Firefox downloads pass one billion threshold

[LinuxMint-4]

Firefox downloads pass one billion threshold – Mozilla chasing Microsoft

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/20 ... ent-199436


he Firefox Web browser has been growing in popularity for a few years now as people seek an alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Mozilla has today announced Firefox downloads have surpassed the one billion mark. Can Firefox carry on this momentum to eventually overtake IE?

The Web was a very different place back in November 2004 when the first version of Firefox was released. For starters, almost everyone used Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Some out of choice, but most out of necessity due to the lack of alternatives available and the fact that IE was the only browser supported by all Web sites.

Since then, things have changed a great deal. There have been many iterations of Firefox, most of them improving on the one before by quite a margin. Most Firefox fans are now using Firefox 3.5, although Firefox 4.0 is already in development. And there are other alternatives as well, most notably Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Opera.

These have all eaten into Microsoft Web browser market share, none more so than Firefox itself. Mozilla today announced that Firefox downloads have passed the one billion landmark. That doesn’t, of course, mean that one billion of us are using Firefox to access the Internet because that figure includes all downloads of the different iterations since 2004. But it’s still impressive nonetheless.

Firefox passed the 500 million download mark in Feb 2008, which means it’s doubled its total in the space of just 17 months. Firefox is still a long way from overtaking Internet Explorer as the most popular Web browser, however, with IE still enjoying around a 60 percent market share. Firefox is catching up, enjoying almost a 30 percent market share. Chrome and the others are all under 5 percent.

Mozilla must know it has Microsoft on the run now. Firefox is particularly popular in Europe, and the EU’s stance on forcing Microsoft to remove IE from Windows and making it an optional download is sure to add to Firefox’s market share in the territory. I can foresee the day when Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer but it won’t be for a good few years yet. I am confident it will happen though, especially while Firefox keeps improving and IE keeps standing still.