DIGITAL - Google Chrome Now Top Web Browser

Computerworld recently reported that Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) lost the number one web browser spot for the first time in its 21 year history and Google Chrome took over.

Data from U.S. analytics vendor Net Applications showed a 2 percentage point drop in April, the fifth straight month with a loss greater than a point for IE.

IE ended the month with 41.4% of the total global browser user share while Chrome climbed 2.6 percentage points to take the lead with 41.7%.

Many believe IE’s decline began when they forced users to upgrade to a newer version if they wanted to continue to receive security patches. Since that announcement, IE lost 17.1 percentage points of user share.

Mozilla Firefox’s global user share also dropped - to below 10% for the first time since 2006.

There had been a number of predictions about the rise of Google Chrome so taking the number one spot was not a complete surprise, other than it happening a bit sooner than some anticipated.

Read full story here.

(Computerworld)

Microsoft to phase out Internet Explorer

The end is in sight for long fraught Windows browser, Internet Explorer. Microsoft announced earlier this week it will phase out Internet Explorer beginning with Windows 10. 

READ MORE: Microsoft is putting Internet Explorer out to pasture

Once a market leader with as much as 95 per cent usage share when it peaked in 2002, Microsoft's flagship browser has experienced a steady decline in its user base since Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome hit the scene in 2004 and 2008 respectively. Today, Internet Explorer holds just eight per cent of global Internet traffic. 

Microsoft said it will replace Internet Explorer with a new browser codenamed Project Spartan, though Explorer would live on in some capacities, mainly for enterprise compatibility. 

READ MORE: Microsoft is killing off the Internet Explorer brand

InfoStream's "all-time" statistics of traffic sources reveal Internet Explorer holding 27 per cent usage, though that number drops to 12 per cent for the most recent monthly time period.

InfoStream traffic source
statistics for Feb-March 2015

InfoStream traffic source
statistics for All Time