Within the last month Microsoft and Mozilla have both released their new browsers to download free on the web.
Both pieces of software promise users a faster, more secure online experience.
Firefox, like its rival Internet Explorer 9, now makes extensive use of HTML 5, one of main the programming languages used to build websites.
Within its first 24 hours, more than 5.5 million users had downloaded Firefox 4.
Firefox has enjoyed rapid growth since it first appeared in 2004. At one point in 2009 it held a 24% market share. Now the browser has a 21% share partly because Google's Chrome browser has grown from 1% to 10%.
Internet Explorer is still the most dominant platform, although its fall has been the most precipitous - from 68% in 2009 to 56% in February 2011 as was previously suggested by this site.
Internet Explorer 9 the latest release is only for Windows Vista and 7. Two thirds of companies are still using Windows XP.
However Firefox, Chrome, Safari and other browsers will run on older Windows platforms.
With html 5 now being used on many sites it may be easier for XP users to switch browsers and thus avoid having to upgrade their operating systems.
This may be more relevant to companies where the expense of new operating systems might be a deciding factor in which browser they eventually use.
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Firefox For Dummies
