There’s a lot of buzz about Google taking its Chrome browser out of beta. Now, the question is whether Chrome has what it takes to become the next Firefox, let alone the next Internet Explorer.
Like Ars Technica suggests, Chrome is a viable contender in the browser market but there are no guarantees it’s going to become popular even with Google’s marketing/brand muscle behind it.
So far, I’ve yet to get the sense that Chrome has truly resonated with a lot of users. Sure, there are people who love the no-frills, streamlined approach but Chrome doesn’t appear to be loved in the same way that Firefox users love the spunky-little-browser-that-could.
Perhaps the difference lies in the fact that Firefox is a classic underdog - open source, developed and supported...
Microsoft Watch’s Joe Wilcox must believe in conspiracy theories, that there was a mysterious shooter in Dallas on the grassy knoll, and that aliens landed in New Mexico.
How else to explain his contention that Google’s Chrome browser is going to kill Firefox based on the fact Google accounts for 80% of Mozilla’s revenue through a referral partnership that lasts until 2011.
Wilcox contends Google is going to shove aside Firefox because it’s still unhappy with how much market share Internet Explorer still holds. To effectively deal with the evil Microsoft/IE forces, Wilcox believes Google will aggressively push Chrome forward while shoving aside Firefox in a nice way.
It’s a nice argument even though it makes little sense. But then Wilcox blow it up at the end...
I’m trying to pay attention to what’s going on at WordCamp Toronto but squeezed in a few minutes to highlight a couple of interesting things discovered on the Web this week.
In doing a search for The Guardian, this was the first result on Google. It’s search within search.
As Flock continues its battle for a foothold in the browser market, it seems to be focusing more on meeting the needs of niches. Here’s Flock’s browser for the fashion/entertainment world.
It’s a smart strategy given the competitive landscape but not sure it’s going to work. Then again, it seems to be a better route than trying to be all social media all the time.
Technorati Tags: flock, google...
It looks like the latest version of Firefox (3.0.2) may not be ready for prime time. Lots of complaints that extensions that aren’t compatible and disappearing bookmarks.
You figure Firefox would be at its best behavior now that Chrome’s on the scene and looking for any chance possible to lure Firefox users over to the dark side.
Technorati Tags: firefox...
It’s only been a few weeks since Google unleashed Chrome but the buzz seems to have pretty much evaporated.
There are probably happy Chrome users but given the excitement about its debut, the Web’s newest browser (the one that was going to reignite the browser wars) appears to have fallen flat. You don’t hear people raving about Chrome or blog extolling its virtues.
Is Chrome a dud?
Well, you could argue Chrome is under-whelming. Without many bells and whistles, Chrome is like being asked to drive a Chevy Cavalier as opposed to a fully-loaded BMW. Other than the novelty factor, there are few reasons to embrace Chrome right now.
Of course, it would be unwise to dismiss Chrome as another Froogle (aka Google Product Seach). With Chrome, Google has dipped its toe in the...
After years and years of using Internet Explorer as my main browser to access the Internet, I recently switched to the latest version of Firefox – yes, I liked it that much. I also recently downloaded Internet Explorer 8 to see what it was all about, but it couldn't hold a candle to Firefox. Then, I downloaded Google's new Chrome browser and was quite disappointed. Of the three browsers, it is the worst. For starters, there is no button on the toolbar that allows you to go back to your preset home page. Why anyone would create a browser...
Yeah, I promised not to talk about Chrome for awhile but I’ll ask for a Chrome exemption to look at how Firefox can learn from the mistakes Netscape made in the late-1990s when it fumbled and stumbled and, eventually, lost its dominance of the fledgling browser market to Internet Explorer.
This stems from comments made yesterday by Marc Andreessen, who co-founded Netscape, about Chrome (He likes it but you wouldn’t expect him to say otherwise publicly, would you.)
1. Mozilla must not get complacent. For whatever reason, Netscape thought its first-mover advantage and status as an investor darling would be enough to maintain and increase consumer loyalty. But Netscape got lazy and, sadly, Navigator got worse at a time when it needed to get much better to compete with Internet...
I promise this will be my last post about Chrome for awhile, but one thing that has struck me since the world’s newest browser was unveiled on earlier this week is what took Google so long to do it.
In Wired’s “Inside Chrome” story, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is seen as being anti-browser when the idea was raised by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 2001. “I did not believe that the company was strong enough to withstand a browser war,” he said. “It was important that our strategic aspirations be relatively under the radar.”
