WebProNews

Tag: browsers

  • Chrome Extension Lets You Study Smarter By Blocking Distracting Sites

    Chrome Extension Lets You Study Smarter By Blocking Distracting Sites

    The internet is both the best and worst thing to ever happen to productivity. Anyone trying to get any work done in any capacity can attest to that. It’s a world of knowledge at your fingertips – an incredible network of anything and everything you need to succeed. The problem with using the internet to complete work is that to do so, well, you have to be on the internet.

    And that means Facebook, Twitter, reddit, and many many more distractions that pop up to derail you at any moment. Let’s face it – your willpower is simply not strong enough to withstand the pull of cute cats. With that in mind, there’s a simple new Chrome extension to help the easily-kicked-off-course.

    While there are already plenty of ways to block certain websites if that’s what you need to do, the I-AM-STUDYING Blocker is specifically designed to aid the inner procrastinator in us all. The extension allows you to choose which sities you want to keep out of circulation while you work on that important project, and this is what will pop up when you try to access any of those self-banned sites:

    That “snooze” button will allow you to access said site if you truly need a breather from the tedium, but it will only be a brief respite. Snooze allows for 10 minutes of browsing per hour while the extension is enabled.

    The extension even provides some rudimentary analytics that track each user’s top time-wasting sites as well as the percentage of time the user spent browsing per session.

    Of course, if you really want to look at reddit when you should be studying, you can just turn it off. But I’ve found that adopting the “i’ll work for X hours and take a break” mantra doesn’t always work according to plan. This extension at least gives you pause every time you visit a site that’s clearly not going to help you do anything productive.

    [Via reddit]

  • Google Chrome Becomes Number One Browser… For a Day

    While there’s no denying the increase in popularity alternative browsers are experiencing in relation to Internet Explorer, none have unseated Microsoft’s ubiquitous tool as the top browser in use. In fact, while these other browsers have taken chunks out of IE’s marketshare, they haven’t been able to unseat the king, until recently that is. That’s right, Internet Explorer was knocked off the top of the hill by Google’s Chrome browser.

    For a day.

    According to StatCounter, Chrome became the king of the browsers on Sunday, March 18. In order to gain such a position, statistics from India, Russia, and Brazil were considered. It should be noted that, after Chrome’s high water mark, things receded back to normal, finding Internet Explorer once again on top of the browser pile. That being said, from StatCounter’s perspective, Chrome’s one-day rule is notable:

    “While it is only one day, this is a milestone,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. He added that Chrome still faces a battle to unseat its main rivals including IE and Firefox in many regions. Chrome remains in 2nd or 3rd place in China, United States and Germany, for example.

    “Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable. [Emphasis added]

    StatCounter’s data supports the weekend trend idea concerning Google Chrome, making the next question inevitable: Is Chrome a weekend lover kind of browser? Is it something people use when they are in the privacy of their own home with no co-workers around? If so, why all the secrecy? StatCounter’s graph reflecting this kind of Chrome usage:

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share


    It should also be noted that while alternative browsers are making dents in IE’s market share, in the North America region, Microsoft’s browser is still king. Noticeably so:

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share


    Considering the shift away from home computing to mobile web browsing, do these numbers even matter? Would it be more pertinent to include the data for mobile browsers? With that in mind, it’s clearly a two-man race as iOS and Android fight it out for mobile browsing supremacy:

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Mobile Browser Market Share


    With all of this in mind, what is your browsing tool of choice? Are you chained to a home-bound computer or do you do your browsing on the go with your smartphone?

  • Mozilla Wants To Make Firefox More Socialable

    Is Mozilla trying to turn Firefox into a social media browser? Not exactly, but the developers understand that if more social platform features were built into their browser, it would make their flagship product much more desirable to a generation that uses social media platforms the way older generations used food for sustenance.

    To facilitate the process of making Firefox even more social media-friendly than it already is, Mozilla’s development team is working on the Social API, which, according to their description, “enumerates the touch points between a social provider and the browser,” which is fancy talk for making Firefox play well with various social media platforms. Mozilla goes on to list the capabilities of Social API, which is still in the developmental/testing phase:

    • configure which social service provider(s) you want to integrate with your browser
    • easily switch which service provider(s) should be active at any time
    • see which of your contacts are online and available for a chat (and start or join chats)
    • share and read updates
    • recommend, or express support, for things that you discover on the Web
    • manage and receive notifications about activities coming from the service (friend requests, chat requests, etc.)

