| Mozilla celebrates 200 millionth Firefox download, issues v1.5.0.6 |
Aug. 03, 2006
 Mozilla on Aug. 2 released yet another updated version of its Firefox browser, v1.5.0.6, right on the heels of v1.5.0.5, which came out July 26 but apparently caused an unforeseen problem. Additionally, Mozilla announced that Firefox passed the 200 million download mark on July 31.
Version 1.5.0.6 update
The sole purpose for this unscheduled release was that Mozilla received reports that the Firefox 1.5.0.5 security and stability update released last week has prevented the Windows Media Player plug-in from working on some sites, according to Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering for Mozilla Corp.
"We have released Firefox 1.5.0.6 to correct this issue," Schroepfer told eWEEK.com via email. "This update will be delivered through Firefox's automated update system over the next 24-48 hours."
The new v1.5.0.6 is not connected with Mozilla's Firefox v2.0, which is in beta at the moment.
Mozilla on July 12 released Firefox 2 Beta 1, a "developer preview" that features experimental anti-phishing and spell-checking tools, among other enhancements.
200 million downloads -- marketshare on the rise
"We know that this number doesn't represent actual users because this number includes both Firefox 1.0 and Firefox 1.5 (soon Firefox 2), because not every one completes every download, and because not every download results in a new Firefox user," said a Mozilla spokesman on the Firefox site.
"That being said, 200 million people seeking Firefox is a huge accomplishment and we're right to celebrate our role in driving that number."
Amsterdam-based web analytics firm OneStat reported July 14 that the combined usage share of Firefox and Mozilla browsers (now mostly Firefox) has climbed to nearly 13 percent worldwide, and almost 16 percent in the U.S.
OneStat, a consultancy that also offers free hit-counting software, said at that time that usage share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer series -- including the new IE7 betas -- had dropped by 2.12 percent in the last 60 days.
Since its v1.0 debut in November 2004, Firefox has made steady gains in user percentage. In its first two months, Firefox added an estimated 5 percent of the user market, according to Internet analyst WebSideStory.com.
Firefox marked its 100 millionth download on Oct. 19, 2005. By the time v1.5.0 was released in November 2005, Firefox had increased its user share to about 11 percent, according to OneStat.com.
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