The Inquisitr » internet explorer

Wow … Mozilla sides with Microsoft over Google’s Chrome Frame plugin

Steven Hodson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:14:32 +0000

It was expected that Microsoft would attempt in some fashion to downplay Google’s Chrome Frame plugin that is designed to replace Internet Explorer’s web rendering engine with the one that power’s Google’s own Chrome browser. Of course they didn’t let us down in that fashion calling the plugin as a security threat for users of IE and the Internet. What wasn’t really expected was for Mozilla to come out publically on the same side of the fence as Microsoft.

Google’s reasoning for creating and releasing the plugin is that they just couldn’t get IE to play nice with their upcoming release of Google Wave so rather than wasting valuable time trying they created the Chrome Frame plugin.

While Mozilla agreed with Microsoft about the security issues Mitchell Baker, CEO of the Mozilla Foundation, argues that it could end up being detrimental to the user experience

According to Baker, Chrome Frame’s browser-in-a-browser will confuse users and render some of their familiar tools useless. "Once your browser has fragmented into multiple rendering engines, it’s very hard to manage information across Web sites. Some information will be manageable from the browser you use and some information from Chrome Frame. This defeats one of the most important ways in which a browser can help people manage their [Web] experience."

Source: Computer World – Mozilla slams Google’s Chrome Frame as ‘browser soup’

In addition vice president of Mozilla Mike Shaver had this to say in a cnet interview

Specifically, Shaver said Chrome Frame can disable IE features and muddle users’ understanding of Web security matters. And users of the reviled IE 6 browser, he added, often won’t be able to run Chrome Frame anyway because their computer is locked down to prohibit changes or lacks sufficient power in the first place.

"As a side effect, the user’s understanding of the Web’s security model and the behavior of their browser is seriously hindered by delegating the choice of software to the developers of individual sites they visit. It is a problem that we have seen repeatedly with other stack plug-ins like Flash, Silverlight and Java, and not one that I think we need to see replayed again under the banner of HTML5," he said.

Microsoft’s IE needs the slap Google’s Chrome Frame supplies.

Steven Hodson — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:28:21 +0000

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer sucks monkey balls.

I don’t care which version you are using but when a site displays properly in every other browser than in any version of Internet Explorer – including IE8 – then I’m sorry but Redmond we have a problem.This was re-enforced for me the other day when I posted on one of my other blogs, WinExtra, about a new developer tool called IETester. With the program you can view any site in all versions of IE – 5.5 right through to 7 – which I did with WinExtra for the post and this is the result

Now this is the same site that display nicely in Safari, Google Chrome, and Firefox. Yet when it comes to Internet Explorer it is a mess. It is no wonder that web developers pull out their rapidly graying hair when it comes to designing sites.

It’s an acknowledge fact that Microsoft is facing some serious competition in the web browser space and while IE8 is an improvement – more so for the casual surfer – it still doesn’t come close to Google Chrome or Firefox or even Safari. The only reason that it is still maintaining any kind of lead is because of its broad adoption in the corporate world. In the majority of cases I would think it is because of legacy web apps used in-hose by companies on their Intranets.

As the browser becomes more of a vehicle for the increasing use of cloud based application IE is being out shadowed by its rivals. With the introduction of Google’s Chrome Frame plugin for IE Microsoft is being placed on notice that the web will continue to move forward with or without them. Granted for Chrome Frame to work it requires both the developers to include a single line of code in their web pages and for users to download and install the plugin but that is something we could see a rapid adoption of by both sides of the coin.

I have said many times at different places that Microsoft needs to seriously rethink its whole browser strategy because they are in real danger of becoming a bit player in that space if they keep on going the way that they are. It’s not like Microsoft doesn’t have the talent to create a killer browser but between being hampered by the legacy monster they created for themselves with businesses and seeming reluctance to truly innovate in the space they are fighting with both hands behind their back.

