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Microsoft Browser Usage Drops 50% As Chrome Soars (networkworld.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the living-off-the-Edge dept.

An anonymous reader quotes Network World's report about new statistics from analytics vendor Net Applications: From March 2015 to February 2017, the use of Microsoft's IE and Edge on Windows personal computers plummeted. Two years ago, the browsers were run by 62% of Windows PC owners; last month, the figure had fallen by more than half, to just 27%. Simultaneous with the decline of IE has been the rise of Chrome. The user share of Google's browser -- its share of all browsers on all operating systems -- more than doubled in the last two years, jumping from 25% in March 2015 to 59.5% last month. Along the way, Chrome supplanted IE to become the world's most-used browser...

In the last 24 months, Mozilla's Firefox -- the other major browser alternative to Chrome for macOS users -- has barely budged, losing just two-tenths of a percentage point in user share. [And] in March 2015, an estimated 69% of all Mac owners used Safari to go online. But by last month, that number had dropped to 56%, a drop of 13 percentage points -- representing a decline of nearly a fifth of the share of two years prior.

29 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Anti-Trust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Maybe it's time for DOJ to start taking a closer look at Google. They're using their browser quasi-monopoly to push a lot of other products and services.

    1. Re:Anti-Trust by Raenex · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Actually, they used their quasi-monopoly on search to push their browser. Anytime you visit Google with a non-Chrome browser it tries to push Chrome on you.

    2. Re:Anti-Trust by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Informative

      Perhaps in the future but unlike Microsoft who's goal was to make the web MS only. Google just want to push the standards so they can advertise more. They are not actively trying to stop Firefox users or even I.E. users from using their services. It is just that chime better support the standards and is fast.

      If you are old enough to remember the browser wars. Both Netscape and I.E. were putting in browser specific features. Netscape was using layers while I.E. pushed CSS. Also Active X which risked security over speed because it made the browser a window frame for their own application.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re:Anti-Trust by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 4, Informative

      You do realise that what you described from the bad old days is almost exactly what Google have been doing with Chrome for some time? The modern Google playbook seems to include custom protocols, supporting perma-beta or "living" standards that are implemented a certain way in Chrome but not actually supported or implemented quite the same way elsewhere, and dropping support for older but widely used functionality. How is this not like Microsoft's playbook from the end of the first big browser war?

      This comment is best viewed in Chrome with a bland, flat design (because there are so may bugs in our rendering that "advanced" CSS like gradients, shadows and rounded corners will break if you look at them the wrong way and they'll break differently in six weeks' time even if you work around the current issues).

      --
      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
    4. Re:Anti-Trust by Raenex · · Score: 3, Informative

      You prompted me to try it, went to Google's home page (with Firefox 45.7.0). What you claim did not happen. Sorry.

      Ok, I read the other comments, and verified that Google search still pushes Chrome. It just remembers if you say no (or it won't ask if you already have it). My link is to a screenshot of a private IE session (no saved cookies). There's a prompt in the upper-right that says, "Google works better with Chrome. Try it?" And two buttons: "NO THANKS" and "YES, GET CHROME".

  2. The Botnet Rises by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    We need a Bane of the browser world. Someone who will crash the web with no survivors!
    I'm sure the GNOME developers are up for the challenge.

  3. Vendors no longer require IE by mprindle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In years past to use some web based software supplied by vendor you HAD to use IE or it wouldn't work. It's more and more that vendors are not requiring IE and have gone one additional step. They now recommend a different browser like Chrome or FireFox. I have run across a few packages that almost refuse to render correctly in IE.

    1. Re:Vendors no longer require IE by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In years past to use some web based software supplied by vendor you HAD to use IE or it wouldn't work.

      Since Google chose to split their code base off from WebKit, my fear is we'll start seeing this with Chrome if it becomes too ubiquitous.

      I understand that the stated reason for doing this was to drive development of web standards forward... but, back in the day, Microsoft used similar language. It's not like anyone ever says "we're doing everything we can to force you to remain within our control".

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Vendors no longer require IE by nukenerd · · Score: 2

      In years past to use some web based software supplied by vendor you HAD to use IE or it wouldn't work.

      Or the website nagged you to use IE, even though it worked fine in other browsers. Back then, to get the website to STFU, non-IE users arranged spoofing to make the website think they were using IE even though they were not.

    3. Re:Vendors no longer require IE by Octorian · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In years past to use some web based software supplied by vendor you HAD to use IE or it wouldn't work.

      Since Google chose to split their code base off from WebKit, my fear is we'll start seeing this with Chrome if it becomes too ubiquitous.

      I'm pretty sure its already happening. Chrome is basically becoming the new MSIE. I see plenty of "internal" stuff that doesn't work well in Firefox, and there's a common attitude of looking at you funny for not using Chrome when you complain. I also see plenty of "check out our newly refreshed site design!" that's an unusably broken or sluggish POS if you're not using Chrome.

  4. Edge is a disgrace by geek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Since MS replaced IE with Edge and Edge isn't even remotely feature complete, buggy and extremely crash prone, it's no wonder people are rushing to alternatives.

    Firefox has all but given up trying to improve. That leaves Chrome and a plethora of browsers that use the Chrome rendering engine. We're going to see a one browser internet here pretty soon.

    1. Re:Edge is a disgrace by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      > Firefox has all but given up trying to improve.

      IDK, Firefox usage share hasn't budged an inch in the last two years and they've been making a lot of big changes. Going to 64 bit, moving to multi-process, consolidating the platforms for add-ons. And those are only a few of the changes they have been working on recently. People complain about how many sweeping changes Firefox is making, so how can you say they've given up?

