WebProNews

Tag: Internet Explorer

  • Microsoft Rolling Out Automatic Updates for Internet Explorer

    Microsoft announced today that it will soon be rolling out automatic updates for Internet Explorer. The roll out will begin in January for Australian and Brazilian users, and will gradually spread from there.

    By instituting automatic updates, Microsoft takes user out of the equation by bringing them the latest version of Explorer silently. The goal, Microsoft says, is to make the web a better and safter place. The most common features of any web browser update are speed and security improvements. Newer browser versions are also generally better adapted to the most recent advances in web-based technology, such as the relatively recent rollout of HTML5. Using an up-to-date browser gives users a safer and better internet experience. Often, however, users neglect to keep their browsers up to date, for a variety of reasons. Automatic updates relieve them of the need to fuss over whether their browser is as up-to-date as possible, while delivering them a safer and better internet experience, and making the jobs of web developers easy by making sure more people can see pages designed to the latest web standards and using the latest technologies.

    This move brings Microsoft into line with its two main rivals in the web browser business: Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The practice began with Chrome, and Firefox followed suit in October. Chrome, which has only been around for three years, has been gaining rapidly on its two main competitors recently. One study found that Chrome has overtaken Firefox in global market share to become the second most popular web browser worldwide, though Firefox still leads int he US. Another study showed that the most recent version of Chrome, Chrome 15, is the most popular single browser version in the world, beating Internet Explorer 8 by 0.1%. When all versions are taken together, however, Explorer still has a substantial lead over both Chrome and Firefox. Though it has been losing ground to Firefox and Chrome, Explorer has been the default browser on every Windows computer for years, allowing it to piggyback to the top on Windows’ market share, which is almost unassailable.

  • Internet Explorer 9 Is the Most Popular Browser for Windows 7

    Earlier today, we wrote an article about Google Chrome overtaking Firefox on a worldwide basis in terms of use. During the article, StatCounter’s graph showed a steady decline of Internet Explorer users, and while that may be the case, the reports of the browser’s decline, especially in regards to IE 9, has been greatly exaggerated.

    At least according to some stats offered by the Microsoft blog for Internet Explorer.

    According to their findings, Internet Explorer 9 is the most popular browser on the Windows 7 operating system in both a worldwide and a United States basis. Granted, in the worldwide scheme, Google Chrome is neck-and-neck with IE 9, something the following graph demonstrates quite well:

    Worldwide Internet Explorer 9 Use

    However, as you can see in the image leading this post, in relation to use in the United States, Internet Explorer 9 is the most popular browser by a wide margin. According to the graph, IE 9 use is around 35 percent, while both Firefox and Chrome are between 15 and 20 percent. As for the metrics concerning these findings, Microsoft discusses them as well, and you can tell there’s a lot of joy in such a discovery:

    According to Net Applications, IE9 usage share on Windows 7 worldwide is now higher than all versions of Chrome and all versions of Firefox – second only to IE8. That’s great news for consumers and developers alike who can benefit from the richer web experiences and standards support in IE9!

    The exclamation point is a great way to relay Microsoft’s excitement.

    The question is, what do US web surfers know that the global audience doesn’t? Actually, that question is a two-way street, because you can look at it both ways. Do global users know something their American counterparts don’t? Or do they simply prefer a non-Microsoft browser when perusing the web? For those of you who prefer IE 9, have you tried other browsers or are you satisfied with the default model, making you less apt to try alternatives?

    Let us know what you think, because according to Microsoft’s findings, there are a lot of you out there.

  • Google Chrome Overtakes Firefox

    Google Chrome Overtakes Firefox

    Something occurred to me when reading about this subject: what does the winner of the browser wars get? Dominance over the Internet with king-of-the-hill bragging rights? Money? Women? Power? Well, actually, that third one is pretty accurate because there is a certain level of power if more people are accessing the “Information Superhighway” with your vehicle.

    And, of course, with power comes more money, and, yes, women (or men), too.

    While these studies pop up pretty much on a monthly basis, they serve as good barometer for the Internet habits of people, at least in relation to how they surf the Worldwide Web. In the latest report from StatCounter, it appears as if Firefox as fallen from grace, at least in relation to Google Chrome, because, for the first time, Chrome has overtaken Firefox in relation to the amount of users each browser has.