Louis Gray asked the other day if Microsoft should fight back against the Chrome Frame plugin and other than a bunch of FUD about security as the guys over at Ars Technica reported Microsoft hasn’t said much on the matter. I don’t think they should either because this is actually a good thing to happen for the company.

Look at it this way – they could quietly accept the presence of the plugin and it’s ability to bring one of the worst browsers in the history of the web (IE6) into the modern world while at the same time start working on a new browser from the ground up. Any legacy problems due to IE not being updated to current versions could be pretty well be handled by Chrome Frame. This would open up Microsoft to seriously thinking of going the same route as both Apple and Google by building a new browser around the much better WebKit engine.

This would serve Microsoft well on two fronts. One, it would give them the potential to get back in the browser game especially if they let their incredibly talented developer loose to truly innovate in the space. Two, it would increase their open source creds that is already getting stronger given some of their more recent moves with their code and software. In addition because the WebKit is an open source project it would benefit incredibly by have three of the major software / web companies involved.

Microsoft may not like the idea of Google making Chrome Frame available but it could be a blessing in disguise if they decided to take advantage of it.

Even Microsoft would like IE6 to die but can’t help put a stake in it

Steven Hodson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Admittedly Internet Explorer is a blight on the Web that many would love nothing better than to see disappear – instantly. It has, and continues to cause nothing but grief for designers and users alike but as much as we might like it to go away it is taking a very long time to die out.

Even Microsoft would like to see it go away but as much as they are trying to get users to upgrade to the new Internet Explorer 8 they also realize that when it comes to the enterprise it is going to be a tough battle. The problem is that IE6 has become entrenched as the business web browser with many of these businesses having custom in-house web apps that might not survive the upgrade in browsers.

As Amy Bazdukas, Microsoft’s general manager for Internet Explorer said in an Computerworld post

But while she agreed that consumers should ditch IE6, and understood the motivation behind the growing chorus of Web sites calling for an end to the browser, Bazdukas said Microsoft couldn’t give the same advice to businesses. "With our business customers, it’s more complex," she argued. "For them, deploying a browser is very like much like deploying an operating system across multiple desktops. So it’s not a surprise that IE6 is still being used."

Not that Microsoft’s entirely happy with that. "IE6 use is higher than we like," Bazdukas admitted. "Most of that is from the business installations, that’s where we see most of the trailing installations of IE6."

She even says in the post that “Friends don’t let friends use IE6”. This is echoed by Ray Valdes, and analyst at Gartner who regularly recommends to clients that they leave IE6 behind but he also states the same problem when it comes to the enterprise

"But the situation is, it’s surprisingly difficult to get enterprises to upgrade. Many companies have old software that depends on IE6, and that software is not upgradable because they have no budget or the developer is not around anymore, or the in-house developer left."

It’s not a matter that Microsoft wants to keep supporting a legacy browser it’s that they don’t have much of a choice given that their bread and butter comes from those businesses that still have IE6 deployed throughout their operations.

Microsoft claims it has to support IE6 because customers are still using it

Duncan Riley — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:27:21 +0000

As various big social media companies get behind a movement to stop people using Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft has said that it won’t drop support for the 8 year old browser.

Microsoft’s Dean Hachamovitch, the General Manager of the Internet Explorer team said in a post that dropping support for IE6 isn’t an option, because Microsoft has “committed to supporting the IE included with Windows [XP] for the lifespan of the product.” Hachamovitch justification is that Microsoft still supports Windows XP, and IE6 is the standard browser on (presumably) an XP install that doesn’t run full service packs.

Where Hachamovitch does get it right though is in attributing the blame, noting that it’s not individuals that are the core of IE6 users, but corporations.

“They balance their personal enthusiasm for upgrading PCs with their accountability to many other priorities their organizations have. As much as they (or site developers, or Microsoft or anyone else) want them to move to IE8 now, they see the PC software image as one part of a larger IT picture with its own cadence.”

