14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s efforts to move users to newer software are more or less encouraged by large companies across the world, which decided to drop support for some old apps.
Google, for example, announced this morning that Internet Explorer 9 would no longer work with Google Docs, as the company wants to focus on Internet Explorer 11, the default Windows 8.1 browser.
Users running IE9 or any other unsupported browser will see notifications to upgrade, the company said.
While the decision to drop IE9 support pretty much make sense since both IE10 and IE11 are already up for grabs for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 users, it’s a bit awkward to see Google still offering Windows XP compatibility for its Chrome browser.
The Mountain View-based company announced a couple of weeks ago that Windows XP would continue to be supported by Chrome beyond its official retirement date scheduled to take place on April 8, 2014.
Of course, it all comes down to Windows XP’s significant user base, as this particular OS version is still powering more than 30 percent of computers worldwide.
Paradoxically, the same is happening with Internet Explorer 9, as statistics provided by third-party market researchers show that this is one of the most popular browsers right now.
Net Applications, for instance, claims that IE9 is right now the fifth most popular browser out there, with a market share of 9.49 percent. For the sake of comparison, Chrome 30 is installed on 10.45 percent of desktop computers worldwide.
The browser market continues to be dominated by Internet Explorer 8, which is said to be the default browser on 21.76 percent of the systems across the world. The default Windows 8 browser IE10 is the runner-up with 18.94 percent, while Firefox 24 is only third, with a market share of 12.79 percent.