Microsoft: IE 9 now top browser on Windows 7-loaded computers

Internet Explorer 9 has topped rivals Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on computers running Windows 7, software giant Microsoft claimed over the weekend.   Roger Capriotti, Internet Explorer Marketing director, said IE9 usage share on Windows 7 worldwide was higher than all versions of Chrome and Firefox and second only to IE8 as of November.   “Based on where the December data currently stands, we’re pleased to say IE9 is still following that trajectory and will soon take the top spot from IE8 on Windows 7, with usage share expected to come in at nearly 25.6 percent this month,” Capriotti said in a blog post.   Capriotti cited figures from Net Applications indicating IE9 usage climbed from less than 10 percent in April 2011 to more than 20 percent in November, with its share projected to continue going up.   IE8's share went down from nearly 50 percent in April 2011 to slightly below 30 percent in November but its share was projected to decline.   Firefox is seeing a slight dip in usage, although its usage remains at slightly above 20 percent.   Chrome usage appeared to be going up slightly, from below 20 percent in April to slightly above 20 percent and slightly beating Firefox in November.   ‘Exciting year’   Capriotti also said that while IE9’s growth was “great for developers and the hundreds of millions of customers that get to experience a better Web,” percentage points really only tell part of the story.   He said 2011 was an exciting year for the Internet Explorer team, and its customers and partners.   In 2011, he said IE9 was downloaded 2.35 million times about 24 hours after its announcement. “That’s over 27 downloads every second, or over 240 downloads every 9 seconds,” he said.   He also noted 2011 was the year Microsoft released its IE10 Platform Preview 1 at MIX 11, just four weeks after the launch of IE9.   Other highlights included:

• Disney’s TRON: Legacy Digital Book Site, where the power of HTML5 is highlighted in an immersive experience built on top of IE9 Hardware Accelerated HTML5.
• WorldsBiggestPacMan.com created by Namco Bandai Games America that was an instant phenomenon. In its first week, over 242 million Pac-Dots were eaten, 2.2 million mazes were played and over 10,000 new mazes were created.
• IE9 recognized as the top browser for malware protection, according to NSS Labs, an independent security research and testing organization.
• Tracking Protection, a new technology that gave people more control of their privacy online while they browse the Web.  With IE’s tracking protection and support from numerous third party organizations including Abine, TRUSTe, EasyList and PrivacyChoice consumers can both express their intent not to be tracked online and with a single click subscribe to a trusted third-party tracking protection list to prevent the tracking from occurring.  —