Why Browser Dominance Matters

[Zingam]

[citation][nom]agnickolov[/nom]So is Google really the new Microsoft? Proprietary HTTP sounds an awful lot like proprietary ActiveX... Expect EU to sue Google over this in a few years (if they take the browser lead that is).[/citation]

Well, the only good thing that MS has done for the internet,they have made the browsers a free software.

 

[mkrijt]

[citation][nom]Zingam[/nom]Incomparable! MS has always developed incompatible and proprietary extensions just to switch other competitors out. In comparison Google has pushed lots of technologies as open source and new standards.For now google isn't behaving like an evil company. They support multiple platforms unlike MS who only push Windows.[/citation]

It is comparable to some extend. Yes different, but comparable. MS did it to control the marked. Google is doing what it's doing not to take over the marked but to know everything about you and your life to make more $$$ from ad's. So imho they're trying to take over your life...

 

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

Well I'm not interested in google's movement into the cloud idea & I also prefer to use windows XP as my main usefull operating system...

 

[Wish I Was Wealthy]

Every move by microsoft seems to want to destroy their ever trustfull XP operating system that has made people happy for years now & it has been around for 10 years also...What will microsoft do next to destroy their ever trustfull operating system,XP...Google will be bringing in their ever so popular chrome browser as an operating system & we will see how microslft acts then...One thing remains to be seen & that is will goolge's chrome still be popular when this cloud ideas start to apprear...

 

[Tomtompiper]

Will the people whining about users still running please grow up. MS is still allowing new Netbooks to be shipped and sold with XP. For them to do this while turning their backs to owners of systems running XP is scandalous. Thank goodness for Mozilla, Opera and Google for stepping up to the mark in the absence of a decent MS browser for the biggest MS operating system.

 

[enforcer22]

XP isn't the biggest MS operating system and yeah if you want to use 10 year old tech expect 10 year old capability. same thing happened to 98 users that held onto their aged OS for no reason i can think of that was worth mentioning. Yes MS is trying to kill off XP like all of its last century software including IE6 people just hold on to this garbage for some reason. Business's exempt of course since migration for them can be billions in investment.

 

[lamorpa]

"It is essentially a way to reduce the latency that is built into HTTP and slow****** down the page loading time. It batches server requests and allows a server to act without having to wait for a client request. The effect are dramatically ***[de]***creased page load times on sites such as Gmail, Google Docs or even Adsense."

Let's get some proof reading going here Wolfgang.

 

[pooflinger1]

[citation][nom]beta tester[/nom]The unanswered question is: Why does Microsoft continue to develop a web browser from the ground up?Why didn't Microsoft do what Google did. Take WebKit as a base, put a Microsoft interface on top, call it Internet Explorer 10, and save tens of billions of dollars in development?But, unfortunately, Microsoft is resting on its laurels, as it always does. Mobile is where the action is, and mobile browser usage will exceed desktop browser usage. Mobile is everything. Yet Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 still runs the old IE7 mobile browser, which, like the story said, is useless as a cloud interface.[/citation]

Why on earth would Microsoft take something written by APPLE and use it as the backbone to a core product? That would be like Ford using GM engines in their cars. While using webkit may work for google, it would be sensless for MS to use it.

 

[Guest]

@Zingam

"How do they finance the development? It must be extremely expensive......"

Mozilla is funded by charitable donations from individuals and companies, as highlighted when they asked for help to pay for the two page ad in the NY times

Firefox uses crowd-sourcing as a primary development tool, the majority of it done gratis free, they do have a few pay-rolled employees that vet, validate and integrate codes as well as a few admin folks, they also reward those that catch important bugs or submit worthwhile features

 

[cookoy]

with cloud services as the next big thing, google and microsoft are actively competing to be the dominant players, positioning their respective browsers as the major connecting tools. maybe oracle and ibm should join in the fray and support one of the other browsers like firefox or opera.

 

[tonydu]

Microsoft understands that it gained control of the Operating System because it controlled applications. It controlled applications because it controlled application development. The is why it is working on Silverlight as an application development platform -- and that is why it is getting its nearest competitor killed -- Flash. If it controls the development environment, it can gain control of the browser. This is analogous to Micorosoft in the early days, when it did not dominate the market, but was willing to lag and strategically kill competition.

