Some talk has been spreading on the possibility of Firefox experiencing a massive decline. TechCrunch recently posted on this conversation and I can’t help but agree with the pessimistic side of this conversation.
Firefox is a fantastic browser, there is no arguing that. I’ve used it for years and I have become quite comfortable with it. Millions of other people who use this browser will tell you the same thing. That being said, I see Firefox’s future as being a bit grim.
The world of computing has been gradually drifting towards devices that are lighter and more portable. These smaller devices don’t pack the power that their bigger brothers do, so apps that require less resources are becoming more and more popular. The demand for a lighter web browser will end up eating away at Firefox’s userbase.
Firefox is known for using more memory and more CPU resources than other modern browsers. On a desktop computer this isn’t often noticeable, but it becomes readily apparent on smaller devices such as netbooks. Try operating Firefox on a netbook and then compare it with Chrome. You will see that Chrome performs much better on systems with limited resources.
The amount of Firefox users has already seen a decline because of the rapid adoption of the lightweight and speedy browser from Google, Chrome. Not only that, there has been a small and steady rise in Safari users. Over the past 5+ years, Firefox has taken a huge bite out of IE’s market share, and now they are about to experience the exodus themselves.
Mozilla has some big plans for the 4.0 release of Firefox, but it may be too little and too late to stave off the inevitable decline. The increased attention towards Chrome, Safari and even the hype surrounding the upcoming IE9 signals rougher times are ahead for Firefox.
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