    Considering the stage of development of Social API, there’s still a lot of features being considered, including notification schemes, social feeds, status updates of friends, and the correct implementation of the chat function. If you’re curious about how close Mozilla is to completing the Social API, perhaps the following quote will give you an idea of where Mozilla stands:

    We are not sure how these features should be visually exposed, but we have some ideas, which we will share in subsequent posts.

    With that in mind, it’s pretty clear that Social API is in its infancy. Considering the goals of Social API, would a browser that features such attribute appeal to social media addicts, or does the proliferation of smartphone Internet connections render these developments almost null and void?

    Let us know what you think.

  • Chrome For Android Beta Gets An Update

    Earlier this month, Google announced the beta version of Chrome for Android Though it’s only available for select countries and languages for devices running Ice Cream Sandwich.

    Today, Google announced an update to the beta channel for Chrome for Android. Google’s Srikanth Rajagopalan writes:

    Chrome for Android has been updated to Beta 1.1 (0.16.4215.215), picking up changes that have gone in through Chrome 16.0.912.77.  Beyond the Chrome changes, this update contains: 

    • Android Beam support – now beam URLs from Chrome to other devices with NFC.
    • Support for additional countries
    • Compatibility checks to ensure system prerequisites for Chrome are met
    • Essential bug fixes

    Known issues

    • 112923 : No way to toggle between mobile/desktop UA
    • 113140 : Youtube Links Do Not Prompt For Which Application to Use
    • 113132 : Chrome for Android beta doesn’t support configured proxy in wi-fi settings
    • Other notable issues listed here

    If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

    The full country list is now:

    United States
    Canada
    United Kingdom
    France
    Germany
    Spain
    Australia
    Japan
    Korea
    Mexico
    Argentina
    Brazil

    The other day, Google uploaded an hour-long video looking at the new browser through the eyes of its engineers. If you’re planning on developing for it, you may want to check it out:

  • Chrome Gets Faster, Safer With New Stable Release

    Earlier this month, Google announced a beta release of their Chrome browser that they said would improve its speed and security. Today, they’ve announced the stable release.

    With this update, Chrome will begin loading your most frequented pages even before you finish typing the URL in the omnibox (the URL bar within Chrome that also serves as a Google search). Chrome will prerender the page in the background, which will allow it to load faster – “even instantly as soon as you hit Enter,” according to Google+Chrome+Blog%29″>a blog post.

    The security updates involving further protections from malicious downloads. “In addition to checking a list of known bad files, Chrome also does checks on executable files (like “.exe” and “.msi” files). If the executable doesn’t match a whitelist, Chrome checks with Google for more information, such as whether the website you’re accessing hosts a high number of malicious downloads”

    They also announced intentions to update Chrome OS to improve Chromebook functionality:

    In the near future, we will also begin rolling out updates to Chrome OS to further simplify the Chromebook experience. With a new image editor, Chromebook users will be able to quickly view, edit and share photos on the web. Users will also see an improved Verizon 3G activation portal, which includes the ability to set up a recurring purchase of mobile data.

    Today, Google also unveiled their Screenwise initiative. The program works only in Chrome and allows Google to monitor your web activity so Google can generate info on how people browse. Participation in the program is optional, and Google is now taking email applications. You won’t be letting Google spy on you for nothing – they are offering up to $25 in Amazon gift cards to willing participants.

  • No SOPA Chrome Extension Notifies You When You Visit Sites That Hate The Internet

    Worried that your average, everyday interweb browsing could be inadvertently supporting the Stop Online Piracy Act? Well, you’re in luck.

    Now there’s an extension for your Chrome browser that will notify you when you visit a website of any company or organization that is known to support SOPA.

    It’s called No SOPA and was created by Andy Baird (@ajbaird) and Tony Webster (@webster).

    “Boycott? Nasty letter time? You decide,” they say.

