internet browser

Opera demonstrated a new touch version of its popular Internet browser developed specifically for tablets and netbooks. The company posted a video footage on YouTube showcasing the browser’s features. Further details will be elicited at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. But the two things are known already: the browser will run on Android powered devices with no version planned for the iPad. Haarvard Moen of Opera says that the browser is based on a new 10.5 version of Opera's Mobile browser.

Microsoft unveiled at last its new version of a popular web browser saying that it would work at faster speeds, deliver better graphics and be less obtrusive to users. Internet Explorer 9, unlike previous versions and many competing browsers, pushes itself into the background.

"People go to the Web for site, not the browser," said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager for IE, at a press event in San Francisco. "Today Web sites are boxed in, the box is the browser."

According to the latest data from NetMarketShare, one of the most popular browsers, Internet Explorer, extended its usage share gains by another .42% in July, gaining about 1% global share since May. 

Recent study by Net Applications that covered the Web browser market share shows that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 is increasingly gaining market share at the expense of Google’s Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

While the figures say that Chrome gained recently a 0.32% share thus totaling its market to 7.05% Internet Explorer 8 and its upcoming successor IE9 are gaining the momentum.

New data provided by a website called What the Internet knows about you shows that today browsing the Internet implicates exposure of your personal information starting from news articles you read and ending with the Zip Code.

The new report reveals that about 76% of users exposed their browser histories, with the proportion of those using Apple's Safari and Google Chrome browsers even higher. Surprisingly, the percentage was also higher among browsers that turned off JavaScript.

According to the reports by Net Applications the number of users of Microsoft Internet Explorer has decreased to 59.95% in April, which is down from 60.65 per cent in March and 67.77 per cent in April 2009. It should be noted that in January 2009 Internet Explorer had a 70% market share which means over 15 months it has climbed down 10%.

On the other hand, Google Chrome continued its upward pace with a 6.73% mark recorded in April, up from 6.13% for March and 1.79% in April 2009.

Opera has announced the release of its latest browser for Mac machines claiming the new application is ten times faster based on speed comparisons between Opera 10.52 and Opera 10.10.

"To all Mac users who value fast browsing, please meet Opera," CEO Lars Boilesen says. "Opera is a consistent performer on even the most congested networks, giving people the fastest browsing experience, coupled with a powerful feature set that is finely attuned to the needs of Mac users."

30% of the global web access is now handled by Mozilla Firefox, according to the company estimates. This week the open source company provided its first ever quarterly analyst report titled The State of the Internet. On the basis of the statistics given by the four separate online research houses - StatCounter, Quantcast, Net Applications, and Gemius – Mozilla claims that its influence is the strongest in Europe where it owns 39.2% of the market.

Last week on Monday March 22 Opera has launched its latest 10.51 version of the popular Internet browser. On the company website Opera started its announcement this way: “Opera 10.50 made major improvements in the speed of the browser, putting it right up there with the fastest performing browsers in the world and earning it the title of "The fastest browser on Earth". But Opera 10.50 is no longer the world's fastest browser.”

As Microsoft started offering European users a choice in browser with a so-called ballot screen Opera Software has recorded a sharp increase in downloads of its popular Internet browser (10.5).

The company reports that over half of the European downloads of Opera’s latest browser come directly from that Choice Screen on an average basis.

Thus, the downloads have more than doubled from the normal figures. Earlier this month Opera boasted a triple increase in downloads.

Microsoft is on the threshold of announcing its new and unprecedented version of Internet Explorer 9 browser. The company itself provided no confirmation of the move but many experts and observers are anticipating that the new browser will be supporting open web standards after all.

For a long time Microsoft has been criticized for declining to fully support open web standards. Many critics believe that the shift towards open standards will yield high returns for the software giant.

Microsoft is developing a new version of Internet Explorer 8 in association with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre. The browser will provide parents and children with easy access to advice and information.

Such a customized browser is being designed by Microsoft to provide users with the opportunity to adjust their browser so that they can get direct access to CEOP's advice pages.

Norway browser developer Opera Software plans to introduce next week a new version of its Mini browser for Apple's iPhone.

The company said that the browser will be presented at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona next week. It will feature up to six times faster download speeds than Apple's own browser, and up to 10 times smaller data traffic.

"We have not submitted it yet to the Apple App Store. However, we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in Web browsing experience," said Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera.
 

Users who were too enthusiastic about getting the latest version of Mozilla Firefox browser were tricked by adware slingers who directed them to the fake website to download bogus software.

The bogus website looks like a kosher browser download site and might easily fool the unwary. Still, aware users know that Mozilla recently released 3.6 version of its popular browser while the counterfeit resource offers Firefox 3.5.

Last week the searching giant Google made a strict statement announcing that the company ceases supporting Internet Explorer 6 starting March 1. According to the statement the users of IE will have to upgrade to at least version 7 if they want to use Google Docs and Google Sites services.

In its company blog Google said that as "many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers.”