Unlimited long distance $24.99/moGoogle gunning for IE with Chrome OEM deals
After Chrome exits beta in January, Google is planning to begin an aggressive push to boost the browser's market share.
Sundar Pichai, a Google vice president, told The Times Online that the company will explore ways to make Chrome more ubiquitous and "probably do distribution deals" with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to get the browser onto new PCs.
Currently, Internet Explorer commands more than 70 percent of browser market share. Open source Firefox captures roughly 20 percent, with the rest going to others such as Safari, Chrome, and Opera.
OEM relationships will certainly help Chrome adoption, but it's hard to see how IE gets completely displaced due to the fact that it's is embedded in Windows.
Looking back, it was clear that IE would displace Netscape simply because it came pre-installed with Windows.
It's not clear how Google can make Chrome ubiquitous (at least not yet). There are certainly use cases--Netbooks, etc., where you are using far less Microsoft software (and often Linux instead) where the interaction of the OS and the browser are more clearly delineated.
Pichai added that versions of Chrome should also be available to computers using Macintosh or Linux software in the first half of next year, allowing the browser to be used on almost 99 percent of computers worldwide.
Via Ars Technica.
Dave Rosenberg is currently working on a new stealth start-up based in San Francisco. He is Co-founder of MuleSource, an open source integration and infrastructure software company and is a recognized thought-leader in open source software and service-oriented architecture. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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And IMO, the only thing that is holding people on IE, along wit the fact it comes with Windows is that people just see no reason in changing. Of course, there are many reasons to get away from IE, that's why most tech-related sites have more people on FF than on IE.
I've never seen a survey about this but I'd be surprised if more than 5% of surfers would CHOOSE to use IE. I think most IE users are oblivious to the existence of something called a browser - IE is just that icon you click to use the internet. Other IE users are those who must use it because it's not their computer or those who use it because the sites they use only work on IE due to poor website design (not following web-standards and only testing on one platform).
IE has no advantages. None.
When more people start using alternative browsers (due to a Google distribution deal along with more mobile users and more UMPC Linux users) website designers will have no choice but to conform to standards. Then there will be no reason at all to use IE, and it will slowly die.
BUT, I do like IE for other reasons, including keeping all that cache where I can find it, IYKWIM. It's a shame that Chrome doesn't keep their cache easily available and recognizable as IE...sometimes you really do want to grab that cache and use it.
And to the two persons above me, come on! This is the usual linux bs. What, you are missing a feature? Well, you don't need that! Don't get me wrong, I'm a linux user myself but I'm really sick of people asking for features and being told that they don't need it, that's ridiculous. If you want to attract users you need to adapt and make it as easy as possible for people to switch over. Adding ActiveX support would probably not help home user migration but would definitely help on the business side of things.
I have no interest in having Big Brother Google's software on my computer.
What happens to Firefox if/when Google cuts off their funding?
It's open source, so any other company can pick up where Google may leave off, or it can simply become a community effort. MySQL did this for years before Sun bought 'em.
That's when IE will start to lose significant market share, and Chrome will be ready.
Chrome - The most privacy invasive browser ever created. It is nothing but spyware.
I say no thank you to either third rate option.
Why is it that Google's entire business model depends on finding out as much as they can about you, yet people think they are benign? In many ways they are worse than MS.
Google's entire business model depends on collecting as much data as possible. Their entire business model is based in advertising, and to maximize the advertising potential, they need to know about you.
Stop being stupid.
see http://blogs.computerworld.com/chrome_firefox
for more.
dt
Why did the build an interface that requires someone to look for their bookmarks? I'll take an interface I can use without thinking over shaving a few seconds over page load time. I like Google's search engine, but their products are just weird.
1. ALL websites would be forced to stick to open web standards (eliminating Microsoft's proprietary crap).
2. There would be constant competitive pressure to improve the browsers (consumers win and Microsoft would not be able to fall asleep like the normally do every time they have monopoly market share).
The same 33% market share would be ideal for Windows/Linux/OS X as well.
1. Software developers would move toward building cross-platform applications like Firefox, OpenOffice, etc. (if they are not all ultimately replaced by web apps).
2. Developers would move toward using open standards (e.g. OpenGL versus Direct3D).
3. The OS vendors would forced to continuously innovate, in order to maintain market share.
4. Users would be able to choose the OS that provides the best value (cost, performance, usability, etc.).
As a developer, I choose the best tool for the job I'm working on.
Sometimes it isn't cross-platform. Too bad.
In the scenario I proposed, you are still free to use Direct3D, if you want. However, you would be limited to only 33% of the users. If that is fine, in your business model, then you should do it. I suspect others would prefer access to 100% of the users.
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by HeavyJim
November 24, 2008 3:31 AM PST
- FF is getting as bad as IE, latest version is crap, bloated, and the developers can't leave a good thing alone.
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