Future of IE
Version 8 Already?
Developments - the main priorities
Version 8 of Internet Explorer is in development as written by Chris Wilson on the IEBlog (http://blogs.msdn.com/ie). From the blog and based on the conferences of MIX 2007; RSS, CSS, AJAX, microformats, more options for user interface customization and improved web development tools are possibilities for inclusion into the forthcoming version of Internet Explorer, with security still being the top priority.
Support for more of the CSS 2.1 specification as well as changes to the DOM for interoperability with other web browsers is in the cards.
What about Usage Share?
The adoption rate of Internet Explorer seems to be closely related to that of Microsoft Windows, as it is the default web browser that comes with Windows. Since the integration of Internet Explorer 2.0 with Windows 95 OSR 1 in 1996, and especially after version 4.0's release, the adoption was greatly accelerated: from below 20% in 1996 to about 40% in 1998 and over 80% in 2000. This effect, however, has recently been dubbed the "Microsoft monoculture", by analogy to the problems associated with lack of biodiversity in an ecosystem. By 2002, Internet Explorer had almost completely superseded its main rival Netscape and dominated the market.
After having fought and won the browser wars of the late 1990s, Internet Explorer began to see its usage share shrink. Having attained a peak of about 95% during 2002 and 2003, it has since been in a slow, steady decline, due to the adoption of Mozilla Firefox, which statistics indicate is currently the most significant competition. Nevertheless, Internet Explorer remains the dominant web browser, with a global usage share of around 83% (based on statistics reference). Usage is higher in Asia and lower in Europe. For example, the share is around 94% in Japan, and around 56% in Germany.
Market Share
As of November 2007
- Internet Explorer, All Versions 77.87%
- Internet Explorer 4 - 0.01%
- Internet Explorer 5.0 - 0.17%
- Internet Explorer 5.5 - 0.16%
- Internet Explorer 6 - 42.75%
- Internet Explorer 7 - 34.60%
Source: http://www.wikipedia.com