While most net surfers are aware that there are browsers
other than the one they use, few are aware of the number of browsers out there.
For the average surfer other browsers are of little interest unless they
are faster or support newer features. This analysis will indicate when a new version of
their favourite browser is available, or under test.
For Web Site designers the information is of more interest. The Microsoft
Internet Explorer vs. Netscape Navigator debate has been going on for some time now. Watch
the battle in action here!
Look out for new versions of old favourites, and the arrival of newcomers
to the browser marketplace.
Perhaps of more interest to webmasters are the growing number of Web 'Bots
which visit sites. Many of these are benign, or even beneficial in the case of search
engine spiders. However, there are a growing number of SPAM robots searching the web for
email addresses, fax numbers and other information for use in direct marketing promotions.
Webmasters placing email addresses and telephone numbers on web sites would do well to
consider taking action to prevent the sensitive contact information on their pages being
harvested. These SPAM robots often show up in the Browser Survey.
The raw data are collected from several different sites, but only one site
is active at a time. The active site collects data for a fixed period of time then becomes
inactive and one of the other sites becomes the active site.
This strategy is designed to remove bias introduced by the nature of the
site or its content and to prevent abuse.
The statistics gathered are derived from the CGI environmental variable HTTP_USER_AGENT
returned by the browser to the server. This is the only information recorded.
We do not attempt to record your server DNS, E-mail address or any other
information which could be considered a breach of privacy.
The contents of HTTP_USER_AGENT are checked and cache and proxy server
information removed to leave just the browser information, which is accumulated and forms
the basis of our Browser Stats.
The sites used to monitor usage vary widely in content and cover a range
of interests.
While it would be possible to break down the statistics further, by
country of origin, this would require techniques which could be interpreted as a breach of
privacy.
The statistics are accumulated on a rolling 30, 60 and 90 day basis and
updated once a day at Midnight local time (UK). |
