Archive for the ‘firefox’ Category

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Google Chrome Browser at 20% Market Share and Growing

Monday, July 11th, 2011

It originally must have seemed like an impossible quest. Starting a fight against the behemoth that is Internet Explorer. Even fighting for the #2 share against the ever-popular choice in the tech world, Mozilla Firefox.

Two years later, Google Chrome has reached 20.7% of global market share – up from only 2.8% in June 2009. In that same time period, Internet Explorer has fallen from 59% to 44%, while Firefox has dropped slightly, from 30% to 28%.

It’s officially a 3 man race, with only 1 competitor still gaining speed. And for those of us who use Google Chrome, it’s slightly confusing why more people haven’t switched. Do we need to start going door to door evangelizing the clearly better Internet navigator?

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Google Social Search Vaults Them Back to Market Leader

Monday, February 28th, 2011

I’ll be honest. With the way things were going, I would have put money down on Facebook being worth more than Google in 10 years. Crazy? Maybe. But, here was my line of thinking. That you value product and service recommendations from your friends far above product and service recommendations from random sources found through Google search results.

This can’t even be disputed, can it? So, I thought it was reasonable to believe that Facebook would figure out how to become a search engine as well.

Here was my short-sightedness. I didn’t realize that it was probably much easier for Google to incorporate this social data within its search results. To be fair (to me), that could be because Google wasn’t doing this. Until now, with the release of Google Social Search.

Now your social circle activity is marked with Google search returns. If your friend has “liked” that page, you’ll know, and be much more likely to click through. Granted, this only incorporates off-Facebook social – webpages that have a Facebook “like” button incorporated within it. But, it’s a big jump forward. And now with my money back on Google, they have 10 years to figure out the rest.

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Posted in Google, Search-Engine-Optimization, Social Media, firefox | No Comments »

Online Ads Know More and More About You

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Maybe you’ve seen an advertisement on Facebook that says “Your friend Joe Smith liked X”. Using your personal network to establish familiarity. It’s not just a random local business trying to get my attention. My friend Joe must like their smoothies.

This is a powerful tactic. And it’s spreading. But so are the cries for privacy this technology may be breaching. Google and Mozilla have recently introduced ways to exclude yourself from this sort of advertising, a “do not track” feature similar to what cookies do on your browser. Bravo to these companies for stepping up and giving customers looking for privacy to ability to find it online.

However, for the rest of us, the power of social may be more helpful than scary. Using my friend’s behavior I trust to help make my local online decisions? That’s valuable. I’m keeping it.

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Posted in Google, Social Media, facebook, firefox, local advertising | No Comments »

Is the Web Getting Their Own “Do Not Call” List?

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

As privacy concerns online are becoming more and more public, Mozilla is looking to take the industry lead with a “do not track” browser feature. This feature would allow Firefox users to automatically opt-out of any third-party ad-based tracking.

How would this work? A user would click to every new page in their search session through a “do not track” HTTP header. And Mozilla hopes that this system becomes a universal method for safer and more anonymous web browsing.

The problem with this feature is that not only would users have to opt into this, but the actual sites would too. And while major sites will probably adopt these features, the sites you might be the most nervous about abusing your information are probably never going to.

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Chrome Market Share Doubles in 2010

Friday, January 14th, 2011

At the end of 2010, Chrome had just shy of 10% market share, double from their less than 5% market share at the end of 2009. Great growth numbers from the fastest growing browser out there.

How are they doing it? Well, they utilized their own line of laptops, the Cr-48, that runs solely on the Chrome browser. And they also developed the “Chrome for a Cause” promotion that incentivized people’s use of the platform. Not to mention the fact that for all intents and purposes, it’s the best browser out there – in terms of speed, security, openness and more.

So, how did its competition do this year? Internet Explorer dropped from 63% to 57% last year, while Firefox shrank from 25% to 23%. So, even while the numbers look good, Chrome’s still only half of Mozilla. So, there’s still some work to do.

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71% of Internet Users Surf with Up-to-Data Browsers

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

A recent report from Pingdom shows that, on average, 71% of Internet users surf the Web using the latest version of their browser. That aggregate average includes Google Chrome leading the way at 91%, all the way down to Internet Explorer, with 60%.

But before you give Chrome too much credit and think you better start upgrading your browser every 6 weeks like they do, it is important to note that Chrome upgrades get handled automatically in the background.

Overall, when you see 71% and think, “that’s good”, we also have to note that Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox haven’t been officially updated in a long time. (Although you can be experiencing both right now through their beta releases.) And a month after Internet Explorer 9 and Mozilla Firefox 4 officially release, it would be fascinating to see these stats again.

