Browser Wars

Software developers around the world would love to knock off Microsoft from it's number one position of most used Internet Browser.

As of September 2005, Explorer held about 85% of the market. The next closest is Firefox with 9.5%, which is growing all the time. Followed by Mozilla (2%) then amounts below 1% for AOL, MSN, Netscape (once the top dog!) and Opera. These figures vary according to source, as much as saying Firefox has 30% of the market!

The rise of Firefox has been attributed to it's clean operation and built in security functions. I have recently changed to this browser and can vouch that it is faster.  There is also an anti Microsoft movement helping Firefox along, mostly from younger Internet surfers. Firefox security is also a product of its market share. Hackers aren't really interested in only hitting 10% of the world's computers, when you can get 85%! However, unlike Explorer, Firefox doesn't employ ActiveX which allows sites to install software onto your computer, sometimes without your knowledge. Once Firefox grows, the hackers will find a way though...

The other advantage of Firefox, Opera and Netscape is tab browsing. Instead of having a few windows open, each with a different site, you can have the one browser open, but with multiple pages open. All you do then is click on a tab at the top of the browser to switch between sites. Very handy.

So why do these companies want you to use their browser? It's rumored that the Mozilla Corporation which makes Firefox has made a cool $30million since signing a deal with Google. A Google search engine is built into the browser. So we're back to pay per click syndrome. And the good thing for Mozilla is they didn't even have to do all the work!

Firefox, OPera, Netscape and others are built on an 'open source' philosophy. First you develop a product, then you let other people all around the world edit and add to the code. So in effect, you can have thousands of people working on your product, for free. It's a quick way to get rid of bugs and evolve software.