Is Firefox Toast?
Firefox’s market-share is fading and its money supply may be drying up
Today, Firefox is getting pummeled from all sides. Its performance is mediocre. Sure, Firefox 8.01 beats the stuffings out of “classic” Firefox 3.6, but that’s not saying much. Compared to Chrome and Internet Explorer 9 Firefox isn’t keeping up.
As features and security go, Firefox no longer really offers anything that the other browsers don’t. At the same time, Google is turning Chrome into not just a Web browser, but an integral part of its software as a service (SaaS) and cloud application stack. Yes, you can run Google Docs and Gmail on Firefox or IE, but the combination of Chrome’s innate speed with Google’s applications makes it the most attractive package.
In addition, Chrome is beating Firefox to second place in the Web browser derby. According to StatCounter, Chrome is already already number two. The other popular Web browser popularity NetMarketShare, Firefox still has a narrow lead, but no one expects it to keep its lead for much longer. Indeed, Mozilla’s hyper-accelerated release schedule is losing Firefox’s business customers.
Last, but never least, Firefox’s parent organization, Mozilla hasn’t been able to close a deal with its chief income source: Google. The companies are in active negotiations but have nothing further to announce at this time.
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