Firefox Hits 80,000,000 Downloads 329
asa writes "It's been nine months since the release of Firefox 1.0 and with tens of millions of users we most certainly are taking back the web. Today our Firefox web browser hit the 80,000,000 downloads mark. You can see the live counter over at SpreadFirefox.com."
Obvious question (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Obvious question (Score:2, Insightful)
Also, does the new Deer Park Alpha count in this total?
In other news.... (Score:2)
A more important question is, who's in charge of that counter? Do you take anything you see at face value? Put Mr. Prankster as the website admin, and then when the counter hits 55 trillion, you wonder how it got there. When billions are spent on advertising in general, having control of such a simple device as a counter, well, the temptation is huge, for anyone pushing an agenda. You have to take everything with a grain of salt, even open source marketing spins, and instead evaluate and see for yourself. I
Re:In other news.... (Score:5, Informative)
Have you ever tried to get code submitted into the Mozilla CVS? Way back when I was working on it (0.8) each piece of code was reviewed by one of the main members, then super reviewed by another. "Super reviews" could not be done by any main developer, there were only a few that could do it.
Re:In other news.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:In other news.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:In other news.... (Score:3, Interesting)
firefox and thunderbird offer to import IE and/or outlook / outlook express settings & email but don't even offer the option of importing mozilla suite info.
i've since heard that you can just 'point' firefox at mozilla's settings and it will pick up the bookmarks, but how is the average user supposed realize this kind of thing?
particularly with thunderbird / mozilla - if i ha
Re:In other news.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Seamonkey (the Mozilla Suite), however useful, isn't exactly "well designed" in that it's too monolithical. If you want the web browser, you get the e-mail client, calendar, Usenet client and fries on the side with it, whether you want to or not. For those of us using other programs for mailing/Usenet posting/calendaring/whatever-else, that's just a waste of resources.
The same thing goes for the plug-in architecture of Firefox. Those who don't want/need mouse gestures don't have to waste resources on them, for example. The plug-ins also allow for a more distributed development model, since people can contribute Firefox functionality as a plug-in, without having to contribute the code to the Mozilla Foundation.
As for Firefox going submarine, that's not going to happen. The Firefox/Thunderbird/Sunbird suite is the official replacement of Seamonkey, which will stop being developed after a certain point (I don't remember when, however). And then there's the issue if why they'd actaully want to do that...
On the other hand... (Score:3, Interesting)
I've downloaded it 12 times. (Score:2)
So... bitshift.
Re:I've downloaded it 12 times. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I've downloaded it 12 times. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I've downloaded it 12 times. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Insightful)
The long and the short of it is that nobody knows for sure. The point isn't exactly what the number means (80 000 000 unique downloads vs. 80 000 000 downloads by a crazed fan), but that the number is increasing, and therefore so much Firefox use to some extent.
Personally I've been installing it on customer's systems for a few weeks now as a way to beat spyware. Some of them adopt it, some of them don't. But those who do adopt constitute an increase in Firefox use.
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Insightful)
And will be discussed a dozen times over and over again because slashdot editors insist in publishing every single download milestone firefox reaches.
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Funny)
To be fair, Slashdot editors take a break from telling us about Firefox milestones every once in a while to give us the news that someone at Google just farted.
Re:Obvious question (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Obvious question (Score:3, Funny)
Dupe!! Dupe!!!
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
Haven't seen too many google stories in this area.
I always thought that they took breaks by posting dupes.....
Re:Obvious question (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Obvious question (Score:2, Insightful)
I personally don't care if its technically a meaningless statistic. Its the perception of internet users, the press, and the competition that is the important metric. The perception of competition is sometimes enough to spark innovation and creativity on the product line. Which means better products for me.
Stop spoiling the fun. >:)
Re:Obvious question (Score:2, Interesting)
If nobody knows what the numbers mean then parading the numbers around is meaningless! (duh) Seems almost silly having to point that out...
Now before anyone mods me down as a troll, let me explain my side... I use firefox on both my windows and linux boxes, ever since 0.9x, so I'd honestly be happy to hear it
Obvious answer? (Score:3, Insightful)
At least 10,000 was me.