    Users have reported that some sites have not prompted the big red bar that denotes the site as a SOPA-supporting property. The creators say that they will attempt to improve the list as they go. Applicable domains are “checked against a local list – the extension does not communicate with any external hosts.”

    Here’s the extension in action:

    And again:

    While being notified when you are frequenting the property of someone who wants to kills the internet is important, will it work? Would you immediately stop browsing a site if you saw that little red bar? I would assume that anyone who would install the extension would steer clear of any site baring the warning label.

    If only we could make the extension mandatory…

    If you want to read more on SOPA, check here.

    [Via Reddit]

  • Microsoft Says Sayonara To Internet Explorer 6

    In news that is sure to excite some, possibly upset others, and leave everyone else feeling an emotion that is somewhere between nostalgia and relief, Microsoft is officially saying goodbye to Internet Explorer 6.

    According to data from Net Applications, IE6’s market share in the United States has just dropped under the 1% mark, a milestone that is enough reason for the Windows Team to announce a time of death.

    Here’s what the IE team had to say in a blog post:

    IE6 has been the punch line of browser jokes for a while, and we’ve been as eager as anyone to see it go away. In fact, we launched the IE6 Countdown site last March to help accelerate the process. Less than a year later, I’m thrilled to say that the United States has joined the ranks of Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway in dropping below 1% usage of IE6. In addition, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Ukraine, Portugal and the Philippines are also entering the Champions’ Circle. We hope this means more developers and IT Pros can consider IE6 a “low-priority” at this point and stop spending their time having to support such an outdated browser.

    The folks at Microsoft are obviously ecstatic to see IE6 go, but it’s rather amusing to see just how happy they are. Bubbly, cake, and puns – all employed to celebrate the “demise” of the decade-old browser that, according to the data, 7.7% of the world still uses as of December 2011.

    It is truly amazing that so many people are still using IE6. Unsurprisingly, the worst offender is China, with a reported 25.2% of internet users still browsing on IE6.

    There are currently 12 countries who have gained membership to the aforementioned Champions’ Circle (those reaching under 1% total usage of IE6). The U.S. just joined the Czech Republic, Portugal, Philippines, Ukraine, Mexico, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

    Microsoft hopes that this means more people are switching over to more modern browsers like IE8 and IE9. Are you still a Internet Explorer user? Or do you prefer Firefox, Chrome, or another “modern” browser? Let us know in the comments.

    [Windows Team Blog via The Next Web]

  • The Browser Trends Continue

    Which browser is the most popular in terms of users? Well, that title remains in the Internet Explorer camp, but, continuing a trend that began when Firefox introduced tabbed browsing to the world, IE is continuing to fall, while Google Chrome continues to rise, even at the expense of Mozilla’s quite capable browser.

    Thanks to a NetMarketshare, we have an idea of the ride each browser took during 2011 in relation to usage. Immediately, you will notice Microsoft’s browser hovering around the 60 percent mark, but its total is steadily decreasing. In fact, the only browser to experience a noticeable gain, again, according to NetMarketShare’s research, was Google Chrome. Most surprisingly, at least to this writer, is the lack of a jump for Safari, Apple’s native browser.

    As consumers continue to embrace all things shiny devices starting with a lowercase “i,” they apparently don’t use Safari when they access the web with their iDevice. Even more surprising than Safari’s lack of an increase is the fact that it remains firmly under the 10 percent mark in relation to marketshare. Are iOwners simply avoiding Safari in favor of another browser? Whatever the case, Safari’s incredibly low usage numbers are somewhat eyebrow-raising.

    Here’s NetMarketshare’s browser breakdown for 2011, presented in graph form:


    As you can see, Internet Explorer’s decline has continued unabated, with Google Chrome as the apparent beneficiary of these IE defections. Some are speculating that Microsoft’s browser could drop below the 50 percent mark in 2012, which would be a watershed moment in regards to the ongoing browser wars.

  • Firefox Infographic Has over 200,000 Hours of Cuteness

    In terms of browsers, 2011 may be best known as the year Chrome overtook Firefox as the browser of choice, er, the second-place browser of choice, Mozilla is not going to allow us to forget their accomplishments. Seeing how the web is Mozilla’s conduit for its message, there are, of course, many ways to inform the masses. One of the current methods of choice is the almighty infographic, which brings us to their Firefox 2011 offering.