    StatCounter provides a chart of their findings and as you can see, Chrome’s path has been one of steady ascension, while Firefox and Internet Explorer both show a consistent decrease of users, although, with Firefox, the decrease has been at a slower rate:

    Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share


    In the supporting press release, StatCounter explains their findings as follows:

    …Chrome took 25.69% of the worldwide market (up from 4.66% in November 2009) compared to Firefox’s 25.23%. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still maintains a strong lead globally with 40.63%.

    In fact, the reports of Internet Explorer’s demise, despite the steady decline, may have been exaggerated, especially in the United States:

    In the US, Internet Explorer continues to perform strongly and is maintaining market share at 50.66%, up slightly from 50.24% year on year…

    Of course, there’s still some backlash towards Microsoft’s browser, which was so eloquently captured by the Reddit community with the following gif:

    Matt and Trey

    The title of the Reddit post explains the reason for the reaction: “How I feel when I find out a friend still uses Internet Explorer.” Based on StatCounter’s findings, however, a lot of people apparently deserve that response because Internet Explorer is still strong, especially with the United States crowd.

    That being said, Google Chrome still poses a legitimate threat to Internet Explorer’s dominance, something StatCounter believes as well:

    “We can look forward to a fascinating battle between Microsoft and Google as the pace of growth of Chrome suggests that it will become a real rival to Internet Explorer globally,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. “Our stats measure actual browser usage, not downloads, so while Chrome has been highly effective in ensuring downloads our stats show that people are actually using it to access the web also.”

    Does this mean Firefox is the odd man out in relation to being the browser of choice? What browser are you loyal to? Are you still an Internet Explorer user or have you moved on to one of the alternatives? 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.

  • 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.

  • Google Chrome Frame Avoids Admin Lockdowns, Leaves Beta

    Google’s developers want your Internet browsing experience to be as robust as possible, even those of you who are stuck using Internet Explorer 6, or any of the versions that succeeded IE6. This capability now includes people who are locked down behind an administrative wall and can’t update your browser.

    While Google Chrome Frame has been out of its beta stage since September of last year, Chrome developers have been working on a version that avoids these “I can’t install the new version” barriers, and now, the admin-avoiding version of Google Chrome Frame is ready for public consumption.

    The Chrome blog explains these new capabilities as such:

    In addition to Non-Admin Chrome Frame moving to the stable channel, we are rolling out a change to the default Chrome Frame installer; it will now run at Admin level by default and will fall back to Non-Admin mode if the user does not have the necessary permissions on their machine. This will allow all users to download a single installer that just works.

    For those of you who aren’t aware of Google Chrome, especially those of you who are stuck in IE’s environment, Chrome Frame promises to do the following:

    Google Chrome Frame is an open source plug-in that seamlessly brings Google Chrome’s open web technologies and speedy JavaScript engine to Internet Explorer.

    While adding Google Chrome’s capabilities to Internet Explorer may seem almost innocuous compared to other tech stories, the significance should not be ignored.

    Google’s Chrome developers essentially reversed-engineered Microsoft’s unstoppable browser to make it more user-friendly in relation to rich web content, and they did it without Microsoft’s help. Lest we forget, while Chrome was built on open source principals, Internet Explorer was absolutely not. Getting the two to mesh, especially with older versions of IE, is recognition-worthy.

    Of course, Google could very well be doing this so more people can use Google products. A quick quote from Chrome developer Alex Russell is very revealing, at least in regards to Google’s motivations behind such a plugin:

    As promised, GMail is asking all IE 6 and 7 users to upgrade or install Chrome Frame. A growing list of sites like Angry Birds couldn’t have been built without assuming Chrome Frame as a solution to “the IE problem”.

    While it’s true “the IE problem” is in quotes, the fact that it’s there at all demonstrates one of the prevailing attitudes towards Microsoft’s browser.

  • In The Browser Race, Google Chrome Is The Fastest

    Take that, Mozilla, Microsoft, Opera, and Apple. Google’s kicking your butt when it comes to making the fastest browser in terms of real-world use.

    OK, now that that’s out of the way, here’s the gist: Over at Compuware, the benchmark crew conducted some tests in an effort to determine which browser is the fastest in terms of everyday use. According to TechCrunch, the tests determined which browser loaded pages the fastest, based on a broadband connection:

    The data, collected over a one-month time frame, captured the results of 1.86 billion individual measurements on over 200 websites. The results of the test? No surprise here – the winner is Google Chrome.

