Are you a Firefox user? Apparently, if you are you’re not alone. Sometime this year when I wasn’t paying attention Firefox rocketed to a new high. For over three years I watched as Firefox hovered between a 30–34% browser share. This month I was surprised to see that Firefox consistently exceeds 40% and is preparing to take over IE as the most popular browser.
Bits From Bill – August 2, 2009
A lot has changed in the past three years.
In June 2008 the release of Firefox 3.0 was a huge event. Mozilla set the Guinness world record for the most downloads in a single day. Over 8 million users downloaded Firefox 3 on Junes 17th, 2008. While it increased the credibility of Firefox the browser world was still dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
The release of Firefox 3.5 didn’t break records but it was successful in attracting new users. Most folks are happy with the increased performance of Firefox but the availability of Firefox add-ons has really helped push this open source browser over the top. When I asked my friends on Twitter for their reason for the switch to Firefox, add-ons was a consistent reply.
The stats above only reflect recent users to Bits From Bill. Some site will still show higher IE stats. Currently, WinPatrol.com shows IE users as 48% and Firefox as 35%. According to Harry McCracken, Firefox is also popular on sites which have a large number of Mac users.
“52 percent of Technologizer's visitors use Firefox. It's still growing in popularity all over the Web, but its usage is particularly high at sites with more experienced, sophisticated visitors. And it's especially likely to be popular at sites that cater to both Windows and Mac users, since Mac fans almost by definition are using a browser other than IE.”
Steve Bass: Ten More Super-Duper Firefox Add-Ons
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