    While it is an obvious tool of self-promotion, drawing attention to positive attributes is a practice that goes on everyday in the real world. Much like a peacock spreading its feathers, Mozilla’s “Firefox: 2011” infographic reminds us there are other attractive choices out there when it comes to browsing the never-ending tubes of the web.

    It should be noted that Mozilla created the graphic themselves, making it much more effective than a third party creation that may not capture the spirit of the company its profiling. The graphic in question:

    Firefox: 2011

    Some highlights:

    – 200,000 hours of cuteness. I’m assuming this is referring to the amount of LOLCat (and similar activities) browsing while using Firefox.

    – 3 red pandas adopted. It’s always nice when the product you’re most known for helps out, especially with endangered species. Read more about red pandas and Mozilla’s efforts here.

    – Over 480 million installations of Firefox add-ons. People LOVE tweaking their “more advanced” browsers.

    – More and more people using the “Do Not Track” feature. Perhaps personal privacy is NOT a lost art; at least for some.

    – 50 percent less memory usage. To put it nicely, previous Firefox versions were absolute memory hogs. To address this issue is clearly a necessary and needed step. Kudos to Mozilla, although, it did take them a little while.

    – Faster Releases. With that in mind, Firefox ninth version was released this week, and while Mozilla isn’t matching Chrome’s “UPDATE ALL THINGS” schedule, they are obviously more committed to making improved, working builds available to the public.

    While Chrome may be making inroads, Mozilla is still a viable alternative to Internet Explorer, and I’m not even talking about them in reference to their performance.

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share


  • Google Mozilla Deal Renewed To Keep Google Default Search In Firefox

    The future of Google’s relationship with Mozilla was called into question earlier this month. It looked like the deal might not get renewed, which brought about some speculation that Microsoft could jump in and pick up some easy search market share for Bing. That could have been a very big deal for Bing, if all of that had played out.

    Now, you can forget about all of that. It’s not happening. Google and Mozilla have renewed their deal.

    Mozilla has posted the following message on its blog:

    We’re pleased to announce that we have negotiated a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement with Google. This new agreement extends our long term search relationship with Google for at least three additional years.

    “Under this multi-year agreement, Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for hundreds of millions of Firefox users around the world,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla.

    “Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come,” said Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President of Search, Google.

    The specific terms of this commercial agreement are subject to traditional confidentiality requirements, and we’re not at liberty to disclose them.

    Well, at least Firefox can still use Bing if they want. In fact, Mozilla even has a special version of Firefox for “Bing enthusiasts.”

    At the beginning of the month, a report came out indicating that Google Chrome had overtaken Firefox in users.

  • Chrome Sync Comes Out Of Beta, Becomes Sign in to Chrome

    Google has introduced an update to its Google Chrome browser that will allow multiple users to sign into one browser, allowing them to synchronize their user experience with their Chrome-powered devices.

    Over at the Google Chrome Blog, the stable release of Sign in to Google was announced, and while the personalization features it introduces may seem minor, to those who don’t like working in different environments, getting used to someone else’s browser setup won’t be an issue. As the post indicates, the Chrome sign in allows users to “take your Chrome stuff with you, so you can always have your personal Chrome experience on all of your devices.”

    The concept is simple, with a Google Chrome account activated on one device and you change something on the current device’s setup — that is, add a bookmark — the change is reflected on all other Chrome-enabled devices, provided the user is signed in when the change was made.

    The Chrome sign in works if there’s a shared computer involved as well. Google’s post explains:

    With today’s Stable channel release, you can now add new users to Chrome. Adding new users lets you each have your own personal Chrome experience, and lets you each sign in to Chrome to sync your stuff. To add a new user to Chrome, go to Options (Preferences on a Mac), click “Personal Stuff,” and click “Add new user.” Check out our latest Beta blog post for a few quick tips.

    The steps for adding a new user are as follows:

    1. Click the wrench icon on the browser toolbar.
    2. Select Options (Preferences on Mac and Linux).
    3. Click Personal Stuff.
    4. In the “Users” section, click Add new user.
    5. A new window for the user appears, with a special icon for the user in the top corner. Here, you can sign in to Chrome with a Google Account to associate the account with the user. Once signed in, all the bookmarks, apps, extensions, theme, and browser settings for the user will be synced to the account.

