What to think about Microsoft’s browser ballot screen, which started to be rolled out today?
Is it no big deal? Some suggest that people will see yet another dialogue box appear within Windows and simply ignore it. But I tend to agree with those that think this marks the moment where Microsoft’s dominance over the browser market is effectively over.
I just spoke to a number of experts for their thoughts. But Sheri McLeish, an analyst at Forrester, the research firm, summed it up nicely. She told Tech Central:
Honestly, I can’t see Microsoft digging out of this hole quickly.
Their biggest challenge is with their own users [of Internet Explorer]. If Windows remains popular, than Microsoft might keep a third or a quarter of the market for browsers, but it’s not going to enjoy the days of 80 or 90 per cent of the market as it has in the past.
Even before the ballot screen initiative, the trend was for rivals, particularly Mozilla’s Firefox browser, to chip away at Internet Explorer’s lead. Here are some figures provided by Nielsen, the market research firm, which reflects the percentage share of the browser market in the UK. The data only takes into account browsers used on PCs and not Macs.
| Jan-10 | Jan-09 | |
| Internet Explorer (App) | 69.56% | 75.10% |
| Mozilla (App) | 18.52% | 15.09% |
| Google Chrome (App) | 4.63% | 0.94% |
| AOL Desktop (App) | 4.00% | 4.92% |
| Yahoo! Browser (App) | 1.95% | 3.09% |
| Safari (App) | 0.43% | – |
| Opera Internet Browser (App) | 0.22% | 0.20% |
| Avant Browser (App) | 0.10% | 0.04% |
| Flock (App) | 0.09% | 0.04% |
| MSN Explorer Browser (App) | 0.05% | 0.10% |
| SlimBrowser (App) | 0.01% | – |
| BitComet (App) | 0.01% | 0.02% |
| CometBird (App) | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Netscape (App) | 0.01% | 0.03% |
| Maxthon (App) | 0.00% | 0.01% |
| Earthlink (App) | – | 0.00% |
People are already moving away from IE. The ballot screen is another reason people will do so. Ms McLeish’s view sums it up for me.
If Microsoft wants to change this, they should build a better browser.
Mohammed Abbasi 