Firefox: 1 billion downloads only part of the story
At about 8 a.m. PDT Friday, Firefox crossed the billion-download threshold--a notably large number for Mozilla's open-source Web browser but one that doesn't tell the whole story.
Firefox fans love their statistical milestones, and Mozilla enjoys fanning the flames by providing plenty of opportunities for self-congratulation. In 2008 was the Firefox Download Day, with more than 8 million downloads in 24 hours. Next came the Firefox 3.5 debut and its download tracker.
Mozilla boasted that Firefox downloads surpassed 1 billion on Friday.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)And now we have the billion-download figure on the Spread Firefox site. That includes updates people have fetched deliberately, not automatic updates, Mozilla said. To maximize the marketing potential, Mozilla also is touting the 1,000,000,000 + you site.
That site probably could be named better. Firefox director Mike Belztner said in June that Mozilla estimates there are 300 million Firefox users, up from 175 million a year earlier, so don't go thinking there are a billion people using it. Indeed, I find the total user population a much more interesting statistic than downloads.
Firefox has truly achieved real success, eating steadily into Microsoft Internet Explorer's dominant market share to become the second-most used browser. The newest version is downloaded between 40 and 60 times a second worldwide at present.
IE 8 downloads surpass 200 million
But lest Firefox fans get too carried away with their success, there's another number that shows what Mozilla is up against. According to a source familiar with Microsoft's statistics,
IE 8 has been downloaded more than 200 million times in the last four months since its release.
That's a fifth of the way to what Firefox achieved since Firefox 1.0 was released nearly five years ago. And Microsoft hasn't even begun pushing IE 8 through update in earnest yet. Microsoft's 200 million statistic doesn't include updates such as bug patches and security fixes.
So let's face it: being installed along with the world's most widely used operating system remains a huge advantage for IE's use, antitrust concerns notwithstanding. Microsoft declined to comment on its download statistics.
(Credit:
Mozilla)
So what do all these numbers really show besides browser makers' urges to thump their chests about their popularity? This: the world of browsers is in serious flux.
Next-gen Web en route
That's because after years of near-dormancy after IE crushed Netscape in the 1990s, the browser wars are back in full swing. The growing migration of personal and professional activity to Web applications, the growing adoption of broadband Internet connections, and the growing adoption of truly Web-capable mobile phones are combining to make Web browsers a strategic asset in the computing industry. Apple, Microsoft, Mozilla, Google, Opera Software, and others all want to be the gateway to the world's most vibrant medium, the Internet.
Even the fifth-ranked browser can claim notable success. Opera's desktop browser has been downloaded more than 270 million times from the company's own servers since 2003, and the daily download rate has jumped from 30,000 to 40,000 back then to about 200,000 today, the company said. Throwing Opera Mini for mobile phones into the mix increases the total to about 500 million.
The download rates show that there's a powerful movement afoot to "upgrade the Web," as Mozilla's marketing catchphrase would have it.
It's a gradual change, with plenty of laggards such as corporate users who can't upgrade from IE 6 or cybercafes with locked-down PCs. And there's plenty of turmoil about next-generation Web standards. But the herd is gradually moving to more sophisticated browsers that collectively enable a more sophisticated Web.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
And shycelticwitch might not use a Mac anyhow... Safari has more market share on Windows than Opera does and it's not so bad. Everyone's entitled to an opinion. I like Firefox best, but I can definitely see how someone might prefer Safari. It's not without its advantages.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3636
One of many testing sites that confirm.
IE8 is most likely to display pages correctly , as web devs code to IE more than any other.
But - don't accept mere anecdotal evidence - Here's how you can test it:
Go to http://www.renderosity.com (a 3d artists' site) in each browser. In FF and Safari, the page loads quickly and correctly. In IE 8 (in Windows 7 RC), the page loads with out-of-whack formatting, then (eventually) shoves its elements back into their correct places once Compatibility Mode kicks in. I find this to be common with a lot of websites that have to put in scripts to accomodate IE's quirks, and won't really change anytime soon.
Same thing happens here on CNET, come to think of it.
Also, playing a game on Facebook or MySpace acts differently in IE8... in FF/Safari, clicking --on, say, a player name-- spawns a new tab with the character's page and such. Doing the same on IE8 (with defaults) opens a new window, forcing the user to sit and wait until that page loads, or they have to shove the new window out of the way. You can change this behavior in IE8, but you have to hunt down and do that, whereas the others just do it by default.
I tried your test and didn't experience the issues you brought up. I made sure compatability mode in IE was disabled and had no trouble at all. Perhaps you have something set up in your system that is causing this sort of behavior?
Both IE and FF rendered the site fine (Might want to mention that it's NSFW, BTW). Safari loaded very fast, but had issues with some of the elements. Chrome was fast as well.
Meh, use whatever works for you. For me, that's FireFox.
I saw what Random_Walk was saying: IE starts rendering the page full-width, then snaps to the page's set width.