    2. Re:Edge is a disgrace by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I love the "alt facts." Firefox has never caused me a hint of trouble on my computers unlike Chrome that eats up ALL available memory and slows things down to a crawl. Firefox IS improving. Some people just prefer to let ignorance rule their life view.

    3. Re:Edge is a disgrace by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

      I gave up on Firefox when they became Chrome Jr. and added a voice chat feature. Nobody asked for any of that.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    4. Re:Edge is a disgrace by jon3k · · Score: 4, Informative

      Firefox has all but given up trying to improve.

      You really don't know what you're talking about.

    5. Re:Edge is a disgrace by reboot246 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It still does. Right now Firefox is using "only" a half a gigabyte of memory, but if I don't restart it within a few hours, it will go to 1 GB, then 1.5 GB, then 2 GB. The machine starts slowing down and it's time to restart Firefox.

      I actually use several different browsers depending on what I'm doing online. For example, one is secured down tight for doing banking and buying online, another one is for shopping (but not buying) online (because it's faster), another one is for news and weather (without ads), etc.

    6. Re:Edge is a disgrace by Rufty · · Score: 2

      I can use Firefox for hours before I have to kill it to free memory. I can use Chrome for weeks before I have to kill it to free memory.

      --
      Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
    7. Re:Edge is a disgrace by Trogre · · Score: 2

      Don't forget tracking protection. That was a pretty big deal.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    8. Re:Edge is a disgrace by Trongy · · Score: 2

      I wasn't impressed by Mozilla adding the voice chat myself.

      However, they must have got the message, because Firefox removed the voice chat feature a couple of releases ago.

    9. Re:Edge is a disgrace by Waccoon · · Score: 2

      They've given up listening to community feedback, which effectively is the same as giving up on improvement.

      The Australis UI was a change, but not an improvement. Forced extension signing. Breaking multitudes of extensions with the multiprocessing updates, and soon they'll be replacing the existing extension framework entirely in favor of something Chrome-like -- that nobody actually wants and developers are livid about. Plugins are going away but Flash will be built-in, just like with Chrome. Memory usage and cycle-collect freezes haven't been addressed in 10 years. "Brand Experience." Have you heard about Lightspeed, the browser redesign that's not official (supposedly) but likely in the works anyway?

      Yeah, there's sweeping changes happening. What difference does that make if the community doesn't want them and Mozilla tells people to STFU and deal with it?

  5. Re:Edge for battery power by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    /rolls eyes

    Yea, okay, because websites are *totally* what's using all your battery and not the display brightness and flash/video plugins.

  6. Interesting side note by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I decided to RTFA. The article is actually about the 13% decline in Safari's user share on Mac - the IE/Edge plummet is just mentioned as a small side note. But the submitter spun it to be about MS's browser.

    Interestingly, the article says we can't know for certain what the users who've abandoned Safari have switched to... which seems odd. Sure, some Slashdotters may switch user agent strings... but it's hard to argue that average users do. So it should be a simple matter to determine if Chrome's Mac user base has increased commensurately.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  7. I have Excellent karma so I just want to say... by Quakeulf · · Score: 5, Funny

    F U C K C H R O M E

    1. Re:I have Excellent karma so I just want to say... by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Funny

      F U C K C H R O M E

      Fuckch Rome? Why are you bringing Rome into this discussion... are they heavy Chrome users? #Ambiguity

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  8. Few Extensions Makes Edge Unattractive by Mandrel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Although Edge supports extensions, and Chrome extensions can be easily ported, Microsoft still hasn't fully opened submissions to their extension gallery. At the moment you have to be invited to submit, and there are currently only 23 listed.

  9. Re:And why not? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What's left? Chrome.

    I recently switched to Pale Moon and I gotta say, I like it a lot. No memory leaks and the few key add-ons I need are there (NoScipt and Adblock).

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  10. Chrome == IE6 by Frankie70 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Chrome is at a position which IE6 used to be. They don't care.

    They first killed NPAPI plugs so that Java Applets don't work. So we moved to JNLP. Then they have a bug by which JNLP cannot be autolaunched in Chrome like it can in IE & Firefox. So if it's a weblaunched JNLP, users have to save the JNLP file & then run it which is troublesome for a lot of lay users. This bug exists for 4-5 years & there are multiple bug ids for it. But it never get fixed. Then there is another bug by which when you save the JNLP files after 99 JNLP files - no more can be saved & or run.

    Chrome doesn't care to fix these bugs because what do they lose if they don't fix it.

  11. No mention of nagging ads in Outlook? by shanen · · Score: 2

    At least none of my searches on those key terms found anything, though that's the main exposure to "Edge" that I've seen. Actually seems to be increasing lately. Not that I actually use Outlook. No compelling reason, and the negative feelings towards the google are not significantly different from my sentiments towards Microsoft.

    My feelings towards Edge are much worse, and the nagging isn't helping. However it seems that no one on Slashdot has noticed. Or maybe none of them are using Outlook.com or seeing any Edge plugs anywhere else?

    No funny posts either, but the target wasn't rich this time. Microsoft has become too boring to be funny.

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  12. Re:In other news... by unixisc · · Score: 2

    27% of microsoft users don't know how to install a program. Err sorry I mean app appiity app.

    Pretty irrelevant as far as this story goes, since both IE and Edge are pre-installed on every Windows that comes, and AFAIK, they are impossible to remove