After I looked at Internet usage statistics in my last post, I thought why not find out more about the preferences of Internet surfers - for example their choice of operating systems and browsers. I was always interested in finding out which operating system is the most used and if Firefox was really that popular. Thanks to W3schools Web site, I found the information I needed.

According to W3schools, Windows XP still rules, with an overwhelming majority of Internet users trusting in the familiar and most stable Windows operating system. 69% of all users in the world use Windows XP. A distant second is Windows Vista with 17%, and I think it would be lower if new PCs and laptops didn’t come with Windows Vista preinstalled. On the other hand, it could be said that many Windows XP users cannot afford to change to Vista or they simply haven’t tried it. However, you cannot ignore the big difference in numbers. Windows XP is the clear winner even though it’s older.

In the browser comparison, it is safe to say that Internet Explorer and Firefox are the most popular; but which one of those two is the winner? W3schools is again the source of information as it includes stats on browser usage. It is interesting that since January 2009, Firefox has taken over as the most popular browser with 46% of Internet users compared to Internet Explorer’s 44%. The rest is made up by Chrome, Safari and Opera (10%).  Up until December 2008, Internet Explorer (actually all the different Explorer versions combined) was the leader.