    Another test studied how fast a loaded page became visible on the browser in question. This goes beyond mere page-loading. Displaying the the loaded data was the test subject. While Chrome was once again strong here, the winner of this portion was Firefox.

    The posted findings indicate content became visible on a Firefox browser in 2.18 seconds, while Chrome took 2.374 seconds.

    When Compuware tested these browsers, they used multiple versions of each. For instance, the Chrome tests were performed on 10, 11, and 12. Of course, Google has since updated Chrome to version 13, and it was not included in these benchmarks. When looking at Compuware’s chart, seen in the lead image, even with updated versions, both Internet Explorer and Safari were consistently slower than Google or Mozilla. Granted, the newer editions reduced their load times–especially noticeable when comparing Safari 4 to 5–but both still trailed their competitors.

    Concerning the tests themselves, TechCrunch offered the following disclaimer:

    To be clear, Gomez doesn’t test browser speed capabilities in a lab environment, it measures real-world performance – that is, a measurement of how the population actually experiences web browser performance. Traditionally, this data has been used by businesses that want to test their web applications after deployment.

    Over at NetMarketShare, the browser breakdown is about what you’d expect:

    People, for some reason, are still unwilling to leave the Internet Explorer’s bosom. Apparently, there’s comfort in familiarity, regardless if it reduces the quality, or, at least the speed, of a browsing experience. Whatever the case, for those who prefer comfort, there are others who prefer speed. In that instance, at least for now, Firefox and Chrome are the clear winners.

  • Google Chrome A Strong Second in UK

    Google Chrome A Strong Second in UK

    Is the popularity of Firefox waning worldwide, or is Google Chrome just that much better of a choice? As the browser wars continue, while the average computer user is still content with Microsoft’s browser, the more experienced user have created something of a battle between the two “alternative” platforms.

    In the United Kingdom, Google Chrome has positioned itself has the second most popular browser, replacing the browser that should be given credit for providing an honest-to-goodness alternative to Internet Explorer. Granted, there are other browsers besides Chrome and Firefox — waves at a still-satisfying Opera platform — but these two represent the true competition to IE, but it was Firefox who came along when the void needed filling, a fact that takes nothing away from Google Chrome’s success and capability.

    The quality of Google’s browser helps fuel its growth, which, again, has made it the second most popular browser in the land of lavish Royal Weddings and quality pints of beer. According to a report by StatCounter, Chrome captured 22 percent of UK’s web traffic, edging out its Mozilla competitor. Furthermore, the success of both Chrome and Firefox has had a severe impact in IE’s market share:

    The firm’s research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that Chrome took 22.1% of the UK market, up from 3.9% in July 2009. In the same period Microsoft’s Internet Explorer fell significantly from 61% to 46% globally and Firefox dropped slightly from 27% to 22%.

    With only 45 percent of the market in the UK, it’s becoming pretty clear that many IE users do so because it’s the only browser that comes installed on a Windows box. Once users become more experienced with their Internet travels, alternative choices when it comes to browsing are being made. No doubt, the influence of some geek friends they have and/or make play a part here too.

    Peer pressure works, even when it comes to web browsing. That said, Firefox’s five percent drop is significant as well. If the peer pressure theory has any bearing, apparently, Firefox is as cool as it once was.

    In their report, The Guardian quotes Lars Bak, a lead Chrome engineer, who credits Chrome’s speed for its success:

    “Speed is a fundamental part of it, but it’s also about the minimal design and the way it handles security. If you as a user try [to load] a webpage and it feels snappy, it’s really hard to go back. It has shown that people spend more time interacting with the web.”

    It would be interesting to see just how many people would use Internet Explorer if, when they purchased a new computer, they had a choice of browsers instead of just the default choice that is IE.

  • 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.

  • Google Toolbar 7 Gives Internet Explorer Google Instant

    Google launched a new version of the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. Google Toolbar 7 brings Google Instant and some new personalization features to the table.

    “If you’ve used Instant on google.com or in Chrome, you’ll be right at home with Toolbar Instant,” says Google’s Allen Huang, Associate Product Manager on the Toolbar. “Just start typing in the search box and search predictions and results will appear instantly as you type, getting you the results you want faster.”