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Mozilla Introduces Build-Your-Own Browser

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Firefox 4, originally scheduled for a late 2010 release has now been delayed until early 2011. Not great news when the browser most eating into their market share, Chrome, is releasing new stable versions every 6 weeks.

Now, the reason for the delay is so that Firefox 4 can release major improvements, including an entire interface redesign, HTML5 support, multi-touch functionality and more. But, playing catch-up isn’t a great market position. And perhaps that’s why Mozilla is seeking to find their comparative advantage with their announcement of the “Chromeless” project.

This experimental project will allow Web developers to create their own browser interfaces, using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more. Now, that’s the Mozilla we remember. The one that Web developers embrace, because it gives them more freedom than anyone else. And the ability to customize and create your very own Web browser is the very definition of freedom.

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Google Chrome Triples Market Share Over Past Year

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Google Chrome is going to become the #1 browser in the world over time. That sounds presumptuous, doesn’t it?

But, over the last year, Google Chrome has jumped from a 3.7% to a 11.5% market share. That’s huge, and what’s even more telling, is that Mozilla Firefox’s share is unchanged over that same time period at 31%, while Internet Explorer has dropped from 58.4% to 49.9%, it’s first non-majority share in decades.

Why is Google Chrome succeeding so heavily? Well, it has a a good brand name, obviously. People trust Google. And Google keeps growing. But more importantly, Chrome is simply better than its competition.

It’s faster. More reliable. And more secure. And with new extensions in the Google Chrome extensions gallery coming out every day, Chrome may win Web developers over, too.

Plus, as the default browser for Google TV and other Google products, it almost seems like a long-term inevitability, doesn’t it? Good thing it’s also the best browser out there.

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Internet Explorer 9 Now Available for Download

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Let’s be honest. Internet Explorer has been winning the browser war for the past decade simply based on their first-to-market strategy. Most people learned on it. Most people stay with what they’ve learned.

But lately, Microsoft has become eager to embrace aesthetics and ease of use – targeting the average user and not just the programmer. And you can see that with Internet Explorer 9. They’re even releasing the new browser under the domain name, www.beautyoftheweb.com. They don’t want to be Grandpa Clunky anymore.

And with this new release, they just might change user opinion. Because reports are showing that not only is Internet Explorer 9 faster than IE 8, but faster than Mozilla Firefox as well. (IE 9 still loses in speed tests to Chrome, Safari and Opera.)

Users can now pin sites to the Windows 7 taskbar, just like the new Google Chrome allows. And your pinned sites can actually ping you back, when the site has been updated. Sort of like an in-dash Google Reader alternative? IE 9 also supports HTML5 and will be compatible with the latest state-of-the-art Web experiences as interactive media evolves. The one trick, you must have Windows 7 or Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 to run Internet Explorer 9. It is not compatible with Microsoft XP.

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5 Reasons Why Google Chrome Makes Switching Browsers Worth It

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Your techie friends have probably been talking about Google Chrome for a while. Why it’s better. Why you should switch. And perhaps it’s their insistence that makes you not want to switch.

But, honestly, after 2 years since it’s original release, Google Chrome is definitively the best browser out there. In terms of speed, reliability and aesthetics. Plus, with a growing extensions list (still behind Firefox’s, but more intuitive to use), here are five reasons why it’s time to make your techie friends happy and make the switch.

1. Multiple home pages.

It’s silly to think you’re just going to hang out on your home page throughout your entire Web experience. You’re going to check your e-mail. You’re going to check your stocks. You’re going to check your fantasy team. You’re going to utilize search. So, why not have all of these pages automatically load upon start-up? Well, now you can.

2. Pin tabs on the browser.

This is an awesome new feature. And Microsoft is already incorporating it within their new Internet Explorer. What pinning” does is allow you to save room on your tabs, by shrinking the tab down to the size of the favicon icon itself. Your browsing experience will become instantly easier, and keeping track of your tabs has never been less confusing.

3. “App” your favorite sites.

This is a weirder one. Chrome is getting on the app train and letting you save individual sites as quick-link icons you can access directly from your desktop or menu bar. The benefit of this is that the site will open in a separate window without navigation, so it feels like an app. Some people love this. Judge for yourself.

4. Favicon-only bookmarks bar.

This offers the same benefit of “pinning” your tabs to the menu bar. Simplify your bookmarks menu and fit more on your toolbar.

5. Save your settings.

Sync up your Chrome settings, bookmarks and more so that you can have the same browsing experience at home, at work and anywhere else.

And all of these cool features that make browsing with Chrome simply more fun than Firefox or Internet Explorer ignore the most important reasons of speed and reliability, which Chrome also holds the trump card with. Bottom line: Make the switch. Google Chrome is awesome, and getting better by the month.

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