How entrenched mediocrity can persist
As far as I can tell, a large majority of computer professionals believe that the Internet Explorer (IE) browser is inferior to Firefox or the up-and-coming Chrome. Nonetheless, IE still claims over 60% of worldwide usage. IE usage has been slipping but the majority of the world still uses what is generally considered an inferior product.
How does a product widely regarded as inferior maintain such a large edge? The advantage to Microsoft of having IE built in and already on the desktop of the vast majority of PCs in the world cannot be overestimated. The EC has tried to do something about this but I doubt that it will make much difference. Great numbers of PC users associate the Internet with IE; in fact, many people I encounter think the big E on their desktop is the Internet. They have no idea what a browser is or how the PC uses one to see sites on the Internet. And even when they are aware of the function of a browser, they are much too intimidated by the idea of downloading and installing a different browser to ever consider anything but IE. Technically adept types who insist that anyone can install another browser are on a different planet. Yes, in principle, almost anyone could. But almost anyone could change the spark plugs in a car engine also and how many drivers do that? The practical matter is that ordinary people are not only afraid of many “easy” things about PCs but are also totally uninterested in learning how to do these “easy” things. They don’t want to have to constantly configure, update, install stuff or maintain their PC. They just want it to do a job. They have other things to do with their life besides struggle with a PC. So they keep on using a mediocre browser.
The remarkable showing of Firefox in obtaining about one-quarter market share in the face of the IE hurdle indicates to me that most of those who are technically knowledgeable are using Firefox or one of the other non-Microsoft browsers. Those still using IE are either average PC users who don’t know any better or don’t want to be bothered with new browsers or enterprise networks that got themselves locked into Microsoft products. In fact, many enterprises are still using the awful IE6 because they got hooked by Microsoft proprietary practices.
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