I understand the reasoning, but don’t respect the call. We wouldn’t let people drive a car if it were known to be defective, we’d recall the car and upgrade the defective parts. IE6 is a defective part that offers unsafe browsing and poor standards support, and it can and should be considered differently to XP support. Microsoft can continue to support XP and not IE6, and if corporate users don’t upgrade, then they assume the risks going forward. I’d doubt very much many large workplaces running XP don’t install security patches (indeed I know they do.) So make the upgrade of IE part of the XP patch process, after all the patches are less effective with IE6 installed on each computer.

(via Mashable)

First Microsoft shook up its search – next up: Internet Explorer

Steven Hodson — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:45:00 +0000

There were, and still are, a lot of naysayers about Microsoft’s recent reworking of its search offering and subsequent launch of Bing. Its impact on the whole search business was never expected to be earth shattering but it has surprised more than a few by gaining percentage points. One can’t be sure if it will continue to grow or not but it showed that the company can indeed shake things up.

As I was reading a post on Technologizer by Harry McCracken about the slipping of Internet Explorer’s market share it got me thinking about the same thing I had written about in the past when it came to search. In a post on my home blog back in January 2007 where I suggested that if Microsoft wanted to make headway in search it was time they started a search skunkworks project.

The idea was of putting together a very small core group of developers and keep the marketing department as far away as possible in the hopes that they could build something new and fresh. While they didn’t go that route with Bing they came pretty close and I think that they should do exactly the same thing when it comes to Internet Explorer.

End of the line

In effect I would suggest that IE8 should be the last Internet Explorer. Any browser from Microsoft that comes after should be a completely new beast with a new name, a whole new frame of mind. I say this because the Internet Explorer name has way too much negative ‘emotional’ baggage that is being carted along version to version. The only reason that IE has any placement on the desktop anymore is because it comes with the operating system.

Other than those wanting to test out each new version so they can write negative posts about it, or diehard IE users looking to upgrade. Hell I was a diehard IE user for years. Sure, I tried out Firefox (never have liked it), Opera, Safari and Chrome. It is the last one that finally got me away from IE and chances are I won’t go back; and I’m not alone. As McCracken points out in his post

But I assume that Microsoft would prefer to not only stop the bleeding but to get IE growing again. The only way that’ll happen is if users of other Windows browsers–Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari–switch to IE in measurable quantities.

What are the chances of that happening? Slim, I think. For Windows users, running anything other than IE represents a conscious decision to use a browser other than the default one their OS came with. Typical users of Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari-for-Windows users all seem to be dedicated fans of their browser of choice. And once you’ve found a browser you’re comfortable with, the incentive to stick with it is high. For all these reasons, any version of IE is going to need to be strikingly different and better to lure expatriates back.

Why a skunkworks project?

One of the biggest problems that Microsoft has created for itself is that because of the ingrained nature of Windows and IE their software has to be backward compatible to the point that it becomes a bloated mess of code. If they were to start fresh it would have to be with the internal understanding that this is a complete fresh start – no dragging any code from IE forward. If they were to do this and word got out I think you would see a lot of corporate businesses become worried because of the in-house investment they have in using IE.

This in turn could exert pressure on Microsoft to re-consider and that would kill any chance of a fresh start. Make no mistake Microsoft has to do something when it comes to a browser. Internet Explorer is becoming an albatross around their neck and will continue to lose ground in the browser world.

So any initial work on a new browser would have to be done very quietly. There are a lot of people who would question whether or not Microsoft could do something like this on the quiet but just look at Windows 7 and Bing to see that they can do it. We might have known Windows 7 was coming but unlike previous versions of the operating system next to nothing was known about it until Sinofsky said so. We might have been hearing something about Kumo, the codename for Bing, but we didn’t find out much about it until they were ready.

