Chrome Passes Firefox in Popularity

[Lemur]

Seas boil, sky rains blood, plague of locusts, etcetera. Firefox is now less popular in usage than Chrome. IE continues its eternal slide.

Thoughts? I switched from the Fox to Chrome because of the crazy versioning in Firefox. I'd wake up on a Monday and need two new version numbers by Wednesday. It was a bit much. Anybody else moving around? Thoughts?

[drone]

Still using Firefox 3, which does get updates from time to time. I'm sure I will have to bite the bullet and upgrade eventually for HTML5 reasons, but I don't think I trust Google enough to switch over to Chrome.

[Husar]

I'm still with the red bottom line!

Couldn't care less about which inferior browser the masses fancy nowadays!

[Sp4]

Been using FF forever, I like it, so I will stay with it.

-E- To say something on the topic: I don't really care =p My choice had nothing to do with the popularity of any one browser.

[drone]

Does this graph include mobile use of browsers? I would imagine Safari would be gaining faster.

[Husar]

Does this graph include mobile use of browsers? I would imagine Safari would be gaining faster.

Hehe, of course not, if you go to their site and switch from Browser to Mobile Browser, Opera is at the top with Android picking up rapidly.

I do wonder though, whether I count as "iPhone" or "Opera" when I use Opera on my iPhone and why there doesn't seem to be a Microsoft product in the Mobile Browser list?

[caravel]

Still running Firefox here on the Current release channel. No issues, so can't really complain. Had no problems with add ons either, though the add ons I use (ghostery, noscript, adblock+) have not broken as yet - so have not felt the urge to throw my toys out of the pram and switch to a browser which does not support those add ons...

I also find it bizarre that some people have switched to Google Chrome because of Firefox's new release schedule, when Chrome also release roughly every 6 weeks.

[naut]

Chrome is where it is at.

[Beskar]

switch to a browser which does not support those add ons...

Chrome has those addons.

Also Chrome updates in the background, it doesn't go "UPDAIT NAOW OR I EAT UR BABIES" every couple of days like Firefox.

[caravel]

Chrome has those addons.

Chrome as with Opera has some of those add ons, but they don't work in the same way and in some cases not as well - anyway I wasn't referring to those particular add ons, but any add ons which break on update and cause the user to desert Firefox for Chrome in particular. Whether Chrome has those add ons or not (I know it now had many more add ons that it did a year or so ago and the way things are going will likely eclipse Firefox completely in another few years), I have not personally seen any problem with add ons breaking. The vast majority of the complaints I have read are superficial ones about the release schedule/version numbering. There has simply been a lot of bovine excrement circulating that the release schedule is insane and that Mozilla have lost it. The fickle fanboy hordes seemed to have picked up on this, begun parroting it all over the www on various blogs and forums and have run off to install Chrome which appears to be what the kewl kids are running these days (few of the kewl kids seem to have heard of Chromium or SRWare Iron)

Also Chrome updates in the background, it doesn't go "UPDAIT NAOW OR I EAT UR BABIES" every couple of days like Firefox.

Spreading misinformation and FUD is unhelpful. You need to define "updates in the background", updating is updating, whether there is user notification or not. Firefox, as with most programs, can be configured to warn if updates will break add ons so you can hold off updating. It can also be configured not to automatically download and install or not to update at all.

[johnhughthom]

Personally I couldn't give a flying fudge bar about version numbers, updates, what the kewl kids are running or what people are saying on blogs and forums. I just want a browser that works. I had used Firefox for ages and a few months back it started to get very laggy and freeze quite a lot, it got worse with each update. A reinstall didn't fix it, so I installed Chrome, which has been running perfectly in the entire time. I can't think of a single thing I miss from Firefox.

[Beskar]

Personally I couldn't give a flying fudge bar about version numbers, updates, what the kewl kids are running or what people are saying on blogs and forums. I just want a browser that works. I had used Firefox for ages and a few months back it started to get very laggy and freeze quite a lot, it got worse with each update. A reinstall didn't fix it, so I installed Chrome, which has been running perfectly in the entire time. I can't think of a single thing I miss from Firefox.

Agreed. This and the constant prompts and "installing updates" every few days was ridiculous making add-ons constantly out of date.

[caravel]

I had used Firefox for ages and a few months back it started to get very laggy and freeze quite a lot, it got worse with each update. A reinstall didn't fix it, so I installed Chrome, which has been running perfectly in the entire time.

