Google Chrome?

[RuralWeb]

Can't yet see the point in Chrome

The point is ie8

[Duncan Rounding]

Absolutely - and given the marketing effect of placing a Chrome link on all the G home pages it has the potential of giving MS quite a run around.

[malbro]

I am genuinely intrigued as to why yarn buyers is such a high FF % though, it'd be good to know why.

I honestly never thought about it as I was under the impression that it fell in with published figures. I tend to take notice off exceptions rather than things that meet the 'rules'.

Can anyone else confirm the percentages?

[RuralWeb]

Can anyone else confirm the percentages

Im seeing an average of about 15% for FF across most sites with some as high as 20%. Usage of ie is definately dropping as this time last year FF was only about 6%

[Darren B]

I see a large variation in stats and i can identify the cause.

one is actually 50% for ff but thats because alot of work is being done online and ff is being used.

but on one busy site i am down to 9% but this i have put down to the market and others are at 17%, 15% and 16%

These are probably slightly up on last year, as mentioned a change to awstats to record chrome.

Interesting though ie6 is still showing at around 21% mark on a few sites. More than i expected actually

[gabrielcrowe]

my technical tuppence:

To shed some light on why chrome will be popular, you need to take a look at the reasons and logic behind their design descisions.

They uses webkit, an apple plaything, they did this for a few reasons:

- It can be compartmentalized easily in memory. the chrome browser keeps all your tabs in a separate memory process, a stroke of browser genius. This basically means that when you close a memory greedy tab (like youtube, and other heavy flash sites) the memory gets freed, in fact and entire process tree gets removed. This is great for 'hibernate' freaks like me, that tend to leave the browser open and hibernate my rig.

- Its open source. This means that google is playing the part of the good guy. People will flock to its offering. It also means that they can get help from the wider community, on their browser. Its a good business model.

- Android, googles mobile phone operating system, will most likely include everything they have learned from this chrome outing. You may not know this, but both chrome and the iphone browser are brothers, both based on webkit.

- Their own web apps run like a dream. Google has invented a browser that they have control over. They have to struggle to get FF and IE working with their apps, performance wise, since IE (even IE8) is such a dog when it comes to javascript execution. Chrome uses advanced JS tech to make their own apps rocket, and it really works. They are trying to take traditional web apps, and blur the line to allow them to become desktop apps, and its working.

I cant use chrome just yet, becasue it fails to render some sites i frequently visit, and has had some mad crashes. But I see great potential, and i reeally do hope that it gains acceptance, if only for this.

[Mike Hughes]

I think these stats probably give a reasonable picture of what's what. Based on over 250 million page views.

http://blog.statcounter.com/

Mike

[leehack]

I've just checked a few sites and FF certainly seems on the whole to have jumped up 5% or so this year. Many are mine are reporting between 15-22% now, so that has surprised me a little I must say.

My main concern on Chrome is whether in fact it takes some of the marketshare of IE, because there must be a danger of it mainly eating into the FF share. If we say that currently 20% of people are using FF, does this represent the total % of people who are prepared to use an alternative browser or does it reflect the exposure FF has currently managed?

Google and it's brand can get more exposure for their browser, but is the captive and willing audience out there for it? A browser shipped with the OS is always going to be very hard to challenge, should be good to see them trying though.

RIP Firefox? I guess so if the addon makers jump ship.

[RuralWeb]

My main concern on Chrome is whether in fact it takes some of the marketshare of IE, because there must be a danger of it mainly eating into the FF share

I think it will take some of ie users - ie8 will be an auto update which will result in googles pages looking crap and as 70%ish of users use Google they will not be happy. BUT Google have provided the answer they need with Chrome so they will simply need to press the Chrome download button to have everything back to normal.

MS are relying on site owners fixing thier sites to make ie8 work (last I heard - but things are changing all the time). The compatability function is not working well either for them.

Ie is also playing second fiddle to the iphone with its mobile offering and as sales of smartphones have rocketed recently Android is as Game says perfectly placed for this christmas.

[Darren B]

IE 8 is a pita and it definately needs alot of work, does some weird s**t with some sites

But it will be interesting to see what happens over the next 6 months

[RuralWeb]

the next 6 months

Sooner than that from what I have heard

[Darren B]

Nooooooooooooooooooooo

[RuralWeb]

Oooooo yes - just in time to cock it all up for christmas

[malbro]

Interesting though ie6 is still showing at around 21% mark on a few sites. More than i expected actually

For last month (Aug) my figures were 57% for IE7 and 20% for IE6. In September IE8 is starting to show but both IE7 and 6 are showing an increased share at the expense of firefox and others. Firefox is shifting from 2 towards 3 suggesting that firefox users are more mobile.

[Duncan Rounding]

I don't think that most users even know what a browser is. They just see internet explorer as the internet. Much as Google has become the portal for information. Be it good or bad IE8 will take the greater market share due to it being 'pushed' out.

Those using Firefox and other browsers are usually the more savvy folk and I agree would be most likely swayed again to another browser.

I would certainly expect gains in Chrome to be offset with losses to FF.

As Gabe mentioned Google's drive has got to be integration with their own online applications.