Browser/OS stats August 3, 2011 6:47 AM   Subscribe

Question (and I may have missed where this is): Metafilter is a geeky place - out of a certain curiosity, is there somewhere to get an OS/browser/whatnot stats breakdown for visitors? If not, that would be cool (even if merely in the form of a one-off FPP).
posted by jaduncan to Feature Requests at 6:47 AM (145 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

This would be pretty neat to see, even if it were only updated annually or so.
posted by grouse at 6:57 AM on August 3, 2011


Matt and/or pb have access to some of that stuff and one of them will probably pop up in here at some point. We don't have any specific fixed page for it, but I know they've mentioned stats now and then in Metatalk discussions where its come up.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:58 AM on August 3, 2011


This is why we need the img tag back. Then all of us can put in tracking bugs so we can monitor the requests on our remote servers. I'll take this MetaTalk thread, somebody else can do that in a FPP, and you over there can take AskMe.

Or, I mean, it'd be interesting to see the visitors stat breakdowns (also user vs guests and by subsite), if anyone who has access to the stats has time.
posted by skynxnex at 7:06 AM on August 3, 2011 [3 favorites]


It should be easy to find in Google analytics, I think. Browser, screen rez, etc.
posted by carter at 7:32 AM on August 3, 2011


In the meantime, I'm going to leave the link to a correlative study on Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Browser Usage.
posted by McSly at 7:35 AM on August 3, 2011


85% using IE6 on Windows XP SP1 at 800X600 resolution.
posted by charred husk at 7:35 AM on August 3, 2011 [11 favorites]


McSly: "In the meantime, I'm going to leave the link to a correlative study on Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Browser Usage"

So Scott Adams is using Opera?
posted by charred husk at 7:37 AM on August 3, 2011


Actually, that study on browser usage and IQ is a scam.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:40 AM on August 3, 2011 [6 favorites]


Which was a hoax, of course.
posted by ook at 7:40 AM on August 3, 2011


Are we running out of things to feel superior about?
posted by rocket88 at 7:42 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


Hoax ? too bad, I was feeling so superior.
posted by McSly at 7:43 AM on August 3, 2011


Are we running out of things to feel superior about?

...about which to feel superior.
posted by griphus at 7:44 AM on August 3, 2011 [51 favorites]


Not as geeky as you'd think--lots of folks read at work.
posted by box at 7:47 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Flag it and on with which you will move.
posted by Eideteker at 7:47 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]




Not as geeky as you'd think--lots of folks read at work.

Yep. I've been bringing down the average since 2001 or so. Mind you, we just upgraded from IE6 to IE7 two years ago. Some of our users are still complaining about it.
posted by bonehead at 8:33 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


The Daily Mail got taken in by a hoax? Unbelievable.
posted by grouse at 8:33 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Here's a look at browser/os percentages for all visits and members only. Every time I look at these I'm shocked by the iPhone and Android numbers.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:48 AM on August 3, 2011 [24 favorites]


yes, it is on the front page, some dog.
posted by clavdivs at 8:48 AM on August 3, 2011


Wow, so over 10& of visitors AND members are looking at the site with either an iPhone or an Android? I'm guessing they don't comment as much.
posted by Curious Artificer at 8:54 AM on August 3, 2011


I'm also guessing they don't type "&" when they mean "%"
posted by Curious Artificer at 8:54 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


When the Lynx-ers left the terminal and moved to IE, they raised the average intelligence level in both stats.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:04 AM on August 3, 2011


And only 5% of members use IE compared to 25% of all visits.
posted by Mitheral at 9:05 AM on August 3, 2011 [5 favorites]


Every time I look at these I'm shocked by the iPhone and Android numbers.

We're breeding, oh yes we are!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:06 AM on August 3, 2011


For fun, here's the longer tail of Operating Systems and Browsers.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:08 AM on August 3, 2011 [3 favorites]


I make up a fair chunk of that BlackBerry 9630 usage, #21 on the members list. I browse long threads while I transit—even pre-loading especially long and juicy ones for use on the subway—and often comment once I reach a proper computer.