Time to send Trident to the bottom of the ocean

Now assuming for the sake of discussion Microsoft did decide to take the plunge and work on a completely new browser. The first thing I would suggest doing is to ditch the Trident rendering engine at least as far as the browser is concerned. They have been using Trident for as long as there has been an IE but I would strongly suggest that they switch to using WebKit as the basis for the browser.

I suggest this for a couple of reasons. As I wrote previously one of these reasons is

If you consider that by moving to the WebKit engine Microsoft would be giving an incredible boost to an open source product as well the number of developers that would begin getting involved in making the engine better is huge. Consider that in this case WebKit would now be the default rendering engine being used in IE, Safari and Chrome – that means a shitload of developers are now available to improve the common engine. It would also leave Firefox out on its own and with it’s mortal enemy IE able to claim open source and compliance rights thereby taking away the major arguing point Firefox has for getting new users.

The effects of this kind of move would be a big public relations plus for the company. Microsoft has already been making moves to be a part of the open source movement but this would be a big step forward that would get a lot of people talking.

And that is one oft he other reasons why a move to using WebKit would be a key idea. The buzz that would surround the company as they launched a totally new browser based on the same open standards as two other major browsers would be immense. McCracken asked in his post what it would take for people to move to a Microsoft browser and stem the flow of people moving to other browsers as well as bring in new users. Well I think some thing like this would definitely fit the bill as an answer to his question.

Wrapping up

Internet Explorer (any version) is a pig with a lot of bad press surrounding it and I don’t believe that IE 8 or any future version of Internet Explorer will do anything to change that perception. I realize that any chance of anything I have suggested coming to fruition is probably never going to happen. It is also obvious that the company is losing market share in the browser world and that is something it can’t afford to let happen. Unfortunately I just don’t see Internet Explorer, now and the road forward, ever being able to turn things around.

The IE8 puke ad pulled – the warm and fuzzy crowd wins again

Steven Hodson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Last week I wrote here about the new series of online ads that Microsoft was running for Internet Explorer 8 and truth be told I thought they were all funny as hell, and yes even the one where the wife shows her disgust for her husbands browsing habits. Then last night as I was prepping for this week’s Cynical Bastards podcast I was double checking the videos only to find that the “puking ad” had been pulled.

This fact was confirmed by cnet News

The truth is that Microsoft wasn’t 100 percent happy with vom-com.

"We make a point of listening to our customers," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail Thursday morning. "We created the OMGIGP video as a tongue-in-cheek look at the InPrivate Browsing feature of Internet Explorer 8, using the same irreverent humor that our customers told us they liked about other components of the Internet Explorer 8 marketing campaign. While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it."

I’m sorry but sure the ad maybe should have had some kind of warning (“weak stomach people with no sense of ha-ha need not watch”) but I don’t think the ad needed to be pulled. It was funny as hell and sure I may have a whacked sense of humor but come on folks lighten up for crying out loud.

While the ad may have been pulled from the ‘official’ channels it still lives on YouTube so for those of you who thought it was funny here ya go. The rest of you who didn’t go watch television or something and make sure you definitely don’t watch this one or you might curl into a fetal ball.

Warning: weak stomach panty waists should not watch this as you might not see any humor

Warped and funny IE8 ads, I’m still chuckling

Steven Hodson — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:40:13 +0000

I know, I know. Microsoft and funny ads just don’t seem to go together. It’s almost as if the world is coming to an end, but I gotta tell ya folks these are definitely some funny ads even if they are a little warped. Not to mention that Dean Kane could be onto a new career as a funny man. Thanks to the team at TheNextWeb.com for pointing them out it was a great way to start my day.

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Microsoft flips the EU (and Opera) the bird, and I love it.

Steven Hodson — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:20:00 +0000

In what has proven to be the biggest bullshit argument of the last five to ten years Opera initiated a oh woes me complaint to the European Union about Windows 7 shipping with Internet Explorer 8 and how that was hurting the competitive browser market. Now besides the fact that I’m surprised that Opera still makes a browser worth worrying, about the argument that Internet Explorer is enjoying a the top position in the browser market because it comes with Windows has been proven wrong so many times it has gotten to be plain boring.

