Longhorn and Firefox
p2pnet.net News:- Microsoft could still decide the extent to which it looses browser market share by choosing whether or not, and when, to respond to the growing demand for Firefox, believe Gartner researchers R. Valdes, D. Smith and W. Andrews.
Firefox usage was driven by factors that were not "inherently sustainable," they say, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. "Microsoft’s response to Firefox growth is limited by how much it ties a revamped Internet Explorer to the release of Longhorn.”
The company would have to address concerns about IE security users demand for a better browsing experience, states the SMH, going on to quote the researchers as saying:
"Industry realignment is also helping to fuel Firefox growth. For example, Google is supporting Firefox by providing an infrastructure for downloads. Amazon’s A9 toolbar now supports Firefox. Major independent software vendors (ISVs) that aggressively linked their user interfaces to specific versions of IE (contrary to long-standing Gartner advice) will likely shift to a neutral stance. Efforts by Google (desktop search evolutions) and IBM (IBM Workplace) to compete more aggressively against Microsoft on the desktop could drive additional growth for Firefox.”
However, they emphasise that the growth in Firefox usage is taking place primarily at the individual level. And they predict Firefox will increasingly be targeted by malicious code.
“The researchers said one of three outcomes was possible,” adds the Sydney Morning Herald.
“IE usage would fall but would be halted by improvements wrought by Microsoft; the slide in IE usage would continue unabated due to ongoing well-publicised breaches in IE; or an uneasy co-existence would eventuate where users, fed up with the security problems, would install Firefox alongside IE and use it.”
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See:-
market share – Gartner caution on Firefox take-up, Sydney Morning Herald, February 9, 2005
February 9th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
I’ve been using IE and netscape browsers side by side for years. Now I’ve switched to Firefox but also keep a current IE 6 just on those occasions when a page looks better in IE than Firefox. I’ve noticed that this happens with much less frequency though…which is indicative of the increased cabability of the Firefox browser and like the article states, a more neutral stance by software developers.
February 9th, 2005 at 8:16 pm
I think most people a sick and tired of Microsofts dominance. And of course Firefox is a better browser. Soon deals will be made with large companys. So the longer Microsofts wait the larger the marketshare Firefox will gain. After the mediaplayer the browser will be cut of the OS. Then Microsoft will fall of the clif.
read the latest Mozilla news first in http://www.de-gier.info/
February 10th, 2005 at 1:53 pm
Web designers have quit designing website that work only with Internet Exploder. I started using Linux in 1994, I alsway remember being frustrated because I could view less than two thirds of all websites because the websites were designed specifically for Internet Exploder. When I ran across these websites, I’d complain to the webmaster that I did not use IE. Most of the time, they would either ignore me or send me a “So sorry” reply. Now, thing are different. If a webmaster designs a site viwable only by a cartel browser, they will lose significant market share.
We as consumers can make the same happen with music and motion pictures. We have to drive the cartel to irrelevance. I do my share by using websites such as http://www.dmusic.com . I also check with site such as http://www.boycott-riaa.com to check a records’ “credit rating.” If the company is a member of RIAA, they have “poor credit” as far as I am concerned, and I don’t do business with them (I don’t buy their product.) When music appears on sites such as Dmusic, their credit rating is good, so I may very well buy it if I can find out where to send the money.