Also, he quietly adds, just because the study was a hoax doesn't mean it's not probably true. *ducks*
posted by tapesonthefloor at 9:10 AM on August 3, 2011


It is official; MeTa confirms it: BSD is dead. Another blow hit the beleaguered BSD community...etc.
posted by daniel_charms at 9:15 AM on August 3, 2011


Also, who the fuck uses OS/2? Time to fess up.
posted by daniel_charms at 9:16 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


Wow, that one takes me back. Throw in Bill Gates shopped into a borg and something about Natalie Portman covered in grits and you'll have a full-on flashback.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:17 AM on August 3, 2011


Throw in Bill Gates shopped into a borg and something about Natalie Portman covered in grits and you'll have a full-on flashback.

cortex naked and petrified, covered in grits.
posted by daniel_charms at 9:20 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Imagine a Beowulf cluster of Natalie Portmans covered in grits!
posted by kmz at 9:21 AM on August 3, 2011


I'm probably responsible for that 1% Wii number. It is the only way to share links from MetaFilter with everyone in the room at the moment.
posted by charred husk at 9:21 AM on August 3, 2011


kmz: I foresee a spike in people reading Metafilter on Natalie Portman/Hot Grits.
posted by daniel_charms at 9:28 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


daniel_charms writes "Also, who the fuck uses OS/2? Time to fess up."

OS/2 makes sense as there are probably quite a few workstations still floating around emulating 3270. What I'd like to know is who is surfing the site from IRIX.

pb writes "For fun, here's the longer tail of Operating Systems and Browsers."

What's the time period for these numbers?
posted by Mitheral at 9:33 AM on August 3, 2011


What's the time period for these numbers?

July 3rd to Aug 2nd, 2011.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:35 AM on August 3, 2011


Whoo, Palm! I'm willing to bet I am nearly 100% of that ~0.00%.

(is this a good time to mention the "Skip to bottom" link on the mobile site doesn't work for me?)
posted by Eideteker at 9:46 AM on August 3, 2011


is this a good time to mention the "Skip to bottom" link on the mobile site doesn't work for me?

Not right after you mention Palm is hovering around ~0.00%.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:50 AM on August 3, 2011 [25 favorites]


What the heck is Rockmelt?
posted by rtha at 9:50 AM on August 3, 2011


cortex naked and petrified, covered in grits.

Cheese grits?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:53 AM on August 3, 2011


Browser stats? 100%.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:54 AM on August 3, 2011


I'm startled to find that a Danger Hiptop is a real thing. It sounds like Cee-Lo Green's next band.

Fascinating stats, pb. Any chance of a breakdown by browser version for the top dozen?
posted by Georgina at 9:56 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I was surprised to see IE still ahead of Firefox until I checked the members only (ha!) graphic and saw that Firefox was ahead with members.
posted by deborah at 10:00 AM on August 3, 2011


Oh ho ho. My personal guess as to IE usage amongst mefites was borne out. In the real world, a person owes me £10.
posted by jaduncan at 10:06 AM on August 3, 2011


Oh, and thank you pb. It was indeed interesting stuff to look at.
posted by jaduncan at 10:07 AM on August 3, 2011


rtha: "What the heck is Rockmelt?"

RockMelt, based on Chromium and backed my Marc Andreessen (of Netscape fame). Sounds kinda like Flock.
posted by Plutor at 10:08 AM on August 3, 2011


pb writes "For fun, here's the longer tail of Operating Systems and Browsers."

I misread that as "Danger Hippo" and started wondering which one of us is actually the world's deadliest secret agent.
posted by griphus at 10:09 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Sounds kinda like Flock.

And, like Flock, Rockmelt is perfect for the web 2.0 crowd who love to share and are interested in the net yet are too non-technical to install their own extensions on Firefox and/or Chrome. A large demographic, surely.
posted by jaduncan at 10:11 AM on August 3, 2011


Firefox on Android is surprisingly capable. I frequently comment from it, and the "new comments" javascript works great on it, as well.