    As a Chrome user, I can honestly say that I can hardly remember what it was like before Google Instant from the browser, even though it’s not been available for that long. Most people seem to like it.

    “This new version of Toolbar is simpler, cleaner and emphasizes what’s important to you. The tools that you use most will remain visible on the toolbar, while buttons that you haven’t used recently will be moved to the new ‘More’ button,” says Huang. “s you discover and use particular tools that help your browsing experience, like Share or Translate, they’ll automatically appear on the toolbar, making your most relevant tools easy to access. This personalization is stored only on your computer, so no information is sent to Google unless your usage statistics are enabled.”

    The toolbar also comes with new privacy settings accessible from a single menu, where you can adjust your preferences for things like PageRank, spell check, and SideWiki.

    Google Toolbar Privacy Settings

    The toolbar is available in English only, but will be available in other languages in the future. Current Toolbar users will be automatically upgraded over the coming weeks.

  • IE10 Platform Preview Download Announced

    Microsoft announced the availability of the IE10 Platform Preview for download today. The company calls it the “first step in delivering the next wave of progress in native HTML5 support.”

    “We built IE9 from the ground up for HTML5 and for Windows to deliver the most native HTML5 experience and the best Web experience on Windows,” says IE Corporate VP Dean Hachamovitch. “IE10 continues on IE9’s path, directly using what Windows provides and avoiding abstractions, layers, and libraries that slow down your site and your experience.”

    “We’re about three weeks into development of IE10, and based on the progress we’ve made, we want to start engaging the development community now,” he said. “At the MIX conference today, we showed the new browsing engine along with several new browser test drives that anyone on the Web can try out.”

    The test drives can be viewed here. New HTML5 demos include: strict mode, tweet columns, Griddle, CSS3 Flexbox Flexin’ and The Grid System.

    Internet Explorer 9’s adoption rate has been five times higher than that of IE8’s according to the Microsoft.

    The browser is facing rampant competition these days. Firefox 4 is doing pretty well (currently with nearly 80 million downloads) and Chrome’s market share continues to grow. Mozilla and Google have both boosted their release process to launch more versions at a faster pace.

    The IE10 Platform Preview can be downloaded here.

  • Microsoft: IE9 Adoption Rate Five Times Higher Than IE8’s

    Internet Explorer 9 got off to a good start in terms of impressing reviewers, and it’s also doing rather well in terms of winning over users, according to new data from Microsoft.  A Microsoft employee indicated this morning that IE9’s early adoption rate is putting IE8’s launch to shame.

    Ryan Gavin, Senior Director of Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, wrote on the Exploring IE blog today, “The adoption rate of IE9 is about five times higher then what we saw for Internet Explorer 8 in the same time frame.”

    That’s impressive for at least a couple reasons.  First, Gavin pointed out, “As we mentioned on Tuesday, all of our early downloads (through March 27) were user-initiated with over 90% of the downloads coming from non-IE9 RC or Beta users, including over a quarter that came from Chrome and Firefox users.”

    Then it’s necessary to remember that IE9 wasn’t even designed to be compatible with older versions of Windows, meaning the pool of potential users isn’t too huge.

    Anyway, if you’re interested in another statistic or two, Net Applications determined that IE9 achieved a market share of 3.6 percent on Windows 7 in March.  IE9 has won more than 1,000 partners, as well, including well-known organizations like Gilt, Groupon, and Slacker.

    Then Gavin was sure to note that Microsoft’s own campaign to take down IE6 is working well, as that outdated version of its browser lost another 0.43 points of market share in March, landing at 11.58 percent for the month.

  • 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.

  • Internet Explorer 9 Reaches 2.3 Million Downloads In 24 Hours

    Internet Explorer 9 Reaches 2.3 Million Downloads In 24 Hours

    Microsoft announced today their latest version of Internet Explorer reached 2.3 million downloads in 24 hours. Will IE9 be the catalyst to allow Microsoft to gain some ground back in market share?

    The past few years, IE has steadily lost ground to the likes of Mozilla’s Firefox and Google Chrome. In 2007, IE controlled 80% of the market. The latest reports have them sitting at 57%.

    Simplistic interfaces, faster load times, better security, have all been reasons behind IE losing ground. It appears Microsoft has remedied many of these problems, and reviews have pointed out these improvements.