That hasn’t stopped the whining though or the desire of the EU to hit up the Microsoft ATM machine for some more cash. Even though Internet Explorer has been losing market share – especially in Europe – to other browsers like Firefox, Safari and even Chrome (but not Opera) this hasn’t stopped the EU from thinking up wonderful ways for Microsoft to make it easier for it’s competition to kick it in the face while it is down. Everything from forcing Microsoft to include other browsers with each Windows distribution to having a “Pick Me” screen that would let the user select the browser they want to download and use has been on the table.

In a brilliant move of chutzpa Microsoft has decided to ship the European versions of Windows without any browser installed. By doing this Microsoft has neatly sidestepped the need for them to supply installable versions of all the other browsers as well as not having to have the “Pick Me” type screen. As John Paczkowski from Digital Daily puts it – “…. if there is no browser, there’s no need for the “must carry” provision the EU is mulling”. Additionally he points out

Perhaps. But Microsoft’s obligation isn’t to provide more choice. It’s to refrain from restricting it, which is exactly what the EC demanded and exactly what Microsoft is doing here.

In a post on the Microsoft On The Issues blog Dave Hiner, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel (so beware legal speak), points out why this idea of a “Pick Me” – or Ballot Screen as Microsoft terms it – isn’t a workable solution at this time

Our decision to only offer IE separately from Windows 7 in Europe cannot, of course, preclude the possibility of alternative approaches emerging through Commission processes. Other alternatives have been raised in the Commission proceedings, including possible inclusion in Windows 7 of alternative browsers or a “ballot screen” that would prompt users to choose from a specific set of Web browsers. Important details of these approaches would need to be worked out in coordination with the Commission, since they would have a significant impact on computer manufacturers and Web browser vendors, whose interests may differ. Given the complexity and competing interests, we don’t believe it would be best for us to adopt such an approach unilaterally.

The general reaction around the big tech blogs has been one of it being a brilliant move by Microsoft. such as Mary Jo Foley who wrote

Thinking it through, I’d say Microsoft’s plan for Windows 7 E is a stroke of genius for the company. In one fell swoop, Microsoft creates anti-EC sentiments; makes itself look like the law-abiding underdog; thwarts the “ballot screen” plan the EC seemed to be favoring, which would put IE on a level playing field with its competitors’ browsers; and possibly earns a few extra bucks via OEM browser-licensing deals.

Personally I think this was one of the smartest moves that Microsoft could have made in this situation. It basically tells all the whiny cry-baby browser makers, chiefly Opera, to STFU and quit trying to blame their woes on Microsoft’s supposed browser dominance. A dominance that doesn’t, and hasn’t, existed for a long time. It also shows the EU that the Microsoft ATM machine is now closed and that if anyone in Europe wants to bitch about having to decide which browser to use they can look to their own elected officials because Microsoft isn’t playing the old “make us your piñata” anymore.

It looks good on ya.

Mozilla should be thanking Microsoft for bundling IE not kissing EU’s butt

Steven Hodson — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:47:17 +0000

I can’t believe we are still dealing with this non-issue of Microsoft bundling Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system, let alone looking to the European Union (EU) to give the company another slap for antitrust violations in the matter. On top of that Mozilla has come out on the same side as the EU regulators complaining about Microsoft’s actions. It’s not like past action of the EU regulators made any difference when they force Microsoft to sell a version of Windows without the Windows Media Player bundled with the OS. In fact European OEMs gave Windows N the cold shoulder because no-one wanted the stripped down version. Do we really think that an IE less version of Windows will fair any better?