The "new comments" even works on my crappy Blackberry 9630, despite it being a Blackberry and constantly wanting to sabotage itself.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:15 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Any chance of a breakdown by browser version for the top dozen?

hmm, how about the top almost half dozen? Here are the top few broken down by version: Firefox, Chrome, IE, Safari, Opera.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:15 AM on August 3, 2011


I'm startled to find that a Danger Hiptop is a real thing.

Yeah, it definitely sounds more like something Danger Mouse would use.
posted by daniel_charms at 10:29 AM on August 3, 2011


I like it when people start a question with "Question:"; it makes me read the rest of the post like Beyonce in the Charlie's Angels themesong.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:44 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Here's a look at browser/os percentages for all visits and members only.

I feel so lonely.
posted by Zed at 10:46 AM on August 3, 2011


Do we have any numbers on how many people are Side-talkin'?
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:46 AM on August 3, 2011 [6 favorites]


deborah writes "I was surprised to see IE still ahead of Firefox until I checked the members only (ha!) graphic and saw that Firefox was ahead with members."

Firefox at 26.03% beats out IE's 24.66% for all visits. It is just split between two different operating systems.
posted by Mitheral at 10:47 AM on August 3, 2011


Thanks, pb! That's really cool.

I wonder what it is about Firefox 3.6.18 that makes it so popular. Googling isn't giving me much. Is it the equivalent of business users being stuck with IE 6 for years?
posted by Georgina at 10:50 AM on August 3, 2011


Dang it I missed the lesser percentages on those numbers make that Firefox 27.26%. And IE 24.84% if you include chrome frame visits.
posted by Mitheral at 10:50 AM on August 3, 2011


I use 3.6. It's feature complete for me and works fairly well so I haven't been bothered to upgrade. Though I was tempted by that web tracking map application that was posted a while ago but required FF4+.
posted by Mitheral at 10:55 AM on August 3, 2011


I wonder what it is about Firefox 3.6.18 that makes it so popular. Googling isn't giving me much. Is it the equivalent of business users being stuck with IE 6 for years?


I think it's the last 3.x.x release (i.e. the last one with the old UI), so yeah, pretty much.
posted by daniel_charms at 10:55 AM on August 3, 2011


...where last = latest
posted by daniel_charms at 10:56 AM on August 3, 2011


Wow, so over 10& of visitors AND members are looking at the site with either an iPhone or an Android? I'm guessing they don't comment as much.

I just got a new phone, and yeah MeFi on Android's stock browser (and Android's Firefox) is hot shit. Commenting, hitting all the usual stops (front page, MeTa, profile, RA, AskMe, Projects, even Music works), I'd even have no problem posting a link to the front page from my phone if I had to. It's a thing of beauty.
posted by carsonb at 11:01 AM on August 3, 2011


I wonder what it is about Firefox 3.6.18 that makes it so popular.

For whatever reason, the upgrade to FF4 is a click-through. If you don't authorize the upgrade, you stay with the 3.x stream.
posted by bonehead at 11:11 AM on August 3, 2011


pb: Can you tell me how many visitors are exactly like me? Linux. Firefox 6.0. I'm betting it's a very small number.
posted by Plutor at 11:14 AM on August 3, 2011


Also a factor: FF 4 is complete garbage.
posted by Kwine at 11:26 AM on August 3, 2011 [4 favorites]


Opera 11.50 on Linux, representin'!
posted by kmz at 11:27 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Is there a Greasemonkey script that randomly and automatically screws with the user-agent string? Ideally something with default options for things like defunct console browsers, dumbphones, WebTV, non-Lynx text-only browsers, crawlers from search engines that no longer exist, etc.

If not, why not?
posted by box at 11:31 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


(Now I'm wondering if the invocation of ancient /. memes karmically lead to the Bill Gates email being posted to the Blue.)
posted by kmz at 11:32 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


box: "Is there a Greasemonkey script that randomly and automatically screws with the user-agent string? Ideally something with default options for things like defunct console browsers, dumbphones, WebTV, non-Lynx text-only browsers, crawlers from search engines that no longer exist, etc.