    PCMagazine gave IE9 a 4/5 rating, saying this of the browser, “Microsoft’s new browser is faster, trimmer, more compliant with HTML5—a major improvement over its predecessor. It also brings some unique capabilities like tab-pinning and hardware acceleration, but only Windows 7 and Vista users need apply.”

    Unfortunately I’m unable to provide my own thoughts as I’m on a Mac computer at this time. If you have a Windows computer and use XP, you’ll be left out in the cold as well.

    While it has a small window of platforms for which it’s available, IE9 has these improvements listed on their product page: pinned sites (for Windows 7 users), tracking protection, InPrivate browsing, HTML5 compatibility, and more.

    One feature I’m excited to see in motion is how IE9 will share the burden of graphics rendering with the GPU on more graphic intensive websites. HTML5 is supposed to push the capabilities of graphics integration, and being the go-to browser for this integration could be a strong investment for the browser’s future.

    Firefox 4 will release next Tuesday; this version has been in beta since July 2010. The release certainly will provide IE9 with some staunch competition out of the gate. In a couple of weeks it will be interesting to see how the pieces of market share will be divided up. Many have switched to Google Chrome as well, providing a third option in the market.

    Has anyone had the opportunity to use IE9 yet? If so, are the improvements as great as many reviewers have been letting on? Or are you still waiting for Firefox 4?

  • IE9 Launch Scheduled For March 14th

    Monday, March 14th (and Tuesday, March 15th, depending on time zones and when everyone goes to bed) may come to mark a significant turning point in the browser wars.  Microsoft’s announced that it will make the final version of Internet Explorer 9 available for download on Monday, starting at 9 PM Redmond time.

    This is an important moment for the company.  From a business perspective, Chrome has been gaining market share at a rapid pace, and Firefox also represents a threat of sorts, so the success of IE9 will determine whether or not Microsoft remains dominant in this space.

    From a point of view related more to PR and geek cred, IE9 – which is supposed to introduce all sorts of advanced features – will help shape many people’s opinions of Microsoft, since it and Windows probably act as the two biggest points of contact.

    Finally, in the event anyone’s just interested in the sheer fun factor of the launch, Ryan Gavin, Senior Director of Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, wrote on The Windows Blog, “We also have a heck of party planned celebrating the amazing developers and designers who are creating a more beautiful web.  We’ll feature live music from Yeasayer, the Head and the Heart, and Fences at Austin City Limits Live the night of the 14th.”

    Announcing: Internet Explorer 9 officially launches March 14 at SXSW. http://bit.ly/hnJj5D #IE9 #IE #SXSWless than a minute ago via CoTweetInternet Explorer
    IE

    So the release of IE9 should be worth monitoring from just about any perspective.

    Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well.  After all, a better browser will benefit everyone in the end.

  • MWC11: IE9 Coming to Windows Phones This Year

    Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced several new features for Windows Phone today in a keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. One feature is a "dramatically enhanced" version of Internet Explorer 9, which will become available for the mobile operating system in the second half of this year. 

    We don’t know exactly when we’ll see the fruits of the company’s partnership with Nokia, but that could be an indication right there. While nothing has been officially announced in terms of dates, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop did suggest that Nokia Windows Phones would come out this year.

    Dean Hachamovitch, Corporate Vice President of Internet Explorer said, "We’ve worked closely across the Windows Phone and IE teams over the last few months to deliver the same IE9 browsing engine—the same code, the same standards support, the same hardware acceleration, the same security and privacy protections—for Windows Phone as we’ve delivered on the desktop."

    "As a result, when you compare different browsers side by side using official W3C standards tests, for example here, you can expect very similar results for IE9 on Windows Phone and the Windows desktop," he added. "When you compare side by side browser performance, for example here or here, or running the FishIE Tank demo, you can still expect very similar results. You can also expect similar results comparing the security and privacy protections, for example here and here."

    MicrosoftComing to Windows Phone in 2011: Twitter in the People Hub, additional SkyDrive support, Internet Explorer 9, and expanded multi-tasking. Visit Microsoft News Center for the full details, then come back here and share your thoughts.1 hour ago 207 likes 44 comments

    Other things announced by Ballmer:

    First Major Update 
    A free customer update will be made available for all Windows Phones in the first two weeks of March, which includes new capabilities such as copy & paste and faster application performance.

    Availability on CDMA Networks 
    With added support for CDMA networks, Windows Phone will be available to even more customers on mobile operators such as Verizon and Sprint in the first half of 2011.

