Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Firefox Hits 80,000,000 Downloads

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the thats-a-lotta-bits-and-bytes dept.

asa writes "It's been nine months since the release of Firefox 1.0 and with tens of millions of users we most certainly are taking back the web. Today our Firefox web browser hit the 80,000,000 downloads mark. You can see the live counter over at SpreadFirefox.com."

9 of 329 comments (clear)

  1. Obvious question by syntaxglitch · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...how many of those downloads are unique users, vs. prior users downloading a new version?

    1. Re:Obvious question by Omnieiunium · · Score: 5, Interesting

      That is what I thought as well. I know many times I have re-installed Mozilla / Firefox by just re-downloading the install file from that site. I have also done this on multiple computers. So I have easily contributed to at least 20 of those downloads despite being only one person.

    2. Re:Obvious question by CarlinWithers · · Score: 5, Insightful
      This topic has been discussed a good dozen times already on slashdot. The same conclusion is reached every time.

      The long and the short of it is that nobody knows for sure. The point isn't exactly what the number means (80 000 000 unique downloads vs. 80 000 000 downloads by a crazed fan), but that the number is increasing, and therefore so much Firefox use to some extent.

      Personally I've been installing it on customer's systems for a few weeks now as a way to beat spyware. Some of them adopt it, some of them don't. But those who do adopt constitute an increase in Firefox use.

    3. Re:Obvious question by Eric+Coleman · · Score: 5, Informative

      If you download firefox with the firefox browser you are NOT counted. Same goes for the update mechanism in the browser, you're not counted with that.
      This number is simply a metric which happens to be number of downloads. This is not the number of users. No one ever says that, although people seem to misinterpret the download count to mean active users.
      The download number is simply a way to guage the software's popularity. And if I may say so, 80000000 downloads is a good start!

    4. Re:Obvious question by mr_gerbik · · Score: 5, Funny

      And will be discussed a dozen times over and over again because slashdot editors insist in publishing every single download milestone firefox reaches.

      To be fair, Slashdot editors take a break from telling us about Firefox milestones every once in a while to give us the news that someone at Google just farted.

  2. Re:80,000,000 downloads... by AngryElmo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    On the other hand, I've probably downloaded it as many times as you (maybe a few less), but I've installed it on 900 PC's as the default browser...

  3. Wow by PunkOfLinux · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's almost as many downloads as Windows XP Pro!

    --
    Show this to your friends and family that don't know what a real hacker is
  4. Re:I've downloaded it 12 times. by JoeBar · · Score: 5, Funny

    are we supposed to know who Liz is?

  5. Re:In other news.... by Dolda2000 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Firefox is just way too dumbed down for my taste, last time I looked.
    Of course, you're free to use the Mozilla Suite however much you may want, but what has happened to Firefox isn't that it has been "dumbed down". It has simply been made a web browser, which I think is A Good Thing.

    Seamonkey (the Mozilla Suite), however useful, isn't exactly "well designed" in that it's too monolithical. If you want the web browser, you get the e-mail client, calendar, Usenet client and fries on the side with it, whether you want to or not. For those of us using other programs for mailing/Usenet posting/calendaring/whatever-else, that's just a waste of resources.

    The same thing goes for the plug-in architecture of Firefox. Those who don't want/need mouse gestures don't have to waste resources on them, for example. The plug-ins also allow for a more distributed development model, since people can contribute Firefox functionality as a plug-in, without having to contribute the code to the Mozilla Foundation.

    As for Firefox going submarine, that's not going to happen. The Firefox/Thunderbird/Sunbird suite is the official replacement of Seamonkey, which will stop being developed after a certain point (I don't remember when, however). And then there's the issue if why they'd actaully want to do that...