If not, why not?
"

There once was a FireFox plugin called FireSomething, which would randomly change your browser window titles and user-agent to {Fire,Ice,Earth,Water,Heart,Wind}{fox,chimp,eagle,weasel,mushroom} etc.
posted by mkb at 11:36 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


Is there a Greasemonkey script that randomly and automatically screws with the user-agent string? Ideally something with default options for things like defunct console browsers, dumbphones, WebTV, non-Lynx text-only browsers, crawlers from search engines that no longer exist, etc.

Greasemonkey deals with client side Javascript and unless it's expanded its functionality a lot recently, it can have no effect on the main User-Agent string. I suppose it could affect AJAX requests or scripts that grab the UA string indirectly somehow though.

There are extensions for Firefox that do something like this, and Opera used to have a quick menu option for switching to other popular UA strings (when sites did capability detection in stupid ways).
posted by kmz at 11:38 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Recent claims of study showing that people who use Internet Explorer have lower IQ scores is revealed to be a hoax. CNN, Daily Mail, and Forbes all taken in by it.

Well that one's a hoax, but this here's some cogent analysis.
posted by juv3nal at 11:42 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Can you tell me how many visitors are exactly like me? Linux. Firefox 6.0.

I don't have a good view of browser versions along with OS. We know that Firefox/Linux was 1.23% of all visits and Firefox 6 was 1.13% of all Firefox versions. So yeah, not too many.
posted by pb (staff) at 11:48 AM on August 3, 2011


As someone stuck on an ancient browser and using an OS that renamed it from Firefox to Iceweasel because the former was not free enough, I consequently have to dabble in constantly changing my user-agent to get various sites working, and so I'd like to just warn you that browser-sniffing is far from dead. There are tons and tons of sites that won't work for shit unless your user-agent matches something that they specifically grok.
posted by Rhomboid at 11:50 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]



Are we running out of things to feel superior about?

...about which to feel superior.


NO.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:54 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Convincing Research

I look forward to the day when this idiotic rule is dead and buried.
posted by Deathalicious at 12:00 PM on August 3, 2011


I wonder how much of that BB usage is me testing on metafilter every day.
By the way, J/K keyboard scrolling works on 6.0 and up.
posted by captaincrouton at 12:06 PM on August 3, 2011


Actually J/K scrolling seems to be slightly wonky on desktop as well right now. K seems to scroll up but J is only scrolling down once or twice.
posted by captaincrouton at 12:09 PM on August 3, 2011


Dag, I've just been whistling at 1200 baud through my phone. You get used to it after a while: blue, green, gray...
posted by not_on_display at 12:15 PM on August 3, 2011


So between July 3 and August 2, I looked at the site from two different OS/Browser combos (home and work) and also changed mobile platforms. Does that mean I show up in four different wedges of that pie chart?
posted by nickmark at 12:19 PM on August 3, 2011


I'd like to speak with the time-traveling user of Internet Explorer 999.1. I'm guessing that the history sidebar has a whole new function.

Also, the user of IE 4.01 is fuckin' hardcore.
posted by charred husk at 12:20 PM on August 3, 2011 [3 favorites]


Actually J/K scrolling seems to be slightly wonky on desktop as well right now. K seems to scroll up but J is only scrolling down once or twice.

That's because we're already at the bottom of the thread.

posted by nickmark at 12:20 PM on August 3, 2011


Does that mean I show up in four different wedges of that pie chart?

Yes, each of those count as separate visits.
posted by pb (staff) at 12:23 PM on August 3, 2011


"Are we running out of things to feel superior about?"

...about which to feel superior.


That's the sort of pedantery up with which I will not put!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:28 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


That's because we're already at the bottom of the thread.

