Internet Explorer 8 is stronger, but has drawbacks

By DWIGHT SILVERMAN, Houston Chronicle, March 24, 2009

It’s hard to weep big tears for Microsoft over its declining Web browser market share.

Yes, Internet Explorer’s market share has been steadily declining, but it remains the most-used browser on the Internet.

But unless Microsoft can turn the tide, that may not be the case for much longer. IE, as it’s known, is under siege from a slew of competitors — primarily Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome — and its usage is dwindling as a result. In February 2008, nearly 75 percent of U.S. Web surfers used IE, according to NetApplications, which tracks browser usage. By this February, that had dropped to just over 67 percent.

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