↓ Browser Wars!

Google have quickly understood that controlling the web (and mobile) browser is controlling the world. And as they intend to do so, Chrome is here to stay. This is the third candidate to the browser wars, which I personally think is not working as Google expected (even though it includes some serious improvements to the Firefox – IE galaxy). Up to the point that yesterday Google was advertising Mr Chrome on their own homepage. Something I’ve never seen on the Google landing page (I only got this ad while surfing on IE not with Firefox!):

You guide the user, restrict, propose, obtain his data, usages, adapt and in the end you’ve become and control users’ web experience: Intermediary between gadget and world.

Some other ways of accessing the www (no need of browser) have appeared in the last few years… widgets, applications, now Jolicloud (OS based on widgets)… but browsers remain the kings of accessibility.

IE hasn’t stopped losing ground in this battle up to the point of only having a 65, 5% of the total market share during the last month. In 2004 IE had around 90% so…

Now that the European Commission are obliging Microsoft to stop distributing IE with their future operating systems MS is planning to offer a browser-less edition of the upcoming Windows7 and will let PC manufacturers to preinstall whichever browser they want. But this seems to be a solo decision made by MS ‘cause the European Commission might even force MS to release the final product with all browsers installed, or at least when you’ll get to buy your pc the salesman will kindly ask you for your preferences. How do you explain to a 70 year old lady who’s never touched a pc which browser best fits his nephew’s needs?

I do completely agree in forcing MS to include all browsers but this is definitely annoying and confusing for the final user: usability or monopoly, no other options?

One last strategy that MS uses is that each time you download any Windows updates IE becomes your default browser once again. Shame.

Firefox is obviously the one who gets all the benefit here. Non-techie users hardly know Chrome yet, and being particularly strong in Europe (31% while worldwide is only 22%) this decision couldn’t arrive in a better moment.

We can’t obviously forget Safari who accounts an 8,5% (obviously Macs) and given that Apple’s computers are nowadays selling like Tamagotchi’s in the 90s …… but unless Apple decides to develop a real open strategy (which never has) the evolution of Safari is undoubtedly linked to Mac’s evolution…

.. or Opera who unveiled “Opera Unite” today which basically turns your browser into a server (up to now browsers were mere clients who connect to a server asking for data). Now other users  should be able to connect to our browserver and get the info we want to share. Will this help Opera?

See you @ Rennes