Try from the top ... still broken.
posted by captaincrouton at 12:31 PM on August 3, 2011


still broken

What browser/OS are you using? It's working great for me in Chrome and Firefox on a Mac.
posted by pb (staff) at 12:35 PM on August 3, 2011


Ah, this reminds me of the days of yore when I set my User Agent to look like I was using Firefox on a VIC-20.
posted by narwhal bacon at 12:38 PM on August 3, 2011


I just browsed here using Lynx on a FreeBSD 7.2 box and really wanted to post this message from there but (dammit) I couldn't convince Lynx to log in to Metafilter.
posted by octothorpe at 12:41 PM on August 3, 2011


Why are only .80% of Chrome users using my version 13.0.785.107? Am I doing something wrong?
posted by AugustWest at 12:56 PM on August 3, 2011


Weird
Chrome 13.0.782.107 doesn't work but it does work on firefox and safari and chrome on xp and bb7 and playbook.

Maybe its just the chrome version I have.
Apologies for the confusion in that case.
posted by captaincrouton at 12:57 PM on August 3, 2011


Why are only .80% of Chrome users using my version 13.0.785.107?

This is 30 days worth of data. Because Chrome is continuously updating in the background without user intervention, that version has probably only been around for a short period of time. Maybe just the last few days? So there wasn't time for that version to jump up in the stats.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:01 PM on August 3, 2011


*feels pb knows entirely too much about her, tapes over camera*
posted by Cranberry at 1:01 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Maybe its just the chrome version I have.

Yeah, I can confirm j/k isn't working on front pages in that version of Chrome on XP. Seems to work fine on thread pages. I'll look into it.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:04 PM on August 3, 2011


icab 4eva
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:05 PM on August 3, 2011


Thanks pb. Good point about the version.
posted by AugustWest at 1:08 PM on August 3, 2011


ok, j/k keyboard shortcuts are working for me again in Chrome on XP. Looks like it wasn't working for logged out users—they weren't getting the latest version of the code. It should be set now.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:17 PM on August 3, 2011


For fun, here's the longer tail of Operating Systems and Browsers
[...]

31. BeOS
what is this i don't even
posted by dersins at 1:22 PM on August 3, 2011 [5 favorites]


I wonder how many of the visitors are really members who aren't logged in at work/on their phone. I have a stupid phone that just barely browses the web, and I don't even think I have the option to log in.

Can we get a representation of browser usage by time? By geography? By whether the person prefers Coke or Pepsi?
posted by desjardins at 1:56 PM on August 3, 2011


Can we get a representation of browser usage by time? By geography?

We use Google Analytics and it has a few basic reports like the ones I've shown. Browsers tend to have the same popularity across countries from what I can tell. So there are fewer visits from New Zealand, but the top browsers mirror every other country: Firefox, IE, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Android. The Top 20 countries all have this same pattern. As for time, not sure what you mean. This is a 30 day snapshot. It'd be interesting to see how browser usage has changed over the last year, but that's a bigger project because there isn't a great chart or report in GA to show that info.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:11 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


For fun, here's the longer tail of Operating Systems and Browsers.

Apparently, Google Analytics doesn't report Palm webOS (not PalmOS). I'm just going to assume that most of the 1.09% of "(not set)" is made up of us Palm Pre users.
posted by grouse at 2:20 PM on August 3, 2011


Hey, so long as we're talking about Google Analytics -- is there a way to make it breakdown a day's visits by individual user? Statcounter does this as a basic option, but I can't figure out a way to get Analytics to do it.
posted by griphus at 2:30 PM on August 3, 2011


OS/2 makes sense as there are probably quite a few workstations still floating around emulating 3270. What I'd like to know is who is surfing the site from IRIX.

Hey, at least someone ported a web browser to IRIX before it died.

Who the hell ported a browser to OS/2?
posted by GuyZero at 2:32 PM on August 3, 2011


Here's one way to look at browsers over time: the rise of Safari/iPhone. This compares Aug 2nd, 2010 - Aug 2nd, 2011, with the year before: Aug 2, 2009 - Aug 2, 2010. Growth starting in January of this year has been pretty crazy compared with last year.

is there a way to make it breakdown a day's visits by individual user?