Anyway, the number of downloads is "interesting" but that's about all. What counts is how many people use Firefox as their primary browser. Still around 10%, I think. But that's not bad. I'm just afraid that IE7 may reduce some of the perceived advantages of FF such as tabbed browsing and some of the "appearance" things. Many people don't understand or care about technical issues...
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Obvious answer? (Score:2)
"yes but Firefox had them first, er, OK than Micro$loth is just ripping them off again... Or something..."
Re:Obvious answer? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Obvious answer? (Score:2)
To suggest this at Slashdot is to invite "flamebait" or "troll". Anyway, what are the chances that this could happen?
how can it be superior.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Informative)
This number is simply a metric which happens to be number of downloads. This is not the number of users. No one ever says that, although people seem to misinterpret the download count to mean active users.
The download number is simply a way to guage the software's popularity. And if I may say so, 80000000 downloads is a good start!
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
Firefox continues this hype though by making big press releases and banners celebrating the number of downloads. You are correct that the number is basically meaningless, but it is not others that make it out to be something, it's Mozilla themselves.
And also: how many people use it? (Score:3, Insightful)
I myself am an example. I've downloaded Firefox about half a dozen times in total (different versions), but even though I have it installed (mostly as a convenience for visitors who're used to it), I still use Seamonkey myself - and, for that matter, I consider Seamonkey to be superior to Firefox.
I may no
Re:And also: how many people use it? (Score:2)
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
Well, I know I'm responsible for at least 15 of those downloads.
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
Some people download once and install on multiple machines.
Some people download multiple times on a single machine (different versions).
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
I personally have 6 copies here of which I've only DLed one from Mozilla.org. Some came with Ubuntu and updates came from their site. My Debian version came from debian.org. My 3 OS/2 versions were built here and my windows version started out from a CD but was updated from mozilla.org.
Meanwhile I seldom run Firefox. I find Seamonkey meets my needs much better and at least here it is faster.
Re:Obvious question (Score:4, Insightful)
So when I choose to download (and I just checked, its just a download link, not a form), Mozilla.org is pulling information about my system before beginning the download. And they do this without letting me know? And they do it silently and inline with the download? And they somehow differentiate between my notebook and the guy in the next cube with the same notebook?And they somehow compare my system information generated with todays download and cross check against the other 80 million unique entries?
Wow. Keep on taking back that web, keep on making shit up, and keep on (somehow) being moderated informative by someone who actually believed you.
Re:Obvious question (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
Or, just mod this guy down to -1 so he's not successful at spreading dumb rumours.
Re:Obvious question (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh come on, this is just trolling.
The secret code if it exists is called USER_AGENT. Firefox downloads don't get counted. Nor do downloads from the update mechanism. Surely, if this secret code exists you can sniff the http session and post it here.
Re:Obvious question (Score:2)
80,000,000 downloads... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:80,000,000 downloads... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:80,000,000 downloads... (Score:4, Insightful)
1:) distributed media (linux CDs , magazine covers) which could make the figure appear smaller
2:) repositories and uncounted download sites (lowering the number again)
3:) ???
4:) profit (sorry couldn't resist)
5:) mass installs from a single download (system administration of companies , installing it for family and friends (again lowering the number)
6:) reinstalls and upgrades( which heighten the figure )
7:)People trying it out (who may or may not continue to use the product after a trial)
So it would probably require a fair bit of study to get an actual factual figure on the size of the user base
Re:80,000,000 downloads... (Score:3, Insightful)
On linux computers I get it through apt-get (which I would say ALOT of Linux users do) so I am assuming that would not be counted as well.
I would take a guess that most of those downloads were the Win32 version. (That's a stat I would like to see... how many of the downloads were Linux/Mac/Wi
Re:80,000,000 downloads... (Score:2)
Re:80,000,000 downloads... (Score:2)
Ha! Ha! CHUMP! (Score:2)
Just kidding about the chump thing, its Sunday.
Why not count the number of Firefox browsers? (Score:2)
or how about an extension that calculates a unique ID based on your hardware and sends it in? Yeah yeah, i know, privacy and all that...but here it is being used just to count Firefox users. Wouldn't you voluntarily install that extension to show you're a Firefox user out of she
And so what...? (Score:2, Insightful)
Do we really need to get told about the counter constantly? It's useless anyway, as all Linux/BSD distributions use their own mirror networks.
When Firefox hits the 100m mark, it may be something half-worth of a note.