As far as the monopoly angle that everyone is whining about I think felix over at #comments has the right idea when he said the following in a post today

But that’s not what this law suit is about. It’s about Microsoft’s monopoly. Really? Come on. Are we still on this crap? Microsoft’s browser share has been falling steadily for years – this is non-trivial stuff. Their share is being steadily and meaningfully eroded. It’s not a monopoly anymore. There’s competition. Look Opera, I know you have a cult following, but people just don’t want your browser. Firefox is moving up the charts, so it can obviously be done. Why does the law need to be brought into this?

The fact is that if Microsoft hadn’t been the dominant browser they way it had we might not even have Firefox because it only came about because people were pissed with Internet Explorer. If anything the dominance of IE has spurred browser development as we have Google Chrome slowly making its way up the popularity tree and along with it and Firefox Apple’s Safari has seen a growth in users since it came out with a Windows version. this was the point that Michael Masnick at Techdirt tried to make in his post on this today

Last month, it seemed silly that EU regulators were pursuing Microsoft for antitrust violations in the browser market for bundling IE. It was clear that some of the initial complaints had come from Opera — an also-ran in the browser market. However, it seemed silly because there is vibrant and growing competition in the marketplace. Firefox has continued to grow its market share, and in the past few years we’ve seen new entrants in the browser market from Apple and Google — both of whom have established small, but significant footholds.

So tell me – where the hell is the monopoly?

Personally I think Internet Explorer is still a pile of crap – IE8 is better but compared to the other browsers it is a bloated trojan attracting website breaking pile of crap, and this comes from some-one who has been a faithful IE user for years. Now however I have switched over to Chrome and haven’t looked back since. And I am not alone as looking at the browser market share numbers will tell you – IE is losing its dominate position slowly but surely.

I still hold out hope for the venerable browser though but I also believe that Microsoft needs to start over from scratch. Take their best minds and coders that deal with the web – lock them in a room and restart their browser effort. Key principals should be – extremely light footprint, extensible but without those stupid and dangerous Browser Object Add-ons and finally be totally web compliant – not Microsoft’s version but real compliance.

But this stupidity of Mozilla joining the appeal to the EU for action against Microsoft give me a break. all it is doing is making Mozilla look like a bunch of whiners.

Internet Explorer Loses More Ground While Other Browsers Grow

JR — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:13:50 +0000

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has lost market share for its seventh straight month.

New numbers released by Net Applications show IE dropping to 67.55 percent of the worldwide browser market. That’s 0.6 percent less than it had one month ago, and a full 7 percent less than it had in March of 2008.

Firefox, in the meantime, has steadily grown in the same time period. Mozilla’s browser now commands 21.53 percent of the market, up from 17.83 percent last March. And it’s not the only alternative product growing, either:

• Safari is now up to 8.29 percent, from 5.82 percent last March.

• Chrome is sitting at a modest 1.12 percent but showing monthly growth. (It didn’t have any users last March, as it hadn’t yet been released.)

• Opera has fluctuated around the 0.70 percent mark.

Microsoft, of course, is hoping IE 8 — which saw its first release candidate hit the Net last week — will help it regain some of its lost ground. While the browser is undoubtedly an improvement over its predecessor, I don’t see it offering anything that’ll convince other browser users to switch back.

Where to Find the IE Patch (KB960714)

JR — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:40:55 +0000

Microsoft has officially released the Internet Explorer patch to fix the security flaw affecting all versions of the browser.

IE Patch KB960714

The IE patch can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update site. It is part of Microsoft’s security bulletin MS08-078 and is under the code KB960714. The fix functions as an IE7 patch as well as one for IE5, IE6, and IE8 Beta 2. All Internet Explorer users are being advised to apply the security update immediately.

Internet Explorer Security Flaw

The IE patch fixes an Internet Explorer security flaw that allows attackers to gain access to personal data stored by the browser, including passwords and other sensitive information. Once a user visits a compromised Web site, their browser becomes vulnerable. As many as 10,000 Web sites have already been compromised, security experts estimate.

In all, more than 2 million computers are believed to have been infected.