    Twitter Integration in the People Hub 
    The popular social networking service Twitter will be integrated into the People Hub in the second half of 2011.

    Office Document Storage in the Cloud 
    Document sharing and storage in the cloud via Windows Live SkyDrive will be added to Windows Phone in the second half of 2011.

    Additional Multi-tasking Capabilities 
    We will add the ability to switch quickly between applications, run applications in the background (such as listening to music), along with a number of other capabilities in the second half of 2011. Developers will learn much more about this during April’s     MIXconference.

    According to a recent report, Microsoft outbid Google for the Nokia deal, and is paying billions for it. 

  • Different Approaches to Internet Explorer

    As the news of Google Chrome’s increase in browser market share hit the tubes, some outlets took this as an opportunity to blast Microsoft’s ubiquitous browser, Internet Explorer.  While it’s still pretty en vogue to hate all things Microsoft; although, it feels that should be passé by now, perhaps some of the IE hate was a little forced?

    Take the following two approaches, for example.  Both of these upcoming sites reported on Google Chrome’s increase, and parlayed their post into something about Internet Explorer.  However, the approaches were distinctly different.  First we have TechRadar’s post:

    TechRadar

    See how nice it is?  Not so for The Inquirer:

    The Inquirer

    Here are two very different approaches to essentially the same story.  On one hand, you have this from The Inquirer:

    But for Microsoft and Internet Explorer, the outlook looks pretty bleak, unless the new version coming out this year really does well. Since July, Internet Exploder’s share of the browsing market has decreased from 60.74 per cent to 56 per cent in January.

    That might not sound like a lot, but it means millions of users are leaving Microsoft for other web browsers.

    Compared with TechRadar’s rosy outlook:

    Microsoft’s internet Explorer 9 beta has been downloaded 23 million times, and now accounts for 0.5 per cent of all internet users worldwide, according to Net Applications.

    Although it is still in beta – IE9 has proven a hit for Microsoft as it looks to offer a ‘more beautiful experience’.

    So what should a reader take from all of that?  Perhaps they would be smart to separate the biases out of each article and see the news for what it is:  Tons of people still use Internet Explorer — it is still the default browser on all Windows machines — but yet some web users have switched to other brands.

    Does this mean the end is nigh for Internet Explorer?

    Um, no. 

    56% of Internet traffic still uses Microsoft’s browser, compared to 44% for all the rest.  Clearly, IE isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  All it means is people have choices and some are willing to leave their comfort zone and try other options.

    On the other hand, should Microsoft enter trance-like state of “We Are the Champions” and put Internet Explorer on a “set it and forget it” status because their marketshare is so dominant?  Of course not.  It’s easy to be number one when you have a head start on the rest of the competition, but being the best and being first isn’t always a congruent avenue.

  • Net Applications: Chrome’s Market Share Jumps To 10.7 Percent

    Whether or not any of us realized it at the time, the first month of 2011 was an exciting one when it came to Microsoft, Google, and the ongoing browser wars.  New stats from Net Applications indicate that some big changes took place, with Chrome gaining ground and Internet Explorer taking a hit.

    Chrome’s success story is the more straightforward development.  Net Applications found that, between December and January, its market share increased from 9.98 percent to 10.70 percent, which obviously puts Chrome well past the 10.0 percent milestone and is a very impressive gain.

    Meanwhile, Internet Explorer’s market share fell from 57.08 percent to 56.00 percent, and Microsoft employees can hardly be cheering about that.  The drop represents the continuation of a long, slow slide.

    On the other hand, IE8 and the beta version of IE9 are catching on to some degree (even as people abandon IE6 in droves), which Roger Capriotti, Director of Internet Explorer Product Marketing at Microsoft, thought worthy of a celebratory blog post.

    As for how the other browsers performed, Firefox’s market share slipped from 22.81 percent to 22.75 percent, Safari’s market share rose from 5.89 percent to 6.30 percent, and Opera’s market share grew from 2.23 percent to 2.28 percent on a month-over-month basis.

    We’ll be sure to check in again soon if the February data turns out to be similarly exciting.

  • Chrome Sees Market Share Gain In October

    Chrome Sees Market Share Gain In October

    The latest browser-related stats from Net Applications are out, and October represented more of a trick than a treat for Internet Explorer and Firefox.  But in terms of market share, Safari gained a tiny bit of ground, and Chrome definitely came ahead.

