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StatCounter Blasts Microsoft's Claim About IE Still Being the Number 1 Browser

Posted by Soulskill on from the browser-election-recount dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Do you remember when Microsoft tried to claim that Internet Explorer was still the most-used browser by accusing StatCounter of using a flawed methodology? Well, StatCounter has just posted a response that walks through a number of errors and omissions in Microsoft's reasoning. They (rather politely) explain the importance of sample size, discuss the value of page view counts versus unique visitor counts, and explain the difference between their methodology and that of Net Applications."

9 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. Ok... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    So if we're going to defend their browser stas then we're also going to stop denying their stats at show Linux has about 1-2% marketshare, right?

    1. Re:Ok... by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That seems about right for linux desktop market share. Who is claiming it is not?

      Now claiming that includes all the servers out there can't be right.

    2. Re:Ok... by Penguinisto · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, if you want to be pedantic, for ever PC sold these days, there are simply thousands of embedded devices sold - a market which is pretty much owned by Linux and *nix variants.

      As for how many browse online? Hard to say, though most if not all the Android installs do.

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  2. Who cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Isn't this site supposed to be "stuff that matters"? This is a worthless story. Who cares?

  3. Sample size by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    237 out of 237 Microsoft employees recommend Internet Explorer

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    1. Re:Sample size by DECula · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I wonder how many bots are using IE user agent strings this week.

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  4. Re:The reason is simple by oakgrove · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Android browser does not represent itself as Chrome unless you actually install Chrome. And even then it represents itself as Chrome on Android so, no, StatCounter did not count Android in their stats.

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  5. Re:OK, so you're both full of it by oakgrove · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The stats from just one website, in this case your employer's, are meaningless. I'm not sure what combination of words I have to use to make it plain to you why that is the case. Is English your first language as I can give it a shot in some other tongue if that is necessary.

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  6. Reality: by sehryan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The reality is that those numbers don't really matter if you already have a website.

    You can easily run stats on YOUR OWN WEBSITE and get the browser breakdown that you should be worried about.

    For one of my primary sites, all version of IE beat out Firefox or Chrome. When split apart, Firefox and Chrome are 1 and 2, with IE8 coming in third.

    And now that I think about it, knowing who is first or second is pretty much irrelevant. What matters is the percentage of users who are still using browser version that suck to support. So really, what I care about is where my IE7 and IE6 usage is, and at what point is it okay for me to walk away from those users.

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