The browser wars to determine who controls how we access the Web have been going on for quite some time. Microsoft has been winning this battle forever, but maybe that winning streak is about to come to an end. Internet Explorer is certainly losing ground to its main rivals, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.
Internet Explorer has always been the leading Web browser, mostly by means of being the default browser bundled with all Windows PCs. While the more technically-minded of us are prone to wondering what else is available, many people think IE is the only option, or otherwise can’t be bothered to research alternatives. If it works, which Internet Explorer does (in the main) then what’s the problem?
Microsoft has kind of relied upon this attitude to stay ahead of the competition, even though the competition has been motoring ahead in terms of speed, security, stability, and reliability. However, it clearly cannot afford to do so any longer, with TechCrunch reporting quite how bad the situation is becoming for Internet Explorer.
March saw Internet Explorer (all versions) holding a 65.8 percent share of the market. Now, just three months on, the situation is a little different. IE6, IE7, and IE8 together only hold a 54.4 percent market share. I say only but that figure does mean Internet Explorer is still by far the most popular Web browser, but an 11.4 percent drop in less than 100 days suggests that may not be the case for much longer.
Firefox, Chrome, and Safari are the browsers stealing users away from Microsoft. Firefox is the biggest gainer, continuing its rise in popularity by stealing around 5 percent market share from Internet Explorer. Firefox 3.0 currently has a 27.6 percent share of the market but Firefox 3.5, released last week, could well outdo its predecessor.
The reason for those IE8 ads starring Dean Cain and some projectile vomit now becomes clearer - Microsoft knows it’s actually now in a fight and could be on the ropes if it doesn’t do something about it. One ad campaign is unlikely to help reverse the fortunes of Internet Explorer, and having to remove the browser from European copies of Windows 7 won’t help either.
Source: Blorge
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