Firefox's market share is falling and the funding of Mozilla, the organisation that develops it, has been questioned. What next for the open source browser, asks Christopher Williams.
A small but significant coup has reordered the power politics of the internet in recent days. Googleââ¬â¢s Chrome browser, first introduced only three years ago, has usurped a rival to become the worldââ¬â¢s second-favourite way to access the web.
Some 25.7 per cent of web traffic now comes from the Young Turk, according to independent figures. Its only remaining superior in market share terms is Microsoftââ¬â¢s Internet Explorer, the leader of the browser pack since time immemorial (well, 1999), now on 40.6 per cent.
On currents trends a confrontation between Google and Microsoft for top spot will probably happen in the next few years, but for now attention is focused on the future of Mozilla Firefox, the browser Chrome usurped to take second place.
Firefox now has a 25.2 per cent share of the worldwide market according to StatCounter, a web analysis firm. Measuring such things online is an inexact science, and other analysts offer slightly different assessments. All agree on the trends, however, prompting questions over Firefoxââ¬â¢s chances of keeping pace with two fiercely competitive commercial rivals.
The outlook is at least worrying for Firefox, which like Chrome and Internet Explorer is free (as in beer) to download, but unlike them is developed on a not-for profit basis along free (as in speech) software principles of openness.
Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8941445/Is-Firefox-in-trouble.html
A small but significant coup has reordered the power politics of the internet in recent days. Googleââ¬â¢s Chrome browser, first introduced only three years ago, has usurped a rival to become the worldââ¬â¢s second-favourite way to access the web.
Some 25.7 per cent of web traffic now comes from the Young Turk, according to independent figures. Its only remaining superior in market share terms is Microsoftââ¬â¢s Internet Explorer, the leader of the browser pack since time immemorial (well, 1999), now on 40.6 per cent.
On currents trends a confrontation between Google and Microsoft for top spot will probably happen in the next few years, but for now attention is focused on the future of Mozilla Firefox, the browser Chrome usurped to take second place.
Firefox now has a 25.2 per cent share of the worldwide market according to StatCounter, a web analysis firm. Measuring such things online is an inexact science, and other analysts offer slightly different assessments. All agree on the trends, however, prompting questions over Firefoxââ¬â¢s chances of keeping pace with two fiercely competitive commercial rivals.
The outlook is at least worrying for Firefox, which like Chrome and Internet Explorer is free (as in beer) to download, but unlike them is developed on a not-for profit basis along free (as in speech) software principles of openness.
Full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8941445/Is-Firefox-in-trouble.html
