The browser wars are back. Upstart Web browser maker Mozilla Foundation now expects its surging Firefox browser to command 10 percent of the Web browser market by the end of 2005. "I think we'll get to 10 percent over the next year," a Mozilla Foundation spokesperson told ZDNET this week. "We don't have 10 percent of the Web at the moment, but we have the momentum."
According to some amazing statistics that show a sudden and profound interest in alternatives to the bug-laden and insecure Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) product, the Mozilla Foundation certainly does have momentum on its side. Enthusiasts downloaded more than 3.3 million copies of the prerelease version, Firefox 0.8, and a whopping 6.5 million users downloaded Firefox 0.9 in just 3 months. More than 5 million users have downloaded the prerelease version of Firefox 1.0 (the final version is due next month) in just 1 month.
According to ZDNET UK, more than 19 percent of this month's Web traffic to its sites came from Firefox and other Mozilla-based browsers, up from 9 percent in February. Not coincidentally, IE use during that time period fell from 88 percent to 79 percent. CNET.com reports similar trends. To download Firefox, visit the Mozilla Foundation Web site.