ie9

Microsoft's browser continues to lose share of worldwide usage, but its new IE9 version managed to gain enough usage that new statistics show it surpassing one smaller rival, Opera.

Internet Explorer 9 accounted for 2.41 percent of browser usage in April, its first full month on the market, according to Net Applications. Opera accounted for 2.14 percent. And IE overall dropped from 55.9 percent in March to 55.1 percent in April.

Two browsers, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari, outpaced the overall growth in Web usage. Chrome rose from 11.6 percent to 11.… Read more

A week after an Australian creative agency launched The World's Biggest Pac-Man, players have built nearly 12,000 levels for it. And eaten nearly 300 million dots.

Launched last week at Microsoft's Mix 11 event in Las Vegas, the game was built as a promotion for Namco-Bandai, the publisher of the all-time classic video game. And it is a brilliant departure for Pac-Man. This time around, anyone can create their own level and then connect in a global map of others' levels. It's all playable, and scores are ranked on a worldwide leader board.

The game was … Read more

After a three-week IE9 immersion, I've concluded that Microsoft once again has a competitive Web browser.

And even though Internet Explorer remains the most-used browser on the Net today, convincing me that Internet Explorer 9 is a real browser was quite an accomplishment. Here's why.

IE6, now a decade old, is loathed by Web developers the world over for its lack of standards support, and it's the focus of a Microsoft effort that's trying to get the companies and people using the browser to modernize. After a five-year hiatus, IE7 emerged with some handy features, such … Read more

Despite arriving a week later, Firefox 4 is outpacing Internet Explorer 9 in real-world use so far, new statistics show.

Microsoft released IE9 on March 14, and Mozilla's Firefox 4 arrived on March 22--both brand-new even by the fast-moving standards of today's software market. By month's end, IE9 accounted for 1.0 percent of browsing activity worldwide, according to statistics from analytics firm Net Applications. Firefox 4, though, reached 1.7 percent, despite its later start.

Firefox 4 has a big advantage in usage statistics over IE9: Windows XP. Mozilla's browser works on the decade-old operating … Read more

Microsoft tries to poke the European antitrust bear and point them in the direction of Google--ok, guys. Just, you know, beware of karma. Also, Google cracks down on the Android chaos (and hopefully the crapware, too), the +1 button points to, yet again, the all-consuming importance of recommendations, and Samsung did not--I repeat, did NOT--install keylogger software on its laptops. Plus, introducing our new app, Smart Fart. (Sigh.) --Molly

After some real-world tests, Microsoft has concluded IE9 is the most energy-efficient of the major browsers on the market.

Microsoft compared its new browser with Opera 11, Firefox 4, Chrome 10, and Safari 5 on an Intel laptop, measuring how many watts the machine consumed with the browser idling, showing a news site, and running graphics-intensive Web tests.

The upshot: IE9 is the most efficient in the test, meaning it'll take the smallest toll on the battery.

"We hope and encourage the industry and other browser vendors to follow us on the path to a more power efficient … Read more

Sprint doesn't like the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, and they plan on doing something about it. Firefox 4 comes out with a strong launch, and Microsoft tries to piggy back on it. Yeehaw! And, we're willing to give our brainwaves away.

Firefox may be under fire from Microsoft's newly competitive browser, but with more than twice the downloads in its first day, Firefox 4 today soared over its rival by one measurement.

Microsoft, not without reason, boasted that IE9 was downloaded 2.35 million times in the first 24 hours after its release last week. And that is indeed a big number, especially for a browser that tech enthusiasts had scoffed at for years.

But less than 24 hours after its own launch, Firefox 4 cleared 4.7 million, according to the Mozilla Glow site that logs downloads.

That's … Read more

We're back in the bunker, everyone, talking the Japan crisis and its effect on tech supply chains. Plus, bid on the SXSW iPad 2, or if you don't have that kind of cheddar, buy Street Fightr and Sonic for iPhone and the proceeds go to charity. Obama's IP czar wants to make unauthorized streaming a felony, and Netflix throws down in a big way for original content. Plus, Microsoft hits it out of the park with IE9. I know, right? Who'da thunk? --Molly