 

[sarco]

[citation][nom]internetlad[/nom]I use netscape[/citation]

I wanted to make a clever reply but my compuserve dial-up isn't as fast as it used to be

 

[K2N hater]

The bigger picture goes far beyond the browser. The cloud-based everything will ship with every PC, tablet or phone. The apps and even OSes are likely to come for free and will offer constant protection against viruses so no-one will complain about the adverts which will come with every single app or window. Every movement/click of your mouse will be tracked... For your own security.

 

[Guest]

Don't forget that one reason you want to dominate the browser market is to direct end-users to your ad driven homepage (www.msn.com for IE, www.google.com for chrome etc.). This is a huge financial incentive by itself.

 

[ken saunders]

why Mozilla is stepping up and following Google

At first I thought, there's no way that he can be this clueless considering that is has been Mozilla that has made it possible for anyone to be a legitimate and successful competitor to Microsoft in the first place, but then it was confirmed that the author is indeed clueless when I read,
"Mozilla has an entirely different motivation. Market share and usage share directly translates into ad revenue and user revenue"

I've been a volunteer for Mozilla since early 2005 and it offends me personally whenever I see someone trying to size up Mozilla as just another revenue chaser with profits being their bottom line. Google is almost always noted in those cases.

For starters, I am Mozilla along with 50,000 other volunteers.
You do know what a volunteer is right? There are no monetary considerations whatsoever. That's not our goal. We believe in the Mozilla Foundation's mission and principles and we contribute our time, passion, and in some cases our lives to supporting, and helping to advance their overall mission.

Of course they need revenue to operate and to compete, but did you know that a lot of that revenue goes into supporting people and projects that contributes to the web in a positive way, and that empowers individuals? Probably not.

Look, I'm just a regular guy. A consumer, an end user. I was a big fan and supporter of Microsoft for many years. That ended when they chose to totally disregard their own customer's safety and concerns when it pertained to IE6 and left it for dead. They are repeating the same mistake by basically flipping off XP users. They are clearly about one thing and one thing only. Cash. Google too. Mozilla is the opposite. Ya, they boast about great download records and numbers, and they deserve to, but when it comes down to it, they look at us as individuals, not as a collective with dollar signs.

I looked back to see what other expertise you may have on browsers and wasn't at all surprised that you have none.
You are actually misinforming the public thus doing a disservice.
Statements like,
"Add-ons for Firefox 3.x are not compatible with Firefox 4"
are an example and the resulting effect,
"Are ALL addons not compatible??? so there are no addons as of now? I can't upgrade if so."

If your intent was to dissuade Firefox or other end users from upgrading, well, then great job. But I doubt that was your intention.

Please. Educate yourself. Do some thorough research on topics before you publish them, or just stick to something that you truly know.

 

[knownballer]

Very interesting articles. It alludes to a very important point that browsers are imperative in the creation of an ecosystem with cloud services. The way we use the internet is so different now. In that apps help streamline information access. But you guys didn't take it a step further. This is all about the access to the 'digital you'. Think. Why does google give away so much of their software for free. What do they make most of their money from? Advertisements.

If any of these companies get you to buy into systems you are in affect allowing them to focus the knowledge in a very very precise way. That's why most and google wanted facebook so bad. Because that will complete the circle. Most would now have all your emails, xbox live subscription, office information, etc to pin with Facebook. Google would have your search history to link with it. Imagine advertisements, and eventually services, specifically tailored to you. It's entirely a possibility. That's the real war.

You were correct in noting that Mozilla has different motivation. They're just trying to win the browser battle. Google and facebook's motivations are tied the closest to the real war because of the nature of their advertisement revenue. You can even throw apple in the mix to, nut their competition is more of a consequence of trying to sell hardware than anything else. In fact they helped usher this era the most as now comanies are trying to created an 'iPod' interface for all computer platforms. Microsoft is more quizzical issue. I think they aren't aware at least directly of what the war really is (they still push bing). They seem more interested in competing to create better competitive products (bing), and trying to improve on other companies' ideas (browser apps) with their own software, than creating their own strategy. If they did they probably be in complete control right now as we all aready do some degree have bought into their system.

But pay close attention to the ecosystemsnbeing made, as these are going tone the drivers of capturing this digital personification of you

 

[universalremonster]

The ironic fact that you forced me once again to use Firefox to post a comment on your site is rather pathetic. My visits at TH is limited cause I keep forgetting after LONG posts that when I press the SUBMIT MY COMMENT button the website of yours doesnt work with IE9. Its amazing that only TH has issues with the browser of my daily choise...

Maybe it's just you? I'm using IE9 as i post this.