Yeah, you just need to set a custom variable that identifies the user in some way. We set custom tracking variables to distinguish between members and non-members and that's as detailed as we get.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:32 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Also, I want to know what the OS/2 UA string is so I can reset my Chrome UA appropriately.
posted by GuyZero at 2:33 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Who the hell ported a browser to OS/2?

OS/2 Warp 3 came shipped with WebExplorer back in 1994.
posted by grouse at 2:35 PM on August 3, 2011


Lynx has OS/2 binaries.

OS/2 User-Agent strings.

And holy shit, Firefox and other Mozilla releases all have fairly current ports.
posted by kmz at 2:44 PM on August 3, 2011


That eComStation exists and has users is melting my mind here. IRIX died, but OS/2 lives.

There is no god.
posted by GuyZero at 2:56 PM on August 3, 2011


pb, I was interested in whether browser usage fluctuated throughout the day. For example, from 8-5 EST, does Internet Explorer have a higher share (or mobile browsers, if people are using their phones at work), but in the evening hours maybe it's Chrome or Firefox.

I don't actually expect the data to be available, it's just an interesting thought.
posted by desjardins at 3:00 PM on August 3, 2011


I do a disproportionate amount of browsing on my phone because I have a weird eye condition whereby only rigid contact lenses will correct my vision, so when I go to bed I can still read a really close (three inches away) iphone using the good spot in my left eye, with no contacts in. It's the only thing I can read without contacts - books, laptops, kindle, etc, not so much. So I am a big fan of usable mobile stylesheets and Mefi's one is that. I don't usually think of myself as having a visual disability but in this one sector I do, and Mefi is really something that I can do in bed before falling asleep*.

So thanks for the mobile stylesheet, pb.

(I wish there was a mobile menu choice which brought up the contact activity sidebar, though)

* I know in theory there are other things to do in bed, too, though am open to additional ideas which may or may not require squinting
posted by Rumple at 3:04 PM on August 3, 2011


The Top 20 countries all have this same pattern.

Hey, ya'll are just like me!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:15 PM on August 3, 2011


Huh. So iPhones beat out linux. I'm not sure whether I should be surprised. That said, I represent both.
Safari on iPhone, Chrome and occasionally Firefox and very occasionally Midori on Linux, and Chrome on OS-X. I think the breakdown represents my habits almost scarily well.
posted by neewom at 3:40 PM on August 3, 2011


When the Lynx-ers left the terminal and moved to IE, they raised the average intelligence level in both stats.

What do you mean "left the terminal"?
posted by curious nu at 3:40 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


I wonder what it is about Firefox 3.6.18 that makes it so popular.

For me, it's a combination of the fact that I loathe and detest the FF4+ UI and have no desire at all to explain it to the users I support, and complete distrust that the new FF rapid-release policy is going to play nice with a fair collection of extensions.

The 3.6.x UI was not broken, and it saddens me to see the FF crew scrambling after the IE and Chrome devs in a desperate race to "fix" it.
posted by flabdablet at 4:06 PM on August 3, 2011


I'm startled to find that a Danger Hiptop is a real thing.

It was real but then Microsoft bought Danger Labs, so I'm sure all of their products will turn into vaporware soon if they already haven't.
posted by doctor_negative at 4:40 PM on August 3, 2011


Pfft. Noobs and their lynx.

Real leet users use their tongues to taste the electrical impulses straight from the CAT5 cable.
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:04 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


OS/2 lives.

There is no god.


Shut your mouth.
posted by grouse at 5:42 PM on August 3, 2011


Noobs and their lynx.

Yeah, I still use the line mode browser (also known as www) myself.
posted by grouse at 5:43 PM on August 3, 2011


Hey, at least someone ported a web browser to IRIX before it died.

What do you call an IRIX sys admin on sys admin appreciation day?

Bitter.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:50 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


Here's a look at browser/os percentages for all visits and members only. Every time I look at these I'm shocked by the iPhone and Android numbers.

MeFi is perfect for iPhone reading. I can open a long thread before I get on the train and read it htere.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:03 PM on August 3, 2011




Wow, so over 10& of visitors AND members are looking at the site with either an iPhone or an Android? I'm guessing they don't comment as much.

