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Mozilla: Browser Ballot Glitch Cost Us 9m Firefox Downloads
nk497 writes with this selection from PC Pro magazine: "Microsoft's failure to include the EU browser ballot in Windows 7 SP1 cost Mozilla as many as 9 million Firefox downloads, the organisation's head of business affairs revealed. Harvey Anderson said daily downloads of Firefox fell by 63% to a low of 20,000 before the ballot was reinstated, and after the fix, downloads jumped by 150% to 50,000 a day. Over the 18 months the ballot was missing, that adds up to six to nine million downloads — although it's tough to tell if the difference has more to do with Chrome's success or the lack of advertising on Windows systems. The EU is currently investigating the 'glitch,' and Microsoft faces a massive fine for failing to include the screen, which offers download details for different browsers to European Windows users, as part of measures ordered by the EU to balance IE's dominance." Reader Dupple points to coverage at ZDnet, too.
It's three days ago!
http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/10/31/178256/windows-browser-ballot-glitch-cost-firefox-6-9-million-downloads
Goodness, we just saw an almost exact same post yesterday. Are we that in need of news articles?
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Yes, we know. Soulskill already posted this story.
Christ timothy, are you really that incompetent?
Reader Bogtha points to coverage at Slashdot, too.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
Same submitter, even!
More than anything, I'm surprised this has taken so long to be brought up.
It's a massive irony I installed W7 last week and noticed this. I thought to myself "that's not right....where's my browser choice? Y'know...like M$ were ordered to display..." and it hits the news like the world only just discovered it with me.
And obnoxiously dumb the second time!
[Posted from Firefox installed on a non-European computer, which apparently violates the laws of physics since Firefox usage share is zero outside of Europe since we don't have a "browser ballot" to do our thinking for us here]
AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
Windows SEVEN???
Only took you 16 hours to post the same submission twice. http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/10/31/178256/windows-browser-ballot-glitch-cost-firefox-6-9-million-downloads
For those who seek perfection there can be no rest on this side of the grave.
Apparently timothy has a glitch as well affecting his selection of articles.
Time to offend someone
Not necessarily Microsoft that had people switching. Fire Firefox's ever growing memory footprint, and frequent update cycle that broke extensions are main reasons people stopped downloading FF.
If it wasn't for wallstreet and the constant need for "growth" quarter after quarter, I wonder how long it would be before Microsoft considers the cost of doing business in the EU to be too high to be worth it.
They were convicted of abusing a monopoly and have to pay for it, but the market is completely different today than it was back then. And as much as it would make some people here happy, is a market with just Apple, Linux and Google best for customers? In world that's quickly becoming a phone/tablet world, Microsoft won't have a majority marketshare for very long, and the barrier for entry is incredibly high for another player to replace them...
They're too shy to have ever descended?
about Mozilla using RIAA/MPAA math, read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Statistics. Lost downloads is a measurable metric and not the same as making up a dollar figure to scare a jury,
Another -10 points for dice.com
stop making a shitty browser instead of blaming it on other crap
Agents must have changed som...
NO CARRIER
Dupe submissions could easily be avoided if Timothy was happy - causing his brain to produce a level of gamma waves - specifically those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory.
while (true != false) process_more_stupid_code();
http://news.slashdot.org/story/12/10/31/178256/windows-browser-ballot-glitch-cost-firefox-6-9-million-downloads
stephen
... welcome our dupe posting overlord timothy.
Good is never enough, when you dream of being great!
does anyone else think this is sad that Moz is bringing up how many downloads it lost to this "glitch". It's like saying we totally depend on Microsoft to make our browser popular. Otherwise we have no chance against IE or Chrome.
Oh wait...
Not necessarily Microsoft that had people switching. Fire Firefox's ever growing memory footprint, and frequent update cycle that broke extensions are main reasons people stopped downloading FF.
Wow. What a load of nonsense, Firefox has a tiny footprint stop spreading this lie. As for the frequent update cycle, that may be an enterprise issue, but why would it be for a home user. I stopped looking at extensions breaking a long time ago. I think you would have a hard lime listing one popular addon that is not working under firefox 16.
Again http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-chrome-20-firefox-13-opera-12,3228.html Chrome does win these tests, but not on lies, but by being a great browser.
Sure it did.
Because the users who actually have a clue what Firefox even is can't go get it themselves.
What exactly is Mozilla's point here? Not like they lost any money as their browser is free.
Compliance forthcoming.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
Some posts are worth repeating. Perhaps not this one.
They feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule.
Personally, I find firefox is slow, kludgy, and generally a poor browser. Chrome outdoes it by far.
I'd hate to be Timothy, you guys are really savaging him. You've never fucked up at work before?
OTOH, like my old man always said, "one 'oh, shit' wipes out a whole bunch of 'attaboys'"
Free Martian Whores!
firefox you say.