    There’s also a video of the Sign in to Chrome in action:

    Does this level of personalization apply to you? Is it a feature you could see yourself using? Let us know what you think.

  • Internet Explorer Market Share Continues to Decrease

    While it’s still more popular than the other browsers combined, the fact that Internet Explorer’s market share has fallen under the 50 percent mark is an eye-opening event. This marks the first time IE has ever been reduced to under half. Granted, Microsoft’s browser is under the line by about .42 percentage points, the fact remains, under half of the world’s Internet users are doing so with Internet Explorer.

    Does this mean the end of IE as we know it? Not exactly. As indicated, even with it falling under the halfway point in terms of usage, at 49.58 percent of the market share, Internet Explorer still has more users than the rest of the listed browsers combined. According to the report from NetMarketShare, via FavBrowser.com, Internet Explorer’s two biggest competitors, Firefox and Chrome, have a combined market share of 37.8 percent. It’s only when you add in the reach of Safari, Opera and the ubiquitous “other” browser (8.54%, 1.49%, and 2.59%), does the total number eclipse IE’s share.

    Have a look:

    Browser Market Share

    While some are sounding alarms about Internet Explorer’s reduction in usage, the fact that almost half of the population on the web still uses it helps quantify the following statement from the W3 Schools website, which has a large following of Firefox users — 39.7 percent of the site’s visitors in September 2011 used Mozilla’s browser, compared to just 22.9 percent using Internet Explorer:

    W3Schools is a website for people with an interest for web technologies. These people are more interested in using alternative browsers than the average user. The average user tends to the browser that comes preinstalled with their computer, and do not seek out other browser alternatives.[Emphasis added]

    The bold section of the previous blockquote helps explain Internet Explorer’s still sizable market share quite well. Of course, as more and more people move away from the traditional methods of browsing in favor of mobile devices and tablet computers, expect these numbers to continue their adjustment.

    Besides Internet Explorer’s drop in usage, another thing that stands out is Google Chrome’s increase, which was by more than one percentage point. In September, Chrome’s share was 15.17 percent, and for October, its share increased to 16.59 percent. Google’s browser was the the largest gaining in terms of market share. In fact, it was the only browser to increase by a full point.

    Safari experienced gains as well, but not as much as Chrome. Apple’s browser saw its market share increase by .51 percentage points, making it the second highest browser in terms of gains.

  • Firefox with Bing Introduced

    Firefox with Bing Introduced

    Microsoft and Mozilla have teamed up to include a new version of Firefox with Bing built in as the default search.

    “Now Firefox users who are Bing enthusiasts can use Firefox with Bing to use the Web the way they want without having to take extra steps to navigate or customize their settings to Bing,” says Bing’s Tor Steiner.

    I’d be curious to know what percentage of Firefox users are “Bing enthusiasts,” or for that matter, what percentage of Bing users prefer Firefox to Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer.

    Still, any increase in default search experiences powered by Bing should help Bing to some extent. Firefox does control about 20% of the browser market (StatOwl).

    “Firefox with Bing offers the latest version of Firefox with Bing set as your home page and the default setting in the search box and AwesomeBar (where you can also type in queries as well as Web addresses),” says Steiner. “If you already have the latest version of Firefox, then you just need to download the Bing Search for Firefox Add-on to set the same preferences.”

    Firefox with Bing

    Firefox with Bing itself can be downloaded here.

  • Chrome Gets New New Tab Page

    Chrome Gets New New Tab Page

    Google introduced some new changes to Chrome (at least new to the stable release).

    First and foremost, Google has redesigned the New Tab page in a way the company thinks will make it easier for users to access and organize apps. This involves multiple screens and a new trash can. The video below illustrates:

    Google also redesigned the Chrome Web Store.

    “Apps and extensions are now presented in a wall of images that’s updated every time you visit the store,” explains product manager Shannon Guymon. “We hope this will help you quickly scan the store and find interesting things to try out. In addition, apps and extensions are easier to install—just hover over an image on the grid and click ‘Add to Chrome.’”

