Talking about the demise of Internet Explorer might be premature — after all, two thirds of all web users still use some version of the web browser. But that’s down from over 91% just four years ago in the days before Firefox was being used by people like, well, my parents. According to Net Applications, Internet Explorer has lost share for 6 straight months and hasn’t been above 80% for 2 years.
谈论Internet Explorer的消亡可能为时过早-毕竟，三分之二的Web用户仍然使用某种版本的Web浏览器。 但这比四年前在我的父母使用Firefox之前几天的91％还要低。 根据Net Applications的数据 ，Internet Explorer连续6个月失去了份额，并且连续两年没有超过80％。
The reason? IE is facing stiff competition on multiple fronts. Over the past 6 months (5 in the case of Chrome), the second through fourth place browsers have all gained market share. Firefox is solidly over 20% now, Safari is gaining steadily and trending toward 10%, and Google’s new Chrome browser has been above 1% market share for two months running. Even distant fifth place browser Opera (which has a larger following in Europe than elsewhere around the globe), has grown fairly substantially over the past 2 years.
原因？ IE在多个方面都面临着激烈的竞争。 在过去的6个月中(Chrome浏览器为5个月)，第二到第四位的浏览器都获得了市场份额。 Firefox现在稳步超过20％，Safari稳步增长并趋向10％，而Google的新型Chrome浏览器已经连续两个月超过1％的市场份额。 甚至遥远的第五名浏览器Opera(在欧洲比全球其他地方都有更大的追随者)在过去两年中也有了相当大的增长。
IE, meanwhile, continues to slide. Last week, Microsoft released the first release candidate of IE8, meaning that the next version of their ubiquitous browser is likely right around the corner. This is potentially make or break time for Microsoft — and for more than just the existence of IE.
IE，与此同时，继续下滑。 上周，微软发布了IE8的第一个候选版本，这意味着它们无处不在的浏览器的下一个版本可能就在眼前。 对于Microsoft而言，这可能是成败的时间，而不仅仅是IE的存在。
Internet Explorer, along with Microsoft’s Rich Internet Application and web platform technologies like Silverlight, Azure, and Live Mesh, are vital to the future success of the company. Google has laid out a compelling three pronged web operating system strategy that includes its Chrome browser. Google — and others, such as Mozilla and Adobe — are attempting to create a platform for cloud-based applications that if successful would mean the underlying computer OS would become essentially irrelevant for most users.
Internet Explorer以及Microsoft的Rich Internet Application和Web平台技术(例如Silverlight，Azure和Live Mesh)对于公司的未来成功至关重要。 Google已制定了引人注目的三点式Web操作系统策略，其中包括Chrome浏览器。 谷歌以及其他公司，例如Mozilla和Adobe，都在尝试为基于云的应用程序创建一个平台，如果成功，这将意味着底层计算机操作系统对于大多数用户而言将变得无关紧要。
That would spell disaster for Microsoft, who make a large chunk of their revenue from Windows, unless they compete with a Web OS of their own. If they follow Google’s model, Microsoft’s Web OS would likely center largely around Internet Explorer (Chrome), Silverlight (JavaScript/Native Client), Azure (App Engine), and .NET (Python). Granted, in enterprise environments, where Microsoft makes most of its money, the viability of the Web OS is still a long way off, but Microsoft still has reason to be concerned by the plummeting market share Internet Explorer.
对于微软来说，这将是一场灾难，除非他们与自己的Web操作系统竞争，否则微软将从Windows中获得很大一部分收入。 如果他们遵循Google的模型，则Microsoft的Web OS可能将主要围绕Internet Explorer(Chrome)，Silverlight(JavaScript / Native Client)，Azure(App Engine)和.NET(Python)。 可以肯定的是，在微软赚钱最多的企业环境中，Web OS的生存能力还有很长的路要走，但是微软仍然有理由担心Internet Explorer的市场份额下降。
We’ve noticed a similar trend among visitors to SitePoint. Based on the last three years of browser trends, we predicted that IE will become extinct in 2013. Of course that assumes a rate of decline that doesn’t decelerate — which is unlikely. We also asked SitePoint readers in August if they would consider switching to IE8; 65% of you said no. If we can surmise that at least some portion of the yes votes were current IE users who plan to upgrade, that’s very bad news for Microsoft — not many people who have switched from IE are planning to switch back.
我们注意到SitePoint的访问者中有类似的趋势。 根据最近三年的浏览器趋势， 我们预测IE将在2013年灭绝 。 当然，假设下降速度不会减慢-这是不可能的。 我们还在8月询问了SitePoint读者是否会考虑改用IE8。 你们中65％的人拒绝 。 如果我们可以肯定的是，至少有部分赞成票是计划升级的当前IE用户，那么这对于Microsoft来说是个坏消息-从IE转换过来的人并不打算再转换。
It really doesn’t look like IE8 is shaping up to be enough to save Microsoft. Even if it is markedly better than previous versions of Internet Explorer, as it appears to be, it probably won’t be that much better than Firefox or Chrome or Safari that it will convince defectors to switch back. The very best Microsoft can probably hope for is to stem the tide of defections and hold onto a slim majority in the browser market — but even that seems unlikely, in our opinion.
IE8看起来并不能拯救微软。 即使它看上去比以前版本的Internet Explorer明显好，它也不会说服叛逃者改回Firefox，也不比Firefox，Chrome或Safari好得多。 微软可能希望最好的办法是遏制缺陷的潮流，并在浏览器市场中占据一小部分-但在我们看来，这似乎不太可能。
One drastic action that Microsoft could take to save Internet Explorer is to open source it. It’s probably not a coincidence that the three browsers currently eating into their market share are open source or based on open source projects.
微软为保存Internet Explorer可以采取的一项严厉措施是将其开源。 当前正在蚕食其市场份额的三种浏览器是开源的或基于开源项目的，这可能不是巧合。
What do you think? Will IE8 be enough to save Internet Explorer? Would open sourcing it make a difference? Now that RC1 is out, will you switch? Let us know in the comments.
你怎么看？ IE8是否足以保存Internet Explorer？ 开源会有所作为吗？ 现在RC1已经退出，您会切换吗？ 让我们在评论中知道。
翻译自: https://www.sitepoint.com/will-ie8-be-enough-to-save-internet-explorer/
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