This probably takes a slower connection to notice the difference (I'm on WiFi and pretty far away from the router while my computer is backing up to network)
But...they display PERFECTLY on IE.
I tried to download a Hotfix from support.microsoft.com. You have to basically fill out a web form, with your email etc and MS will email you a download link with a password. I input all my info, and click continue....and it tells me that my browser (IE8) is not supported. That is what you call irony.
I used Safari 4 to get the hotfix.
I use two browsers: Firefox and Safari. They have their pros and cons but really, it's personal choice. With the exception of IE 6 and 7, the differences aren't great enough for the end user to notice and if you aren't an avid fan of one camp or the other, any of them will probably serve you well.
The same goes for Safari on the Mac. If you run OS X, Safari versions are updated by default.
I use Firefox as my primary browser mostly because of Adblock Plus and Flashblock. There are just too many obnoxious adverts on most web pages.
Lennron, more like incorrect websites (yup, because they are coded to a proprietary and broken implementation of web protocols that are like the horrendous grammar you find on some manuals or the worst slang, look up "boo got shot for an example") are unparseable and unrepresentable in standards compliant browsers. Sorry, don't blame correct web browsers for not understanding and rendering the web equivalent of "All your base are belong to us.", rather than "We have taken over all of your bases."
Say what!?!?!?
My my parents', my in-laws and just about everyone else I know has called me b/c they suddenly had some sort of issue (mainly printing) with IE. It turns out that it was IE8. It installs through automatic updates as a high priority update. Even if XP users go to http://www.windowsupdate.com, click "Custom" so it doesn't download and install automatically and you'll see right there as a "High Priority" update. I just re-checked on my work machine and it's now telling me that I've hidden important updates and that I should really un-hide them and install them. I'm sure that easily scares the unsuspecting user into downloading and installing IE8.
I work in the IT dept in a small company and we had the same issue as well.
Hey, I might have missed blocking IE8 automatically on one of the computers...not sure, I don't like IEx. Which means, I could be one of the 200,000,000 forced downloads because I did not block it. Again, this is way different than choosing it.
Dude, the article doesn't decide what is downloaded. Read all the replies from people saying they are getting the forced downloads, and how MS has set it to high priority. I think the author got it wrong.
Of course, I've shut off all the auto update crap from MS anyway. I'll be the one to decide what gets downloaded, not MS thank you very much.
I go here for my updates: http://windizupdate.com/ because I don't have to use IE. Try it, it works great.
I think the real number to go by is what browser is used the most on a machine one year after installation. With so many geeks being fickle and installing everything, even those numbers are suspect and unreliable. Usage is the main determination.
Thanks for confirming what we all suspected, MS fanboy.
Same-same, then?
and you Mac fanboys dont respond with "my browser is better than yours" because all browsers do the same thing..and this days almost all of them have the same features...but Firefox has the upper hand with add-ons none others browsers have.
Give me Adblock and Noscript and I'll use your Safari or Chrome. until then, be quiet.
What, are you kidding me? M$ started pushing IE8 with updates since last year when the browser was in beta status. I remember this because i had to install XP on my friend and first thing M$ did on its updates, asked me to install IE8. lol
Though IE may be #1 in installs that does not count the usage of IE. Because firefox users are heavy internet users. We should count the number of times any HTTP get is done via Firefox as agent, that would truly indicate the popularity. who cares if IE is just installed and never used :D
That's funny. I installed Firefox four years ago but only started using it 6 months ago. Your point is also applicable to Firefox's '1 billion downloads' figure.
FF is acting up on my computers. crash 5 times a day. Don't really know what cause it and i don't want to format my HD again. Chrome is running just fine.
Firefox has been gaining ground but probably at a slower pace recently. Other browser such as Safari 4 for Windows and Google's Chrome have also entered the fray. The question is will a dominate browser become one of these? I really would like to go back to one browser that just works! As of now I cannot say anyone impresses me enough to say that. I seem o have to have a fall back browser. That of course is IE 8. I am just not sure that we need all these browser's. It could be doing more harm then good because web site have to code for all these different rendering engines. Maybe it would be better to have one rendering engine as open source and allow customizing? Is that not what Linux is all about?
- by wilsonalmeida July 31, 2009 5:38 PM PDT
- Maybe the reason they had so many downloads is because they are infested with the worse cookies on the net. I explain. I loved my Firefox 3.5 something, best browser ever, highly customizable and was very organic for me... but in the past 2 weeks it got infected with all these well know spyware (known for those who came from PC, i'm w/ a Mac. now) and i couldn't delete it by any means. I had to clean up my computer from all things mozila to get rid of them. Then after many attempts, i decided to go for an older version; it worked great w/ all addons, for a day, then all the nasty cookies came back and and, same thing again, i had to delete all things mozila. ...now i was able to customize a bit Webkit, doesn't look as cool, but i never seen anything so fast.
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