Bring on the Browser Wars!, Slate.com

FARHAD Manjoo, too, believes the browser fight is a means to other ends for Google, Microsoft, and Apple. “Microsoft, which holds more than three-quarters of the browser market, looks at the Web as an extension of its operating system. As more of our programs move online, Microsoft fears we might have little reason to stick to Windows; it sees control of the browser as a way to control the future of software development. Google seems to want to be in the browser business to fight Microsoft. The company’s revenue comes entirely from the Web, so it’s got to be wary that most of its customers come through software created by its main rival. Apple, meanwhile, needs a browser to beef up its own platform—not only on the Mac but also on its phones and iPods.” But he’s happy that “as the giants duke it out to come up with the best product, they’ll copy and improve upon each other’s innovations, bringing new features to all browsers.”

Chrome And Get It, Forbes.com

FORBES quotes Web tracker Net Applications to suggest that “Google’s shiny new Web browser has grabbed 1 per cent of the market” less than a day after it was released. The surge is a show of strength for the search service, with Google putting a link to the new software smack in the middle of its iconic home page. “Google, however, will have a tough time topping Microsoft, which still commands more than 70 per cent of the market for browser software, according to Net Applications. Rivals have toiled for years to wrest the market away from Microsoft, whose Windows operating systems dominate the world’s computers. Mozilla’s Firefox, the top challenger, owns just 19.2 per cent of the market, and Apple’s Safari 6.4 per cent,” says Brian Caulfield.