Schmidt’s reluctance can be somewhat understood given Google was still relatively small in 2001 but it is strange that it took until 2006 until the browser project was finally given the green light.
So what changed?
Was...
Chrome is definitely new and worth checking out but I’ve decided not to get too excited about it.
How come?
First, I’m having trouble installing it on the two Windows laptops in my house, which is a long story that has nothing to do with my broadband connection or willingness to install it.
Second, the one lesson I’ve learned from being a beta whore over the past few years is if you’re happy with the application you’re currently using, then think twice about trying out something else simply because it’s new. The same approach could be embraced when it comes to upgrades that promise more features but, quite often, headaches as well.
Bottom line: I really like Firefox. I like how it performs, including the new features in Firefox 3.0; I like how I can...
If you listen to the fine folks at Google, they universally love Firefox. In fact, many of them agonized over Google’s decision to create its own browser because they didn’t want to damage the scrappy open-source rival that has given IE fits. (Wired has the inside story of Chrome’s creation.)
Nevertheless, Google decided it had no choice but to develop Chrome. Now the question is how badly will Chrome damage Firefox. Will Firefox users abandon ship because Chrome is simply shiny and new? Or will Chrome be a novelty for Firefox users who love the ability to personalize Firefox more than Chrome’s no-frills look and feel.
The other consideration is financial given referral revenue from Google accounted for more than 80% of Mozilla’s $66.8-million revenue in...
By now, Google Chrome’s features are being closely dissected but one thing that struck me about the press conference earlier today was the focus on a feature called InCognito, which lets computer users have private surfing sessions that leave no tracks of where they’ve been and what they’ve done.
InCognito comes hot on the heels of a feature within IE8 Beta called InPrivate that lets you do the exact same thing. It’s anonymous surfing.
What I want to know is what people are doing that has compelled Google and Microsoft to roll out InCognito, which features a private detective icon, and inPrivate.
Are far more people than we think enjoying online porn? Are people trying to protect their eBay activity? Is Ashley Madison becoming all the rage within our increasingly...
One of the big online mysteries has been Google’s lack of its own Web browser.
You figure with the never number of online services coming out of the GoogleSphere, that a browser would be a no-brainer. Yet, Google has sat on the sidelines while supporting/financing Firefox as its browser proxy.
Now, there are reports (and I stress “reports”) Google is finally getting into the browser game with a project called Chrome. I’ll leave the nitty-gritty details to Google Blogoscoped but strategically this is a logical and smart move by Google.
If cloud computing is going to be how applications are offered, then the browser is the next OS. By having a browser, Google moves right into the core of cloud computing, along with Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, etc....
I went to a Microsoft event last night, and one of the things we talked about during drinks afterwards was what Mozilla does with all of the money it makes from driving search traffic to Google. The little search box in the upper right-hand sided of Firefox is Mozilla’s cash-cow because Google pays Mozilla a reference fee.
And we’re not talking nickels and dimes. In 2006, the Mozilla Foundation made a $47-million profit on revenue of $66.8-million. That’s a sweet profit margin of about 70%.
So, what does Mozilla do with all this cash given it’s a non-profit organization in which its development efforts are fueled by the open source community?
The upside for computer users is Mozilla isn’t sitting on its pile of cash. Instead, it’s got a growing number...
Not too long ago, users accessing the Internet via the Firefox browser accounted for only 10 to 13 per cent, while Microsoft's Internet Explorer was still the invincible number one (based on visitor stats for this site). Now, however, things have really shifted in favour of Firefox: on average, 70 per cent of this site's readers use Firefox, with Internet Explorer managing only 19 per cent or so on a "good day". I have also switched to Firefox as my main browser, and I really like Firefox 3.0.1 so far. It really is faster than Internet Explorer, I find,...
For whatever reason, I’m fascinating with Flock.
Perhaps it has to do with the tremendous amount of hype Flock received before launching a couple of years ago. Its unveiling was a disaster with an alpha that should probably never have seen the light of day. For all intents and purposes, Flock should have been dead in the water.
Rather than fade away, Flock kept on moving forward by introducing an array of new features and raising another $15-million of venture capital. In a sense, it has evolved from being the “social browser” to the “Swiss Army” browser given you can do pretty much everything and anything.
Yet, Flock has never really resonated with the digerati. It’s a browser many people have downloaded but rarely use. In fact, I’ve never come...
Everyone likes something shiny and new so it didn’t come as much surprise to see eight million people download Firefox 3 - spurred on by a brilliant campaign by Mozilla to break a world record for downloads in a single day.