    “Getting additional information about an app or an extension is just a click away,” Guymon adds. “When you click on an app, extension or theme, you’ll see a panel featuring screenshots, videos and other relevant information neatly organized into separate tabs. The store also includes a brand new reviews interface that links to the Google+ profile of each reviewer. (To protect your privacy, we made sure to anonymize any reviews that you previously submitted.)”

    Finally, there are some new apps in the store that Google is promoting, including: My Robot Nation, The Godfather: Five Families, Fieldrunners and a new eBay shopping app.

  • Google and Amazon: The Next Great Tech Rivalry?

    Google and Amazon: The Next Great Tech Rivalry?

    Microsoft and Yahoo have been Google’s main rivals for years. As Google has expanded into more and more product areas, it has taken on plenty of competition in a wide variety of industries. Apple and Facebook are two of its biggest rivals now, but the Amazon/Google competition is emerging as the next great rivalry.

    The companies compete in eBooks. They compete in online retail. Google product search has the ability to send consumers to a lot of sellers of products that Amazon no doubt would rather have people searching for on Amazon.com.

    Google has Google Offers, Amazon has Amazon Local deals, and apparently that’s doing quite well.

    Amazon is now in the tablet market. It runs Android, but Amazon’s version of Android. Amazon even has its own version of the Android Market. In terms of operating systems, the competition might soon even get more fierce as it’s rumored that Amazon wants to buy WebOS from HP.

    With the Amazon Kindle Fire, the company’s tablet, Amazon appears to be going straight for Google’s Chrome jugular. Google has always touted Chrome’s speed, perhaps more than any other feature, but Amazon’s Silk browser, could give it a big run for its money, as it taps into Amazon’s EC2 Elastic Compute Cloud) to optimize the page loading experience. Amazon talks about this here:

    Silk is only for the Kindle Fire for now, but how long do you think that will last? It’s not hard to envision this becoming a straight up competitor to Chrome, Firefox, IE, Safari, etc.

    This week, Google announced some new storage and App Engine offerings that will help it compete with Amazon Web Services. Specifically, Google’s bundle of announcements includes: new enterprise level services and support option for Google App Engine, Google Cloud SQL, Google Cloud Storage with new features and a lower price, and new features for the Google Prediction API.

    Google gives more details about each of these in a post on the Google Enterprise blog. “We are enabling our enterprise customers to build business solutions that take advantage of the computing power and scalability of Google’s cloud services without all the hassles of deployment of applications,” says Group Product Manager Jessie Jiang. “We have been making great progress on Google App Engine, Cloud Storage, and Prediction API. There is more to come, stay tuned.”

    Suffice it to say, that while Google seemingly takes on every major tech and Internet company in one way or another (there may be a few exceptions….so far), it appears that Amazon and Google are well on their way to becoming bigger rivals than ever. It’s going to be fun to watch the different ways in which this competition manifests itself.

    Hopefully businesses and consumers will ultimately be the biggest winners.

    Update: Even as I was writing this, Google announced the Google Commerce Search Partner Program. It’s offering a reseller program to enable tech partners to roll Google Commerce Search into their solutions easily. Resellers will be expected to seek out opportunities to bring Google Commerce Search to existing or new retail clients, Google says. More on this here.

    Update 2: Also some very interesting comments on Amazon vs. Google from a guy who used to work at Amazon and currently works at Google.

  • Chrome To Pass Firefox By The End Of 2011

    Google’s Chrome browser is growing in popularity, and naturally that means that it’s drawing users away from the other big boys, Internet Explorer and Firefox.

    Currently, Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser by a pretty wide margin, and Mozilla’s Firefox holds a slim margin over Chrome. But according to web statistics firm StatCounter, that will change by the end of this year,

    Sometime in November or December, Chrome will overtake Firefox to become the second most popular browser in the world. In August we learned that Chrome is already in second place in the UK.

    Chrome hit a milestone in July when their market share broke the 20% barrier. As of right now, Chrome’s global share is 23.6%. That’s a few points behind Firefox’s share of 26.8%. Both are still a pretty long way from IE’s share of 41.7%.

