, while the success of the iPhone and Macs have rocketed Safari to the world's #3 position at just over 8%.
I upgraded yesterday with no issues. There are several features which FF had that IE7 did not which kept me from using IE 100%. Ie8 now has most of them. The search bar. RSS feeds pinned to a favorite/bookmark bar. Now if IE8 just had a spell checker!!
So far, no problems with ie8. It works on eveyr site I visit.
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|IE8 and Vista 64bit do not play nice together. It slows opening any window up, it slows opening up Windows Live Mail, it slows opening up any app. I went back to IE7 and everything else sped back up to normal. I use Firefox as my browser.
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|take a look at if you have any block lists installed, via say Spybot, etc, and remove them. IE8 had a 2+ sec delay opening and opening tabs for myself, not after removing these lists, back to instant, however IE7 didn't have a problem, perhaps 8 loads things differently
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|interesting.
i tried to update my ie8 rc1 to the just released version. however, the download wanted to be saved as an unknown file type.
after a couple of tries, i remembered to simply save the file as unknown file type. then go back and rename it with a .exe extension.
otherwise, the subsequent web page for the download that provides pics of the usual pop windows that prompts you to run from location or save the download were not helpful.
perhaps, the above issue inhibited additional downloads and installs of the ie8.
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|If one uses a Microsoft RC or beta, one should wipe the system and format if they expect to use a trouble-free browser/OS in the future.
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|in my opinion, if you are a windows user, it SHOULD be a forced update! keep using your browser of choice as u just were, but IE should be undoubtedly upgraded to version 8 because web developers and the whole web needs a more standards compliant, unified base of IE versions; and for whoever that is not meaningful enough, windows users need the more secure and faster version of IE as possible, so what is to complain!
It won't do anything on market share, as whoever is already using something else won't care much, but it is seriously needed to replace the IE6 remainings and IE7. But the main point -as always- is about those millions who won't update because they dont even know IE8 is out there. Hopefully they won't cancel the updates.
Finally about the corporative webs that require IE6... it will be time to call your devs and do a little adjustment. They can't stay in their lazy stop-time bubble forever stuck with an 8 year old browser, or am i wrong? Are websites exempted from maintenance just because they are corporative?
-Please reply constructively and in good will. Thanks.
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|@thartist, if you're upgrading anyway, why not pick something non microsoft for your browser to start with and jump forward in time 3000 years into the future. I'm guessing the answer is you'll be required to upgrade to the latest microsoft product regardless due to the nag screen, but i havent used windows regularly for ages so i dont know what their upgrade process is anymore. Do they still badger you about critical updates for things that arent critical to update like ie?
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|I like IE7
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|@ paulm84
it wont be a forced update the most it will be is an optional install.
microsoft don't operate like apple where if you have itunes installed they constantly nag you on every update to to install safari and if that wasn't enough the option to install safari comes pre-selected.
Microsoft don't operate like google who does the same damn thing as apple, but goes a bit farther by placing a constantly running process that replaces the google app you just uninstalled.
what microsoft will do is put IE8 as an optional download (and optional downloads are not pre-selected. so it wont be a forced install. even silverlight was an optional install.
don't be so quick to jump down the company's throat, they have learnt their lesson.
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|@krenshaw:
IE7 became a forced install which was 'turned on' by default (at the very least on the Microsoft update website anyway). I don't suspect IE8 will be any different; it just won't be done like that for a while.
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|Im glad someone realizes the difference between these companies :)
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|once it becomes a forced update ie 8's share will grow
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|Agreed.
Although since it's not apparently a forced update from the start, that makes me wonder somewhat if MS testing the usage strength based on name alone, or some other such similar criteria. I doubt it, but one can never tell.
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|Meh. IE7 wasn't a forced update straight away.
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