Is Internet Explorer up or down? Microsoft and research firm in stat spat

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Web analytics firm StatCounter, which has been reporting a steady decline in Internet Explorer market share, has issued an extensive defense of its research techniques in an open letter to Microsoft’s Roger Capriotti, the IE product marketing director who previously challenged the research company’s statistical methods. StatCounter contends that its numbers are a more accurate… Read More…

Google preps Chrome for Windows 8, with a dig at Microsoft

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Google is preparing to release a test version of its Chrome browser for Microsoft’s Windows 8, and company this afternoon provided a first glimpse of the app, which looks a lot like the existing versions of the Chrome browser. The version will run in the new Metro and traditional desktop environments of Windows 8, and… Read More…

Chrome passes Internet Explorer, but can the stats be believed?

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Google’s Chrome has surpassed Microsoft’s Internet Explorer as the world’s most widely used browser, according to the latest numbers from StatCounter. The trend shows a steady decline for IE over the past year overall, and a strong increase for Chrome, with more than 32 percent market share. However, separate stats from NetApplications for the desktop… Read More…

Microsoft in Android patent licensing deal with Pegatron

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Microsoft just announced another patent licensing agreement with a maker of Android and Chrome devices, Pegatron Corp., making more headway with its claims that the Google operating systems violate its intellectual property. The Redmond company says it now has licensing deals with four of the top five original design manufacturers in Taiwan, and has agreements… Read More…

Microsoft plans true auto updates for Internet Explorer

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Microsoft plans to streamline the way Internet Explorer is upgraded through its Windows Update process, aiming to move more PC users to the latest version of its web browser, even if they don’t actively decide to make the upgrade. Updates to Internet Explorer are already distributed to users who have opted to receive important updates… Read More…

Microsoft offers holiday freebies to boost IE9 usage

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Microsoft has rolled out a new holiday promotional campaign that aims, in part, to get people on Windows 7 to use Internet Explorer 9 rather than Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or other browsers. As reported overnight by winbeta, the IE9 holiday campaign offers discounts and promotions such as three free months of Slacker Premium Radio,… Read More…

Microsoft signs Quanta deal, ninth Android patent pact in 18 months

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Microsoft just announced another Android  patent licensing deal, this one with Quanta Computer — saying that the agreement “provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for Quanta’s tablets, smartphones and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome Platform.” It’s the latest in a series of deals resulting from Microsoft’s claims that Google’s operating systems… Read More…

Microsoft issues fix after security tool mistakenly removes Google Chrome as malware

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Uh, whoops? Microsoft this morning scrambled to release a fix after reports surfaced that its Security Essentials software was mistakenly identifying the Google Chrome browser as password-stealing malware — and removing the competing web browser from Windows machines. Ed Bott of ZDNet has the rundown, including details on the updated definitions that Microsoft says will… Read More…

Stats: Chrome, Safari gain on Internet Explorer and Firefox

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Overall usage of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox fell slightly in July, while Google Chrome and Apple Safari both posted modest gains, according to numbers tracked by Net Applications. The numbers are notable in part because they reflect the first full-month measure of the market since Firefox shifted to a new rapid release cycle. IE… Read More…

The Internet Explorer IQ test: Come on, we’re not that dumb

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A study released this past week by AptiQuant, a Vancouver, B.C., “psychometric consulting” company, found that Internet Explorer users, on average, scored lower on IQ tests than users of other browsers did. Users of older versions of Internet Explorer — IE 6 and IE 7 — fared particularly poorly, with average IQ scores in the 80s…. Read More…