    On a month-over-month basis, Net Applications believes Chrome’s market share increased from 7.98 percent to 8.47 percent.  And pitted purely against itself, that gain represents an improvement of 6.14 percent, which is quite good for that short a period.

    Safari, meanwhile, eked out a less-impressive increase from 5.27 percent to 5.33 percent between September and October.

    As for Internet Explorer, its market share dipped from 59.65 percent to 59.26 percent, which extends a pattern that the IE team at Microsoft must find worrying.  Even if IE9 is great, there’s now a smaller pool of people likely to just upgrade to it.

    Firefox saw its popularity slip a little, too, with its market share decreasing from 22.96 percent to 22.82 percent on a month-over-month basis.  And in this highly competitive environment, that makes the delay of Firefox 4 look like a potential problem.

  • Microsoft Juggles Privacy, Advertising Priorities with Internet Explorer

    The Wall Street Journal has interesting article about Microsoft’s internal dilemma about privacy settings in Internet Explorer. It’s basically a matter of privacy vs. advertising, both of which Microsoft has an interest in. WSJ’s Nick Winfield reports:

    In the end, the product planners lost a key part of the debate. The winners: executives who argued that giving automatic privacy to consumers would make it tougher for Microsoft to profit from selling online ads. Microsoft built its browser so that users must deliberately turn on privacy settings every time they start up the software.

    Microsoft’s original privacy plans for the new Explorer were "industry-leading" and technically superior to privacy features in earlier browsers, says Simon Davies, a privacy-rights advocate in the U.K. whom Microsoft consulted while forming its browser privacy plans. Most users of the final product aren’t even aware its privacy settings are available, he says. "That’s where the disappointment lies."

    In response to privacy articles like the WSJ’s, Microsoft has written a post on the IE Blog. It says:

    Because some of the technologies that can be used for tracking are also essential today for basic functionality, there is no “Just give me perfect privacy” feature. The way different tracking and anti-tracking technologies interact can read like a Spy vs. Spy comic strip. Distinguishing between a tracking technology (a beacon) and a useful piece of web content (a stock chart used as a beacon) is not obvious. Some people are concerned about Adobe Flash’s “super cookies”; IE8’s InPrivate browsing clears these as well with newer versions of Flash.  As another example, InPrivate Browsing in IE8 “clears your tracks” and removes information from browser history when you close IE. During the actual browsing session, before you close it, IE still records history (so the back button continues to work) and cookies (so that logins and shopping carts continue to work). Ultimately, people want the web to work and privacy protection.

    We designed InPrivate Filtering to help users control who can get information about their browsing. IE enables users to choose how privately they want to browse. Users are in control of several privacy protection features in IE, and how automatically they function. Specifically, users can keep browsing information from going to sites they don’t actually visit directly. IE determines the potential tracking sites on the list based on the sites you browse to directly and how those sites were written. Different sites on the web have articles about more advanced features, like always browsing with InPrivate Filtering on, and importing and exporting InPrivate Filtering lists.

    NetMarketShare just released new research indicating that IE has extended its share of the browser market by 1% since May.

    Microsoft provides steps to adjust your privacy settings in IE here.

  • Internet Explorer Gains Share in Worldwide Browser Usage

    According to data from NetMarketShare, Internet Explorer extended its usage share gains by another .42% in July, gaining about 1% global share since May. 

    The firm says, "This is the second month in a row of global gains for Internet Explorer and the third straight month of gains for Internet Explorer 8 in the United States. The gain comes at the expense of Firefox (-.9%) and Chrome (-.08%)."

    IE extended its lead as the leading browser worldwide, as it gained .98% share globally (including all versions).

    IE now represents over 30% of browser usage worldwide.

    "Ultimately, we know customers have a choice when it comes to the browser they use, and that choice has a lot to do with the good work that developers and our partners do to build a better Web with Internet Explorer," says Ryan Gavin, Senior Director, Internet Explorer Business and Marketing. "The protection of your security and privacy by Internet Explorer 8 continues to resonate with customers."

    There’s no question the browser market is getting more competitive. Google is hoping to make some serious waves, and it may do so as it puts out a new stable version every six weeks, and gets Chrome OS-powered machines in the hands of consumers.