Firefox on Android is surprisingly capable. I frequently comment from it, and the "new comments" javascript works great on it, as well.


comment? I've made FPPs from my phone.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:04 PM on August 3, 2011


GuyZero writes "Who the hell ported a browser to OS/2?"

IBM probably. Both MVS and VM had web browsers as early as 1995. IIRC both PROFS and OfficeVision had web browsers built in though that might have been just a wrapper on the native browser. All of them were a real joy to support though PROFS/OfficeVision was one of the best early web browsing platforms I worked with for support of blind users using screen readers.
posted by Mitheral at 6:17 PM on August 3, 2011


BB 8530 pride! Woot! .14% of usage, that's me! And, like, thirteen other people, I guess.

(I also manage to use IE and Firefox and possibly Chrome in any given month, depending on how I feel and where I am. It's all those years of having to check your HTML in every single browser out there that made me the schizophrenic internet user I am today.)
posted by SMPA at 6:40 PM on August 3, 2011


BeOS! I should try and run that in a VM or some such thing.

IRIX! That's pretty gangster. Can you still get SGI workstations?
posted by chunking express at 7:04 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]


what is this i don't even

*waves*

Every so often I try to find a BeBox and hit the site from it just to make pb all smiley.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:35 PM on August 3, 2011 [7 favorites]


I got neural implants last year. (They were on sale at Target.) So I browse the web directly; no browser needed.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:12 PM on August 3, 2011


pb, I was interested in whether browser usage fluctuated throughout the day.

Oh yeah, that makes sense, but I don't see an obvious way to get at that data.

I wish there was a mobile menu choice which brought up the contact activity sidebar, though

There is, but it's one menu deep. Click "Recent Activity", then "Skip to menu", then "Recent Activity: My Contacts". (Then bookmark it!)
posted by pb (staff) at 9:13 PM on August 3, 2011


Georgina: "I wonder what it is about Firefox 3.6.18 that makes it so popular. Googling isn't giving me much. Is it the equivalent of business users being stuck with IE 6 for years?"

A lot of people disliked the Firefox 4 interface changes (tabs on top, no status bar, etc) and it broke quite a few very popular addons when it first came out. I actually didn't upgrade until Firefox 5 came out, by which time all my must have addons were updated.
posted by katyggls at 9:22 PM on August 3, 2011


Here's a look at browser/os percentages for all visits and members only. Every time I look at these I'm shocked by the iPhone and Android numbers.

Everybody poops.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 9:46 PM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


Every so often I try to find a BeBox and hit the site from it just to make pb all smiley

I have to say, the website actually degrades extremely well in BeOS 5.

Everything is Grey.

Also, I can't actually post (but I can preview) from NetPositive. So when you have a spare moment, it would be nice if you can get to that, thanks PB! (posting from some ancient version of Firefox).
posted by mrzarquon at 10:20 PM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]


So no one has ported a browser to the TRS-80 yet?

I'll get right on it.
posted by neuron at 10:57 PM on August 3, 2011


Well, I'm double glad pb added Windows Phone 7 to the mobile browser list now, because it looks as though nobody (except me) uses it.

And yes - I use metafilter on my mobile A LOT. And I post from it. I assume other people are the same.
posted by seanyboy at 12:24 AM on August 4, 2011


Mitheral: PROFS/OfficeVision was one of the best early web browsing platforms I worked with for support of blind users using screen readers.

How so? (I develop a web browser for screenreader users, always interested in different ways of doing things.)
posted by alasdair at 1:44 AM on August 4, 2011


What the fuck is Seamonkey?
posted by spicynuts at 1:47 AM on August 4, 2011


Metafilter has perhaps the best mobile site of any of the sites that I visit regularly. (So thanks for that). That probably helps the mobile numbers. If I'm sitting somewhere and need to pass some time I'll tend to check MF over other sites just because it works so well on my phone.