Re:And so what...? (Score:4, Funny)
I didn't know firefoxes could walk that far...
Re:And so what...? (Score:2)
Actually, I think there's a drinking game around this, and the Slashdot editors like to play too.
Re:And so what...? (Score:2)
Firefox in GNU/Linux distributions (Score:3, Insightful)
IE is still quite dominant (Score:3, Insightful)
My weblogs show that IE is still the dominant browser, even though my two sites are primarily trafficked by those who are tech-savvy (who you think would be using a browser other than IE).
Personally, I know I've contributed to probably 50-60 of those 80m downloads, and I'm only one person. This is partly due to the assinine update mechanism. They really need a better way to deliver patches.
Re:IE is still quite dominant (Score:2, Interesting)
How about posting some numbers? I run a few medium University sites (1k-5k daily visitors) with a decidedly non-techy focus and the last couple months have seen IE fall under 80% (not counting hits by the web developers and other department staff).
Obviously IE is still dominant in absolute terms, but there's a huge differ
How many office IT guys let you use FF? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:How many office IT guys let you use FF? (Score:2)
Re: Patch System (Score:5, Informative)
If I recall correctly, they're working on a patch system that only alters the changed parts of the file (i.e. does not require full re-download and re-install). I think it's set for version 1.5 or similar.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:IE is still quite dominant (Score:3, Interesting)
MSNbot
Googlebot
Yahoobot
Opera
Something Mozilla based
IE didn't even register.
Re:IE is still quite dominant (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25161 [theinquirer.net]
The Inquirer is a fairly busy site and widely enough read to be a reasonable sampling of tech-savvy readers.
Few visitors to my main sites (UK [investmentideas.co.uk] oriented, investment related [moneyterms.co.uk], mostly read during working hours) using Firefox. I think it is fairly obvious why.
On the other hand only 14 of the last 70 visitors to my blog [pietersz.co.uk] used IE: about equal to Safari + Konqueror! Most of them are looking for my Wordpress plugins, both of which are
Before everyone goes nuts... (Score:3, Insightful)
So before everyone tries to get a +5 insightful for pointing this out, let's just be happy that a good open source browser that does it's best to stick to standards is doing so well.
Oh, what irony... (Score:2, Funny)
Awesome, let's keep it going (Score:2, Insightful)
I talked my boss at work into installing Firefox on every machine, and he's thrilled with the results so far. If you have any influence at your job, do the same.
But that only counts as ONE download, since we installed that over the network.
So maybe that number is actually LOW.
Rich...
Re:Awesome, let's keep it going (Score:2)
In Other News (Score:5, Funny)
"I'll be frank," he said, "next time I choose to artificially increase browser download ratings, I'll choose Lynx."
When asked if he had slept during this incredible marathon of downloading, Chumpout croaked "Can you help me? All I see is red foxes. My dad said I should stop using the computer. Mom didn't bother me after I disembowelled and ate dad."
Microsoft is said to be interested in hiring Chumpout for their upcoming IE7 campaign. "Download Internet Explorer 7 or Chumpout will Chump OUT On You" is said to be the slogan, winning out over "Download IE7 and win a chance to have lunch with Steve Ballmer", which insiders said was rejected because they didn't want to scare the consumer too much.
Odd Benchmark (Score:5, Insightful)
On another point, wheres the discussion here? Are we all supposed to just pat ourselves on the back for a "job well done"? Whats the significance of this?
Yeah, but... (Score:2)
So, they seem really supereager in making sure everybody who has Firefox downloads a new copy (or the same copy, depending on how alert you are).
Firefox Usage about 5% (Score:5, Interesting)
Not much not much.
But, at a store, you do not randomly kick out 1 out of every 20 people who walk in.
5% means nothing, 1 out of 20 means much more. And growing just means it's something to pay even more attention to.
Re:Firefox Usage about 5% (Score:5, Funny)
People who would rather kick out 5% of the people than kick 1 person in every 20 are exactly the kind of people who would use Internet Explorer.
Wait... what?
Re:Firefox Usage about 5% (Score:2)
Am I the only one... (Score:3, Interesting)
This is news? (Score:2, Interesting)
We all know that the counter is steadily increasing and that the user base is growing rapidly -- but must this much news space be devoted to one subject?
