Internet Explorer 9's Out!

Posted: 16 03 11 by David Stump

There is a silent war raging online. Most people aren’t even aware of it and there appear to be very few casualties…

It’s between, Microsoft, Mozilla, Google & Safari (there are others but they are the big hitters).

The war is for the browser you use to access and browse the internet.

And the point of this war?

Control. Sound's like it's straight out of the Matrix but the system does have you… it controls you… it knows what you want and to it’s own best end, it gives it to you…

But seriously, people using one browser over another is a big thing to the developers as it gives them huge amounts of statistical information about web usage that in my cynical opinion is simply used to drive revenue streams of one form or another.

Some thoughts on the contenders:

1St  Place: Google Chrome

Google's Chrome is probably my favourite browser. I find it the most stable now and the fastest.

When I am using Google Apps or the Gmail platform it gives me the best all round service – but then I would expect it to!

2nd Place: Mozilla  Firefox

Firefox is the second place browser for me. I really like the tools and ad-ons that I can have but I do find it slower and the constant upgrades to ad-ons means it’s not always a case of click and go!

3rd Place (but a close 3rd): Apple Safari

Safari is a very close third, I simply find it is slower than Firefox otherwise it would be in the number 2 slot. I feel it’s popularity has grown as the iPhone, iTouch and iPad have grown and more people have exposure to it.

Lastly: Microsoft Explorer

It’s hard to admit it but I’ve not really used Explorer since IE 7, and then I only used it for a short time. I find it buggy, seemingly full of things designed to trip me up and make my life harder.

If I had written this article 2 or 3 years ago I would have been Explorer through and through. I’d have dismissed Firefox as a developers, laughed at the idea of using Safari as I’m not a floppy collared designer and not thought twice about Chrome as it was far to new and unstable.

If we look at my two or three year example, three years ago you would have seen my thoughts in terms of user stats: 57% of users we using Internet Explorer, 36% for Firefox, Safari had just 2% and Chrome wasn’t even available.

Turn the clock and it’s a very different picture… 26% of people use Internet Explorer, 42% use Firefox, 4% use Safari and a whopping 24% use Chrome!

For me this just shows how out of touch Microsoft are with current browsers and then that suggests to me a larger problem… are Microsoft out of touch with users IT needs in general?