The menus at the bottom with a jump-to link at the top is a thing of beauty I wish everyone would steal.
posted by markr at 3:44 AM on August 4, 2011 [3 favorites]


spicynuts: "What the fuck is Seamonkey?"

It was an attempt to continue work on Mozilla after Firefox and Thunderbird were spun off as separate projects. It's pretty much dead.
posted by octothorpe at 4:18 AM on August 4, 2011


Would Haiku be counted separately or as BeOS?
posted by needled at 4:21 AM on August 4, 2011


What I'd like to know is who is surfing the site from IRIX.

Booting up and using an Indigo2 as a personal workstation, projectors displaying a website monitoring your enemies - Metafilter - onto the curving master screen of your undersea lair, was one of the best parts of pursuing world conquest in the '90s.

I would upgrade to something more decadently expensive and mad-science cutting edge, but they've stopped making elegant and arcane high-performance computers. It's all cell-phone fondling technology and see-how-many-desktop-PC-processors-we-can-stuff-into-a-warehouse nonsense. There just isn't an option on the market for obscure silicon running bespoke software at mindblowing speed, nevermind one that comes in a seductive and tastefully hued package that looks good atop a 20' wide black granite desk.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:13 AM on August 4, 2011 [8 favorites]


I love how the RockMelt logo is the earth being destroyed by immense rivers of red-hot molten magma.
posted by owtytrof at 8:15 AM on August 4, 2011


Some of us just like italics, ok?

posted from my SGI Onyx

posted by BeerFilter at 8:40 AM on August 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


There is, but it's one menu deep. Click "Recent Activity", then "Skip to menu", then "Recent Activity: My Contacts". (Then bookmark it!)

Thanks, pb!
posted by Rumple at 9:32 AM on August 4, 2011


I interpreted charred husk's meaning to be that he, and several fellow meatbags, are in meatspace and having a nice social time that includes looking at interesting things on the internet together. The presumably do some amount of talking in the process.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:08 PM on August 4, 2011


Not after they light the silence candle.

Oh, shit, I've said too much.
posted by box at 5:47 PM on August 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


alasdair writes "How so? (I develop a web browser for screenreader users, always interested in different ways of doing things.)"

PROFS was a client/server interface running on 3270 terminal emulators on the client side and some room filling piece of iron on the server side. The client decouples carriage return from enter; keyboards have both Enter keys and return keys. Because of this and because (this is just an assumption) the developers were comfortable with non interrupt based interfaces the web client worked better than most other text browsers at the time. Links could be selected with the return key to read alt text without having to display it inline and the enter key could be used for selection.

In hind site part of the easy might have been because the users were already used to non-interrupt based computing.
posted by Mitheral at 6:51 PM on August 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


Why on earth would anyone use the default Android browser? Even me, a dinosaur who still mourns OS/2, knows better.
posted by QIbHom at 8:43 AM on August 5, 2011


cortex: "I interpreted charred husk's meaning to be that he, and several fellow meatbags, are in meatspace and having a nice social time that includes looking at interesting things on the internet together. The presumably do some amount of talking in the process"

Actually, when we're in meatspace wearing our meatbags, we're usually busy trying to frantically eat our way out of the massive human tartare cocoons that the Flesh Skinner has encased us in. By the time that any survivors come together, our voices are too hoarse from continual vomiting to actually talk. We need to use the Wiis that are embedded into the living flesh of meatspace to communicate with each other and plan an escape without becoming part of the pulpus, bloody environment by the Flesh Skinner's hands.

Now, what you describe does match our occasional evenings in when we're sitting around talking and someone asks, "have you seen X online yet?"
posted by charred husk at 9:36 AM on August 5, 2011


Metafilter:our voices are too hoarse from continual vomiting to actually talk
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:16 AM on August 5, 2011 [2 favorites]


Thanks Mitheral!
posted by alasdair at 5:41 AM on August 18, 2011


After having taken a closer look at the browser/OS stats for members, I'm now curious whether a similar breakdown exists for geographic origin.
posted by infini at 7:19 PM on August 21, 2011


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