I've run Firefox since it was first released using every version from the early alpha releases of Phoenix up to version 8 and have had none of these problems. The only slight sluggishness I remember was around v3.0.x. v3.5 and v3.6 just got better and better. I've had no problems with v4/5/6/7/8 either... Usually if Firefox is misbehaving it's down to an add on or several which you've installed.

Agreed. This and the constant prompts and "installing updates" every few days was ridiculous making add-ons constantly out of date.

Except it's released every 6 weeks, so I don't see why you'd be getting "constant prompts", unless there's a point release to fix some kind of bug. Personally I don't mind that...

This is how my firefox works (running on windows at work): It starts up and downloads the update in the background. A pop up notifier shows briefly in the bottom right of the browser. Nothing is done until I restart the browser at which point it installs the update, that's it. As I said in the previous post you can configure how it updates according to your tastes.

Chrome also release roughly every six weeks, yet they are having no trouble with add ons being out of date?

[Papewaio]

Depends on the website.

IE at work
FF for the norm at home
Safari for Apple products
Chrome for google related products or sign in like the Khan Academy

Mostly Kongregate on Firefox.

[Xiahou]

Still running Firefox here on the Current release channel. No issues, so can't really complain. Had no problems with add ons either, though the add ons I use (ghostery, noscript, adblock+) have not broken as yet - so have not felt the urge to throw my toys out of the pram and switch to a browser which does not support those add ons...

I also find it bizarre that some people have switched to Google Chrome because of Firefox's new release schedule, when Chrome also release roughly every 6 weeks.

I find FF's versioning to be somewhat annoying, but it certainly hasn't been enough to make me jump ship. As you say, Chrome does the same thing- so why switch to that? And IE still seems a sure way to get your PC crudded up.

[Beskar]

Because addons don't break with updates in chrome because they are not forced to version check.

[caravel]

Because addons don't break with updates in chrome because they are not forced to version check.

And you see nothing wrong with that...? I'm sure that if Mozilla adopted a similar policy and incompatible add ons were causing the browser to crash, you'd be one of the first to complain...

[Beskar]

And you see nothing wrong with that...? I'm sure that if Mozilla adopted a similar policy and incompatible add ons were causing the browser to crash, you'd be one of the first to complain...

I wouldn't blame Mozilla for an addon issue.

Chrome tells you if an addon doesn't work, but doesn't screw you over waiting for an "update" just for the author to simply change a version number. Either way, Firefox is failing very hard in comparison to chrome, I only switched recently and the change is staggering, like throwing off the shackles of laggy oppression. It is also nice to even have the browser info synced, which kept constantly breaking in Firefox due to update numbers as it seems to pump a new version out every couple of days.

[classical_hero]

I am using Waterfox, which is a 64 bit version of Firefox and it is great to use.

[lars573]

I'm using Opera right now.

[Lemur]

I'm using Opera right now.

[lars573]

No Firefox in this household.

[HopAlongBunny]

Firefox forever :)

I switched to FF when it came out and have been very happy with it. I refuse (for now) to even consider Chrome; every application I DL and install asks to add it; all Chrome does is annoy me :p

My pique may pass and I'll look at it in the future, but not now; having rebuilt my system a few times in the last 2 months I am just too angry with it as a useless "bundled feature".

ps: thanks for the info on Waterfox! Love my new browser =D

[easytarget]

This entire thread is a false dilemma. None of these browser options are mutually exclusive.

[Mouzafphaerre]

​
Chrome + Firefox + Seamonkey

Each one has its use and function.
​

[SkySonata]

I'm kinda sad FF got passed up...... but then again, FF's updates have just sucked lately. That and they just steal from Opera!

[WinterGreen]

Personally I couldn't give a flying fudge bar about version numbers, updates, what the kewl kids are running or what people are saying on blogs and forums. I just want a browser that works. I had used Firefox for ages and a few months back it started to get very laggy and freeze quite a lot, it got worse with each update. A reinstall didn't fix it, so I installed Chrome, which has been running perfectly in the entire time. I can't think of a single thing I miss from Firefox.

Ditto. Firefox would crash for the most random and simplest reasons...... I hated to admit to myself I needed a different browser. Got Chrome too.

[Hooahguy]

The institution that Im at only has IE, but its the newer version, so its not so bad. But we are always asking our tech guy why we dont have Chrome.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

"Because we aren't interested in learning the group policy features for a third-party browser." Which is a somewhat valid perspective.