It’s finally happened: Firefox 3 is now the most used browser in Europe. While Firefox is in regards the superior product, it seemed doubtful for a time if anything could dethrone Microsoft’s long-lived browser. What Firefox’s success illustrates is not only Microsoft’s software stagnation, but that computer users across the board have acquired more mastery over their machines.
The distribution of computer skills has not changed – it is still very much a bell curve, with most users falling into the average category in the middle, bowing to the prowess of the enthusiast crowd all the way on the right. What has changed is that the curve itself has moved. Average users in 2009 are far more computer literate they were five or even three years ago.
As this change signifies that information has spread from the most technically-inclined down to the proverbial middle Americans, one could very reasonably hypothesize that the average user is somehow exposed to more computer information. The promulgation of Twitter in mainstream media aside, the availability of podcasts, especially those on technology, has certainly helped to keep the public better informed. But as is frequently the case, the real roots of this change will probably only be fully visible many years down the road. Even in the age of the internet, hindsight is 20/20.