This just in... (Score:4, Funny)
Wow (Score:5, Funny)
ok... (Score:2)
I've probably "downloaded" slashdot and fark's main pages 80,000,000 times personally..
then again, i may have downloaded firefox and/or mozilla a couple thousand times too
Firefox Loses Market Share to IE... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Firefox Loses Market Share to IE... (Score:2)
That has to be troll: it is certianly the first time I ever heard anyone suggest Opera was slow.
reengineering of IE7, it might actually be way ahead of the game in security along with being stable and fas
Have you got any sources apart from MS PR?
Not actually a counter? (Score:2)
Still, the numbers must be way off even with that - I have installed >10 machines off my tools CD (since then only autoupdated, which isn't counted) plus my own 3 Linux machines via the package repository, also not counted.
Spread firefox (Score:3, Funny)
You can spread herpies, you can spread something tasty on your toast in the morning, but I'd leave "spreading" software applications to Bonzy Interactive Inc. or whatever the fuck they're called these days.
Re:Spread firefox (Score:2)
Not accurate, but nobody else's count is, either (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course, other vendors play by these rules, too, especially when they count the browser as part of the OS. Fight fire with fire, ya know?
no download link (Score:4, Informative)
Re:no download link (Score:2)
It actually does make sense, from the page.
"Spread Firefox is the central meeting place for the Firefox open source marketing effort. We are an authentic, creative, action oriented, and user-driven community."
This site is for people already using firefox and wanting to spread its adoption, not for new users. It's kinda like separating user and developer mailing lists. A new user looking for firefox wouldn't likely be interest
This is a little off topic... (Score:2, Interesting)
Why is it when Google used context sensitive ads in Gmail people did not complain half as much as they do about Opera's free trials. Opera is loads better / faster / more stable. Most of the Firefox "innovations" came from Opera.
People say that Opera on
Re:This is a little off topic... (Score:2)
Re:This is a little off topic... (Score:2, Funny)
Subtract 1 (Score:2, Informative)
Gentlemen prefer Maxthon. (Score:2)
I use it, lots of other people I know use it, you can get it to do the end-user stuff firefox can do, the UI response is waaaaay faster, it works in the real world, and I've never had security problems.
I've switched back and forth, using Firefox for better parts of a year (I only use my computer for web browsing, IM, movies, and as a terminal to *nix machines, really). I prefer Maxthon.
Spread Internet Explorer (Score:2, Funny)
The Communist browsers have been known to block advertising, denying American companies advertising revenue, and open pages in 'tabs', freeing up computer resources and thus destroying global hardware sales. This menace must be stopped.
Extensions Management (Score:2, Informative)
Mozilla should really start pushing XUL as an application platform more. Also, it'd be great to see a bit more standardization in how the extensions integrate into the browser and with each other, so you don't end up permanently mangaling your browser with a bad combination of extensions.
And I doubt IE will ever have AdBlock or StumbleUpon! Great stuff!
WHO CARES (Score:3, Funny)
Votes please! (Score:2)
I downloaded at least 30 times (Score:3, Interesting)
In addition to that, I have *updated* it (on several systems that I own (and re-install) about 10-15 times.
Perhaps I'm more active than Average Joe, but you get the picture...
Re:Yellow Snow! (Score:2)
Alternatively...
Don't be effete. Use telnet [FQDN] 80
I RULE!
Here I go feeding trolls again... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not about the supposed weaknesses of Firefox, it's about its strengths. 80,000,000 downloads (even if not unique) is a good sign. You point out the inherent positive of Firefox (and Opera too): it is better than IE. IE is, currently, the de facto web browser for the majority of internet users. And it also helps to propagate spyware/viruses. By making a better product, and having that product do well, benefits everyon
IPs or cookies? (Score:2)
to track how many people are using Firefox, why not just check how many unique conenctions there are to the update server (that notifies of new versions of extensions/themes/the browser)?
Using IP addresses? Dynamic IPs will distort the numbers. Using a GUID in a cookie? Privacy advocates will complain.
Re:Off-topic question about FF (Score:2)
Re:News speak (Score:3, Informative)
From IE. Technically the web doesn't belong to IE, but prior to Firefox, much of the web was IE-centric, and non-standards-compliant.
Those aren't counted.
Asa is the first name of Asa Dotzler [slashdot.org], Firefox developer.