IBM's switch to Firefox is, if nothing else, a major PR boost for the browser, one that comes just days after Mozilla acknowledged some of the more serious security flaws found in the browser to date by releasing an update. Mozilla says some 50 million copies of Firefox have now been downloaded since it was made available last year. <
The Firefox juggernaut, which had been slowed recently by a spate of security concerns, has picked up steam again on the strength of a decision by IBM (NYSE: IBM) 
to endorse the alternative to Internet Explorer for its massive employee base.
Firefox, now the second most popular browser and by far the biggest threat to Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) IE to materialize since the demise of Netscape, has seen better uptake among consumer users than businesses, who analysts say are often more reluctant to jump quickly to alternatives.
However, the Big Blue win changes that overnight. IBM said it had formally endorsed the use of the Mozilla Foundation's browser, which had already found its way onto the desktops of some 10 percent of IBM's 300,000-strong user base.
Mozilla says some 50 million copies of Firefox have now been downloaded since it was made available last year.I've seen this statement on a number of Firefox threads. I downloaded Firefox 1.0 many months ago... but I've also downloaded versions 1.1 and 1.2. I see now that the current download is version 1.4. So am I led to assume that the current number of Firefox USERS is a number substantially less than 50 million?
1.0.1, 1.0.2, and 1.0.4. Version 1.1 has not yet been released.
If history will be a guide, most people do not download multiple times. This is why there are people who are still using Netscape Navigator 4.7. I don't think there is any doubt that Firefox is causing some damage to the IE numbers. A recent CNN article says that IE is now less that 90% with firefox taking almost 7% of the browser market. And more importantly, Microsoft released a popup blocker on XP SP2, and will have a browser with tabs when they release IE 7. If Microsoft thinks there is competition (by starting up browser work for the first time in about four years), Firefox is being effective.