While Firefox is becoming more popular, the reality is people who enthusiastically downloaded as soon as it was released into the wild may have been suckered. Among the issues is a security problem discovered by Tipping Point DVLabs that Mozilla will have to plug soon with a 3.0.1 release.
As well, many people who downloaded Firefox 3 were surprised to discover that some of their extensions/add-ons - the mini-features you can download to customize and personalize Firefox - don’t work yet.
And then there’s the location bar that has drawn heavy...
…and declared that Firefox 3 “is the best Web browser out there right now, and that it tops the current versions of both IE and Safari in features, speed and security”, does that mean Firefox will really, really burst into the mainstream and start to eat Internet Explorer’s lunch?
According to Net Applications Inc., Firefox will likely hit 20% of the browser market next month after ending May at 18.4%. Given Mossberg is an influential tech observer and Firefox is getting very good reviews, how long will it take before Firefox reaches 25% market share? It’s probably sooner than you think, although it does appear Mozilla has some more work to do on Firefox before it’s really ready for prime time.
You can get hold of Firefox 3 release candidate 2 here....
When someone mentioned last week that Flock, the much-loved but second-tier Web browser, had raised $15-million in venture capital, my immediate reaction was “Really!”
Despite Flock’s continued improvement, growing number of users and its drive to become the social networking browser, it was still a surprise to see it attract so much money, led by Fidelity Ventures.
Based on the press release, the rationale for the investment is that “there are currently over 230 million members of social networks globally, and revenues are projected to reach $2.4 billion by 2012″. Translation: Flock could become an interesting business if it can roll out new features and capture more market share.
With Flock revitalized, Firefox 3.0, Internet Explorer 8.0 looming on the...
In reading Sebastien Provencher’s excellent post on Twitter becoming the “New Facebook” last week, there was one sentence cited from The Register that jumped out:
“On Facebook, behaviour seems much the same; join, accumulate dozens of semi-friends, spy on a few exes for a bit, play some Scrabulous, get bored, then get on with your life, occasionally dropping in to respond to a message or see some photos that have been posted.”
While Facebook is getting an increasingly amount of attention these days amid reports of Facebook Fatigue (as well as the Sarah Lacy-Zuckerberg SWSX “train wreck” interview) a more accurate assessment is Facebook is ust following a well-traveled path in which new services come out of nowhere to achieve tremendous buzz and...
So, IE8 ready to be unleashed into private beta.
Question: will IE8 be able to fend off Firefox, which now has now has more than 15% market share?
Firefox has a few key elements going for it: momentum, a great brand and a thriving ecosystem happy to develop extensions/add-ons to make Firefox make useful. As well, the increasingly profitable Mozilla Foundation is getting more aggressive strategically - and even getting serious about taking Thunderbird along for the ride.
Should be interesting to see IE8 vs. Firefox 3.0.
Source: Janco Associates
Technorati Tags: Browsers, Firefox, IE8...
2008 should be an interesting year for Web browsers.
Microsoft is hoping to keep Firefox from taking even more market share with the launch of IE8, while increasingly-profitable Mozilla Foundation is putting the final touches on Firefox 3.0 to maintain the assault on IE. Meanwhile, Flock continues to carry on - finally earning kudos from critics but seemingly struggling to attract users.
So what else can we expect from Web browsers in 2008? Will IE be enough of an improvement that it will force Firefox to take a step backward? Will Firefox 3.0 will be so good that it can climb to 15% to 20% of the market? Will Flock ever be embraced? And what of Opera, Maxthon, Safari, Camino, OmniWeb, Konqueror, Galeon, Netscape et al?
Is this the year that Google finally launches the GBrowser? Will...
Sad news from the browser world as AOL has finally decided to stop development of Netscape.
Actually, it’s not sad at all given Netscape has become irrelevant in recent years as usage as declined and Firefox has replaced it as the alternative to IE. It’s only sad because Netscape ruled the browser market once upon a time before allowing Microsoft to steal its thunder and most of its users.
So what does AOL do with Netscape now it has officially decided to walk away? How about selling the assets to Facebook, which should seriously think about launching the FBrowser in 2008? Netscape’s technology ain’t much to write home about given AOL has been ignoring it for far too long but it still has plenty of users.
Then again, if I were Facebook, I’d probably be more...
Stuff that caught my eye this week….
1. A-lister blogger Fred Wilson complained about Techmeme going mainstream and his disappearance off the Techmeme 100. This prompted a couple commenters to recommend alternatives such as TechWatching and popurls. I’m sure there are others. If you know some, pipe up.
