Firefox fanbase reaches new high

BBC ^ | 11/4/05 | n/a

[kiriath_jearim]

Friday, 4 November 2005, 10:04 GMT

Firefox fanbase reaches new high

More than 10% of net users are going online with the Firefox browser, show figures from analysis firm One Stat.

The global average of 11.5% is the highest percentage of users that the open source browser has ever reached.

The research also reveals that Americans are the biggest fans of Firefox with 14.1% using it. In the UK 4.9% use it to get around online.

Despite the success, Microsoft's Internet Explorer still dominates the net with an 85.5% market share.

Browser battle

The figures, gathered from a sample of more than two million web users, show that Firefox's market share has grown by almost three percentage points since April 2005.

UK BROWSER SHARES 1) Microsoft Internet Explorer - 93.37% 2) Mozilla Firefox - 4.94 % 3) Apple Safari - 0.99 % 4) Opera - 0.39 % 5) Netscape - 0.23 %

One Stat said that some of this growth has come at the expense of Microsoft's browser, but it has also stolen users from other browsers such as Opera and Netscape. One Stat also reported that users of Apple's Safari browser for the Mac was also recording good growth figures.

It is thought that continuing news stories about security problems in Internet Explorer are helping to fuel the move away from Microsoft's program.

One Stat's figures are at the upper end of all estimates for the success of Firefox. By contrast analysis firm Net Applications gave the browser a 9% market share according to figures gathered in October.

In recent months, browsers, toolbars and the technology around them have become the new front line in the war between the web's biggest companies - Microsoft, Google and Yahoo - to grab and keep hold of users.

New browsers are also continuing to appear. Most recently a browser called Flock launched that tries to make it easier for users to manage what they do on the web, such as remember places of interest and store pictures, in one place.

[N3WBI3]

But lets say Firefox took over completely... then what?

Then because its opensource anyone is free to take the tree and start their own browser..

I can only think of giving away free software in terms of destroying a marketplace.

IE, Netscape, Mozilla, Opera and Firefox are all given away the only one that is not (that I am aware of) is Safari. So how is giving away another browser when tehy are all already given away hurting the industry?

For example, all the free food we send to 'starving' countries puts more farmers out of business... then makes the famine worse.

So charity work to you is a bad thing? People who volunteer for Operation Rescue? What about working in a food shelter?

[mcshot]

Moral,
Don't know much about security problems as most issues involved lost mail. Am going to look at Mozilla suite as mentioned to me elsewhere.
Thx,

mc

[mcshot]

I'm going to check it out and prolly start using ASAP.
Thx,

mc

[ecurbh]

Another suggestion I would offer is to use Mozbackup to make periodic backups of your Firefox, Thunderbird, Mozilla, and/or Netscape. I do a complete backup of Thunderbird, including all the emails, about every week or two. And I do Firefox before I add new extensions or make major configuration changes.

[mcshot]

Excellent idea.
And when I downloaded the mozilla suite as recommended in this thread my long lost mail reappeared. Now for some fine tuning I'm set to go.
Thx,

mc

[Cboldt]

Firefox has been a crashing app for me - I recently migrated to Mozilla 1.7, which seems to be doing just fine for now.

But the browser I use most is still lynx <grin$gt;

All compiled from source ...

[postaldave]

"All compiled from source ..."

linux snob-(grin)

[Cboldt]

linux snob-(grin)

Gentoo flavor no less - but some of the mysteries still drive me up the wall.

[Politicalmom]

Oh, is THAT what that tiny icon is? Hubby just installed Firefox on my computer last week. I love it so far, but I thought the icon was a planet. *Blush*

It IS pretty small, though. : )

[frogjerk]

Oh, is THAT what that tiny icon is? Hubby just installed Firefox on my computer last week. I love it so far, but I thought the icon was a planet. *Blush*

Have you checked out tabbed browsing yet?

[Politicalmom]

I was already using it on Netscape. Wouldn't have switched without it. You can't FReep in separate windows!! : )

[mcshot]

I tried downloading Moxbackup per your recommendation but it keeps saying "sea monkey" i.e., mozilla suite is running and won't let me install. I've closed "sea monkey" on the tool bar but same results. Perhaps if I go in under another user or if you or another Freeper has another idea I'll try it.
Thx,
mc

[lawgirl]

I love Safari- NO popups ever. :)