Browser wars update: Firefox is up, IE is down, Google dumps IE6
Some chunks of good browser-related news at the turn of the new year: Firefox browser usage is more than 20% now, while Internet Explorer, especially IE6, is declining—forcibly and otherwise!
Firefox market shares are rise, IE shares decline
Browser market share from October to December 2008
For the first time ever, Net Applications is reporting that Mozilla Firefox market shares passed 20% while Microsoft Internet Explorer dropped below 70%. Four major factors are said to explain Firefox growth, from the US elections to longer weekends/holidays, and higher unemployment—all US-centric factors.
Browser version market share December 2008
Here’s a chart by browser version. IE7 remains the dominant browser in the market, while IE6 is still at number 2, having almost the same percentage as all Firefox versions combined. But it has declined from the 21-22% range in the last quarter of 2008.
Google Chrome barely leaves a dent at 1%, but surpasses Opera at 0.7%.
Google urges IE6 users to upgrade
Get faster Gmail notice in IE6 (image courtesy of Ars Technica)
According to TG Daily, Google’s Gmail is now sporting a message specifically for IE6 users to upgrade and “get faster Gmail”.
The link leads to a page that promotes Chrome and Firefox 3. “Browsers are getting faster and better at running web applications like Google Mail that use browser technology to its limits,” the page reads. “In order to get the best experience possible and make Google Mail run an average of twice as fast, we suggest that you upgrade your browser to one of the fastest Google Mail supported browsers that work on Windows.” The page offers direct download links for Firefox 3 and Chrome. IE7 and Apple’s Safari are listed as supported Gmail browsers.
Several modern browsers are listed in the linked page, and unfortunately Opera is no longer qualified on that list. At least Google is trying to be fair by mentioning competitors to its own browser, Chrome. More importantly, at least it realizes that the browser share for such an old and run-down browser are alarmingly high. Looks like it’s getting costly to maintain backwards compatibility for JavaScript-intensive web applications like Gmail.
This is not the first time that a large company is forcing its hand. Apple’s MobileMe recommends only 2 browsers: Safari, which it owns, and Firefox.
There is hope!
With the combination of natural factors and some nudging from the big, influential companies like Google and Apple, the obsolete browser that is IE6 might just retire sooner than we expect, sooner than never.
Between Apple computers gaining popularity and Google remaining just as powerful, their influence on which becomes the default browser in controlled environments will be needed to level the playing field, ultimately pushing the capabilities of web browsers forward.
Related reading:
This is great news! If we could only get more popular sites to urge users to update thier browser!
By Anthony James Bruno on January 6, 2009 4:07 am
IE6 is one giant thorn for web designers. For 2009 the end is near for IE6! I really hope that more and more people would continue to drop IE6. The web can be a better place for everyone.
By Raymond Selda on January 6, 2009 11:10 am
Thanx a lot to Google. Hope many users of IE6 will drop their old-fashioned browser and finally use one of the contemporary browsers.
By Andris on January 6, 2009 3:12 pm
Alas I don’t see IE6 going away just yet. The majority of remaining users are probably those locked into corporate set ups with no option to upgrade their browser. These organisations have obviously decided not to “upgrade” to Vista so we are quite possibly going to have to wait for the next release of Windows to be out and stable before we begin to see the numbers drop further. 2010?
By Matt on January 6, 2009 6:29 pm
IE6 was a great browser when it was released (2001)…. but now people must understand that they have to update it (for safety and compatibility).
By Frankie on January 7, 2009 8:16 pm
[...] La guerra dels navegadors actualitzada: firefox puja, explorer baixa i google desplaça ie6 [ANGLÈS...www.wisdump.com/web-programming/browser-wars-firefox-up-ie-d... per Nech fa pocs segons [...]
By La guerra dels navegadors actualitzada: firefox puja, explorer baixa i google desplaça ie6 [ANGLÈS] // la tafanera on January 8, 2009 7:45 pm
For the past year now, I’ve been designing for a baseline of IE 7, FireFox 2, and Safari 3. On *every* site I’ve managed (a total of 10, across three broad age ranges), IE 6 is under 20%. On the more tech-savvy sites, IE 6 is somewhere near 4%.
I haven’t gone as far as using a JavaScript to tell users they’re behind the times, but I have considered it! I’ll only fix glaringly obvious bugs in IE 6 nowadays; and I’m using 24-bit PNGs without any holds now. If someone has IE 6, they deserve to see the grey!
By Jeff Geerling on February 16, 2009 1:11 am
I’m so sorry but i have to say that people who r using IE (any version) are as stupid as IE is in the way it loads a web page..
Peace be upon Firefox — Death be upon IE
By H2 on February 19, 2009 3:52 am
This is all about the campaign to rid the WWW of Internet Explorer 6 that has devastated web developers and held back the evolution of everything that blocks the tubes for far too long. This can not go on any longer!
BECOME A FRIEND AND SUPPORT THE INITIATIVE TO GET RID OF IE6.
By mark on February 24, 2009 6:54 pm
[...] Browser wars update: Firefox is up, IE is down, Google dumps IE6 (wisdump.com) [...]
By Microsoft IE Loses the Battle Against Firefox and Safari | Semantic Web on February 25, 2009 9:55 pm
[...] Browser wars update: Firefox is up, IE is down, Google dumps IE6 (wisdump.com) [...]
By Internet Explorer 8 and the History of the Web » Eninvent on March 24, 2009 3:20 am
[...] Well there you have it, a list of all the anti IE6 websites. If you feel any contempt to the antique browser I urge you to visit these sites and show your support. Ill try and update this post with any other websites I come across and if you know of any other please let me know. In the meantime here is another article on IE6 which has some interesting stats – Browser War Update [...]
By Put IE6 out of its misery - A list of Anti IE6 Websites. | Justin Roberts on March 25, 2009 7:54 am