Chrome Starting to Lose Steam

JR — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:06:27 +0000

While Google’s Android-powered G1 phone is getting all the hype today, the company’s previous launch is losing some of its shine. The number of users of Google’s Chrome browser has taken a hit, dropping down to only 0.77 percent of the browser market at the end of its third week. It had been at 0.85 percent the week before and was above 1 percent immediately after its release.

The data, from Net Applications, indicates users are reverting back to Internet Explorer and Firefox; both those browsers’ numbers have gone up slightly as Chrome’s have gone down. IE jumped 0.24 percent and Firefox 0.06 percent in the same time period. Safari, the research firm has found, has seen the least effect from Chrome’s introduction.

Interestingly, the numbers for Chrome spike the most during the night hours. It makes sense, though: As Net Applications points out, many people have no choice but to use IE at work. When they come home, they use their preferred browser. Firefox and Safari see similar effects.

Researchers suggest Google’s lackluster marketing may be to blame for the dropping share. Along those lines, it’s surprising to see that Google didn’t snatch up the Chrome branding opportunity within the new Android phone announced today. While the G1 does use a “Chrome-like” browser based on the same foundation, it does not carry the Chrome name.

Can Chrome survive? It still has a lot of growth to do as it moves closer to a non-preliminary release, so we may not have seen its full potential (or Google’s full marketing plan) just yet. Still, it has a lot of ground to gain to avoid becoming another blip on the radar of Google Labs-type products that never make it.

Which way do you think it’ll go? It’s not yet November, but this election is open. Vote below.

Surprise: Chrome’s Users Coming From IE

JR — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:34:51 +0000

In an unexpected effect, Google’s Chrome browser appears to be grabbing users primarily from Internet Explorer — and driving others toward Firefox, Safari, and Opera.

As Chrome started building up a userbase last week, American tracking company Net Applications found Microsoft’s browser share dropped by 1.4 percent, to 71 percent of the total browser market, as of Friday. But where it gets particularly interesting is in the figures for the other browsers:

Firefox: Up 0.3 percent to 19.5
Safari: Up 0.4 percent to 6.7
Opera: Up 0.1 percent to 0.75

Most of the early predictions, understandably, speculated Chrome would pull most of its users from Firefox. As you can see, though, that appears to be anything but the case, at least from these new figures. Chrome’s total percentage hovers somewhere around 1 percent of the browser market, meaning that even if all its regular users did come from IE, still more Microsoft users defected and went to other existing options.

So what’s the deal? My guess is that the introduction of Chrome and the wealth of resulting media coverage comparing the browsers probably heightened awareness that hey, you don’t have to use this program that came with your Windows system. It’d be enlightening to get some research into how many of the users who jumped ship from IE had never used anything but IE before. My suspicion is that it’d be a fairly high amount.

In that respect, regardless of whether you love Chrome or hate it, its presence can be deemed a success. Maybe it takes a ubiquitous name like Google to open the general, non-computer-savvy public’s eyes to the less obvious options that exist. Granted, we’re only talking a couple of percentage points here — but it’s a start.

Microsoft Reveals Beta Release Plans

JR — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:35:12 +0000

Two new web-related beta releases are on the way for Microsoft. The company announced timelines for Silverlight 2 beta 2 and Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 at its TechEd conference in Orlando this morning.

Silverlight 2 beta 2, seen as Microsoft’s answer to Adobe’s long-standing Flash platform, builds upon the .Net framework introduced in the first beta release. The new version adds extra controls, improved networking and data handling capabilities, and enhanced error handling. It also features enhanced templates and integration with Expression Blend and Visual Studio as well as added cross-domain support and several other modifications. The beta is expected to be made available for download by the end of the week with a full version slated to be completed by the year’s end.

IE 8 beta 2, on the other hand, may be the company’s attempt at competing with the upcoming Firefox 3. The new beta will be targeted more at average end-users as opposed to the developer-heavy focus of the first beta release earlier this year. Microsoft says beta 2 will come out this August. A final product release date has not yet been set.