    Here’s the thing: Chrome has increased its share 50% since January 2011 – a truly meteoric climb. During that same period, Firefox’s share has declined 13%. The intersection of these ascending and descending paths falls sometime in November. According to StatCounter, Chrome will jump to #2 in December, holding 26.6% of global use compared to Firefox’s 25.3% share.

    As you can see in the above graph, IE and Firefox are falling at a similar rate. Chrome seems to be reaping all the benefits.

    IE is the butt of a lot of jokes, that’s for sure. That’s what makes the lead image so funny – Firefox and Chrome battling it out while IE sits in the corner eating glue. But if you look at the chart, one could suggest that Firefox should be over in the corner eating glue with Internet Explorer.

    Will Chrome continue to gain in popularity and eventually pass IE? What’s your browser of choice? Let us know in the comments.

  • The Internet: Then and Now

    Today, let’s take a trip down Internet memory lane – to a time when “Google” most likely brought thoughts of something dirty, and Chrome was simply one of the color choices for your Windows 98 windows.

    OnlineUniversity.net brings us this infographic that charts the changes that the Internet has made in the last 15 years – from the top visited sites in 1996 vs. the top visited sites in 2011, as well as the differences in how things looked just a decade and a half ago.

    And let me tell you, things look a whole lot better nowadays.

    Fun little facts from the infographic: Would you have guessed that internet usage per American has increased 54-fold since 1996? Back then, can you believe that prodigy.com was visited by 18% of all internet users? Did you even know that Travelocity is that old?

    Check out the full thing below. It’s probably the first time you’ve seen Netscape Navigator in quite awhile.


    Created by: Online University

  • Mozilla Promises Faster Firefox 7

    Mozilla Promises Faster Firefox 7

    While Firefox is still looked upon fondly, especially as an alternative to Internet Explorer, it has long been plagued by memory use issues. Things like memory leaks and resource hogging have gone hand-in-hand with Mozilla’s browser.

    Currently, the browser is in its fifth version, but by the time version seven comes out–six is available in beta–Mozilla hopes to have the memory hog issues addressed and, in fact, conquered. Thanks to a project called MemShrink–as pointed out by Geek.com–the stated goal for future Firefox updates, well, seven and beyond, will be memory use reduction.

    Over at Mozilla’s site, they list the benefits of the project, provided it’s successful:

    There are three potential benefits:

    1. Speed: less cache pressure, and less paging. The latter is crucial, as it can destroy performance.
    2. Stability: fewer OOMs, whether due to address space exhaustion or otherwise. This results in fewer crashes (due to mishandling of OOM) or aborts.
    3. Perception: fewer people will complain about Firefox being a memory hog.

    The fact that the last part is even stated shows just how bad of a stain Firefox’s memory usage is on the browser’s performance. Normally, such bold acknowledgments are saved for behind-closed-doors corporate meetings and the like. Rarely does the public get to see a company fall on the sword in such an open manner.

    Mozilla also feels improving the memory usage of its browser is “doubly important” for the mobile industry. While resource use as a whole is the plan concerning Firefox’s reduction, memory leaks are considered the biggest culprit that needs to be addressed. A couple of statements confirm this strategy:

    Avoiding “leaks”. This loose use of the term (which is used throughout this document) includes:

    • True leaks, where memory is lost forever.
    • Lifetime issues, where memory is not reclaimed until you close the page/tab/window/process.
    • Collection heuristic issues (e.g. GC is too infrequent in certain cases).
    • Bad cache algorithms and poorly tuned caches.
    • Fragmentation.

    As well as:

    Leaks are generally more important, as they are more likely to lead to horrible performance.

    You can’t be much more clear than that, I don’t think. While Firefox 6 won’t be the lucky recipient of the plugged leaks, and therefore, faster performance, it won’t be long until other versions finally plug those leaks.

    At least, that’s what Mozilla is working towards.

    If these leaks cease and Firefox becomes even more stable than it is now, would that cause an exodus away from Google Chrome? Let us know what you think.

  • Are Internet Explorer Users Dumb?

    Are Internet Explorer Users Dumb?

    We are all well aware that IE has been the butt of many jokes over the years, justly or unjustly depending on who you ask. A new report from consulting firm AptiQuant may have just provided ammunition for a whole new round of jokes.