2. Anyone really believe Facebook could get into the browser business? I do. In fact, I predict Facebook will buy Flock to create the FBrowser. Just remember, you heard it here first. By the way, how often do you change you Facebook user status? You can participate in a poll here - provided by polldaddy, a very cool polling service.
3. Razzle.ca launches. Canada finally has a deal of the day site - a la Woot. Maybe this is a sign Canadian e-commerce is gaining more momentum....
For all the speculation about Google launching a browser (aka the GBrowser), what about Facebook doing it?
Is it a crazy, far-fetched idea? Maybe, maybe not. Among other things, Facebook wants to establish itself as a platform for other services and applications. In some ways, that sounds a lot like a browser. Facebook is all about getting people to spend lots of time using it, which is what many people do every day using a browser.
So how could Facebook get into the browser biz. Easy: it could snap up Flock with some of its Microsoft cash.
Flock? You mean the browser that wants to be all things to all people? The social browser? Yup, that’s the one.
The idea struck after reading Daily Bits’ mixed review of Flock 1.0. This sentence jumped out at me: “The bits of Flock...
I think Rob Hyndman has cursed me. After reading about his Leopard woes, I politely commiserated but privately was thankful my install of Leopard had been problem-free.
Today, however, my MacBook isn’t quite the same - and I’m not sure why. For some reason, Firefox (2.0.0.9) has gone pear-shaped on me. In particular, many of my toolbars (1Password, Digg, del.icio.us) have disappeared. When I click on View, Toolbar; the only options are Navigation Toolbar and Bookmarks Toolbar.
This could be a Firefox bug or a Leopard bug but I haven’t been able to figure it out. The only change I made to the MacBook was the creation of an application stack that included Firefox.
I’m stumped so if anyone can help, I’d be most appreciative.
Technorati Tags: Firefox, Leopard...
Just out of curiosity, I checked out the list of companies slated to appear at the TechCrunch40 conference (aka The New Demo) this week.
There are some pretty intriguing names (e.g. PowerSet, mEGO), a bunch I’ve never heard about, and one name familiar to many people: Flock.
Yup, the “social” Web browser that burst onto the scene into late-2005 with an highly-anticipated alpha that was nowhere close to be ready. The browser was savaged, forcing the company to lick its wound and head back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, the rest of the tech world learned about the perils of coming out of the gate too soon, particularly with a product with a variety of features.
In the past two years, Flock has kept a low profile. Meanwhile, Firefox has grabbed more than 10% of the...
I’m not sure whether this is the right phrase but do consumers have a bad case of “upgrade fatigue” when it comes to Microsoft software? Look at Internet Explorer, which has seen its market share decline to about 80% in the U.S. while Firefox has climbed to 14%, according to WebSideStory and Net Applications. This is despite the fact IE7 has Firefox-ized itself by adding such as tabs so you can open multiple Web sites at the same time. Are people moving to Firefox because it’s better and/or cooler, or are they simply tired of IE?
While there’s no Firefox in the operating system world (sorry, Mac and Linux supporters), there doesn’t seem be much buzz about Vista’s impending launch. While I haven’t drilled down into Vista yet, there appears...
There's a lot of excitement about Firefox 2.0 (although it seems muted compared with 1.5) but I have no plans to jump on the bandwagon quite yet despite the new version's better security and better speed. Why not? It mostly has to do with the compatibility of extensions. Why would I want to jump to FF 2.0 if some of my FF 1.5 extensions won't work? It would be like buying a new car with a better motor but the headlights and speedometer don't work. For now, I'll stick with FF 1.5. Who knows, I may even try IE7....
After months of anxious anticipation, Internet Explorer 7 is finally available. Now, we can abandon those pesky open-source browsers that have kept IE from cementing its domination of the market. I can't wait to uninstall Firefox, Flock and Opera. No more worrying about cool extensions and plug-ins from an army of developers, no more worry about Web sites that just don't look quite right, and finally no more guilt about trying to be one of those people who seeks out Microsoft alternatives. If I were you, I'd rumble over to IE7's download site immediately. Can it only be a matter of time before Firefox's 10% to 12% share of the browser market returns to a more reasonable level - say 2% to 3%? Then, we'd be back to normal again with a true king and lots of little wannabes...
Sorry, one more G-Thought. Now that Google Apps is out in the wild, the inevitable question is when Google will launch a browser. I mean, it can't hide behind Firefox forever, right?...