Firefox passes 400 million downloads

Firefox just passed the 400 million download mark, according to the Spread Firefox site for promoting the open-source, extendable Web browser.

That number shouldn't be confused with actual installations, Mozilla's public relations folks rightly caution. (I'm sure I've downloaded it at least a dozen times this year, and I'm only using copies on three computers at present. On the flip side, there are any number of other ways to get Firefox, including Linux installations.) Nevertheless, 400 million is an achievement worth noting, given that just a few years ago it looked like Microsoft had the market locked up with Internet Explorer.

However, not everything is going swimmingly in Firefox land. Mozilla had hoped to release a Firefox 3 "Gran Paradiso" beta in July. Instead, Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla's vice president of engineering, now says it's due "this fall."

[cchenoweth6]

Always a BS number

I have downloaded it over 10 times myself. I use it about 5% of the time. I liked it better than IE6.. but IE7 is fine for me.

[this1!]

good for you...

why should we care...

the article itself already aludes to the fact the number is bloated, most of us have downloaded it more than once, but as he also pointed out, many users who have linux already have firefox as it comes standard on most linux desktop managers.

[Shankland]

Even if it's a BS number

It's still a mighty big BS number. And even downloads that aren't used still indicate some active selection on the part of the user, so it's hard to value all the way at zero. Even if the number is off by an order of magnitude, that's still 40 million downloads. It's also possible that there are any number of unofficial but perfectly legitimate sites from which it can be downloaded. CNET's download.com, for example, tallies 11 million downloads for the Windows version: http://www.download.com/Mozilla-Firefox/3000-2356_4-10719259.html