    Apparently, IE users aren’t quite the smartest citizens of the interwebs – at least when compared to users of Firefox, Chrome and Opera.

    Here’s how the test went: AptiQuant offered online IQ tests to over 100,000 people and charted the results based on which browser they used to take the test. Simple as that.

    The results show that IE users of all versions performed the poorest of all browsers tested. And the older the version of IE you’re using, the lower your IQ. IE 6 users and IE 7 users average a score of barely over 80. IE 9 and IE 8 users averaged around 95 and 90, respectively.

    Next were Firefox users, followed by Chrome and then Safari. The real bright bulbs turned out to be Opera users, who average an IQ score of just under 130.

    They also measured these results against results from 2006 and found that IE users have dropped on the scale over the past 5 years.

    AptiQuant concluded this –

    The study showed a substantial relationship between an individual’s cognitive ability and their choice of web browser. From the test results, it is a clear indication that individuals on the lower side of the IQ scale tend to resist a change/upgrade of their browsers. This hypothesis can be extended to any software in general, however more research is needed for that, which is a potential future work as an extension to this report.

    Of course not all people who use IE lack intelligence. But these findings have to make you wonder; why do those other browsers appeal to a more intelligent crowd?

  • Chrome Now 20% of Global Market

    Chrome Now 20% of Global Market

    According to StatCounter, an online analytics company, Google has a lot to smile about. Their Chrome browser is seeing massive growth in the global market.

    For the first time in StatCounter statistics, Chrome has exceeded 20% of the market share, taking 20.7% in June. This is up from only 2.8% in June 2009.

    It also looks like Chrome’s success is at Internet Explorer and Firefox’s detriment. In the same period, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer fell from 59% use globally to 44%. Firefox dropped just a little bit from 30% to 28%. These three browsers remain the big players as both Safari and Opera barely even register when it comes to global use.

    While Chrome is growing respectably worldwide, it is really performing well in certain areas. In South America, it has officially overtaken Firefox. In the United Kingdom, the two are in a dead heat.

    In the United States, Chrome has risen to account for 16% of browser use, with Internet Explorer still holding a commanding lead with 46.5%. Though I.E. has been on a steady decline for the past couple of years, it still is the most used browser by far as this graph shows.

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share

    As you can see, I.E. continues to slide but still reigns as king of the browsers. Firefox use has stayed quite steady over the past 2 years, dipping ever so slightly recently. Chrome is the only one that appears to be on a solid upswing.

    “It is a superb achievement by Google to go from under 3% two years ago to over 20% today,” said Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. “While Google has been highly effective in getting Chrome downloaded the real test is actual browser usage which our stats measure.”

    While these numbers seem wonderful for Google, browser stats are not the most consistent stats if you ask around. As Google+Reader”>GigoOm points out, other research has put Chrome’s share at only 12.5% in May.

  • Internet Explorer 9 Aces Power Consumption Test

    When picking a Web browser, “green” individuals and laptop users with limited access to electrical outlets should perhaps give Internet Explorer 9 a try.  New data shows that it can beat the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera when it comes to power consumption.

    So no one thinks we’ve overlooked the fact: yes, the data comes from a Microsoft research team.  A post on the IEBlog detailed the testing process at great length, though, making it less than likely that any cheating took place.

    Now let’s move on to the team’s conclusions (which they only reached after running through five different scenarios).  IE9 scored best by a significant margin, as the team estimated that a laptop equipped with a standard 56 watt-hour battery would be able to run it for 3 hours and 45 minutes.

    Next, Firefox 4 came in a close second, earning an estimate of 3 hours and 35 minutes.

    Then there was a big dropoff.  The Microsoft team thinks an identical laptop performing identical tasks and using Chrome 10 would only last 2 hours and 56 minutes.  Meanwhile, a laptop running Safari 5 was allotted a lifespan of 2 hours and 55 minutes, and the team predicted that a laptop running Opera 11 would die after 2 hours and 43 minutes.

    That’s worth giving some thought.  Of course, there are plenty of other factors that influence people’s browser choices, but just about anything beats a dead screen, and reviewers have been giving IE9 high marks in lots of ways so far.