figures

According to a new report, the number of PCs sold around the world dropped by almost 14 per cent last year. Even the gloomiest forecasts failed to predict such a slump that many experts are blaming on Windows 8. The figures come from analyst firm ... IDC and combine reports from the major PC manufacturers. These reports cover the first three months of 2013 and compare them to the same period last year. The numbers actually refer to how many PCs the firms have sent to stores rather than how many have been bought by consumers and businesses. That can make it difficult to compare one quarter to the ... (view more)

Google's Chrome has become the most widely used web browser in the world. Although its lead is probably temporary, the surge in popularity ends a 14-year-reign by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The figures come from StatCounter's weekly usage ... charts. For the week ending May 20, the company estimates that 32.76 per cent of people across the world were using some version of Chrome, compared with only 31.94 per cent using Internet Explorer. Mozilla'a Firefox took third place with 25.47 per cent of all usage, while Apple's Safari lagged behind the other three browsers at just 7.08 per cent. ( ... (view more)

According to a recent report, the number of records compromised by data breaches fell dramatically in 2010. While that makes for welcome news, the number of actual breaches was much, much higher last year than in 2009. The figures come from ... Verizon's business department, which carries out investigations into security breaches as a commercial service. Unlike its figures for 2009, the company included details of some cases provided by the US Secret Service for the first time in 2010. That makes a direct comparison very tricky, though it turns out the overall trends are clear. Three Times More ... (view more)

Microsoft's share of the web browser market has dropped since the release of the " browser choice " screen in Europe. But the decline is not significant enough to draw firm conclusions that the ballot is making a serious difference. The browser ... ballot is the result of a settlement between Microsoft and the European Union (EU) over antitrust concerns related to Internet Explorer's packaging in the Windows operating system. The screen has been appearing gradually since March 1, 2010 to all users in EU countries who have Internet Explorer (IE) set as their default browser. It prompts ... (view more)

A senior Microsoft executive has forecast that 300 million copies of Windows 7 will be sold during 2010. That comes just days after Microsoft reported sales of 90 million Windows 7 licenses to date. The comments came from chief operating office ... Kevin Turner, the man effectively responsible for Microsoft's day-to-day operations. He was speaking to the London School of Economics. Sales Outweigh Economic Conditions Turner said he expected the positive response to the new operating system to drive sales, outweighing a natural reluctance by businesses to spend large amounts amid harsh economic ... (view more)