Browser Compatibility

Why do we need these statistics?

There are many different browsers and many different versions of each so it is never practical to test with all of them. The statistics help decide which are important.

Can the statistics be misleading?

Oh yes. Different sources use different methodologies for measuring them and the relative market shares depend on factors such as the demographics of the visitors, their geographic location and the nature of the sites (all statistics are based on the traffic from a number of sites, not the Internet as a whole).

Where can I get the statistics?

The following websites contain a variety of statistics regarding operating systems, browsers, screen resolutions, JavaScript support etc.

Note that the figures in the W3Schools website are often significantly different from the other sources because they are based on the traffic to a very small number of specialist sites (possibly just one).

If you don't have all the hardware and software needed to do your own compatibility testing there are several options:

Outsourced Browser Compatibility Testing
Test Partners Ltd offer a comprehensive browser compatibility testing service.

Testing is conducted by experienced testers and the Test Centre has a wide range of PC and Mac hardware, every version of Windows and Mac operating system and virtually every browser version released since 1996.

Hire Compatibility Testing Facilities
If you have the time and the skills to do your own testing you can hire the facilities in Test Partners' Test Centre. An area will be allocated to you complete with all hardware and software you requested.

Browsercam
Browsercam is a remote service that provides screenshots of your website using a variety of operating systems and browsers.

The service was originally only useful for static content, and it was not possible to conduct functionality tests.

It is continually evolving and there is now the facility to conduct functionality testing using virtual machines. However, this is significantly more expensive than the basic service and the range of operating systems and browsers is more limited.

Windows Versions

Windows 98 - supplied with IE 4.01 SP1a.
Windows 98SE - supplied with IE 5.0.
Windows 2000 - supplied with IE 5.01.
Windows ME - supplied with IE 5.5.
These can be upgraded to IE 6.0 SP1

Windows XP - supplied with IE 6.0.
Windows XP SP1 - supplied with IE 6.0 SP1.
These can be upgraded to IE 6.0 SP2 by installing Service Pack 2 for Windows XP.

Windows XP SP2 - supplied with IE 6.0 SP2

Mac OS 9 Versions

Mac OS 9.0 - supplied with IE 4.5.
Mac OS 9.1 - supplied with IE 5.0.
Mac OS 9.2 - supplied with IE 5.0.
These can be upgraded to version 5.1.6

Mac OS X Versions

Mac OS X versions 10.0.x and 10.1.x were truly awful and no one should be using them. Don't bother testing with these.

Mac OS 10.2 - supplied with IE 5.2.1.
Is upgraded to IE 5.2.2 by all OS X 10.2.x updates.

Mac OS X 10.3 - supplied with IE 5.2.3..
Cannot be upgraded - this is the last IE version released for OS X.

Mac OS X 10.4 and above - not supplied with IE and let's face it, no one's going to install it are they?

Not supplied with any versions of Windows or Mac OS X but in 2006 it began to be supplied with some versions of Linux in place of Mozilla. Firefox version 1.0.x and 1.5.x can be installed on the following:

Windows 98 and above.
Mac OS X 10.2 and above.
Linux kernel 2.2.14 or higher.

Netscape 8.x

Only available for Windows 98 and above.

Netscape 7.1 and 7.2

Windows 98 and above.
Mac OS X 10.1 and above.
Linux kernel 2.2.14 or higher.

Netscape 7.0x

Windows 98 and above.
Mac OS 8.6 and 9.x.
Mac OS X 10.x.
Linux - some version 6 distros supported.

Netscape 6.1 and 6.2.x

Windows 95 and above.
Mac OS 8.6 and 9.x.
Mac OS X 10.x.
Linux - some version 6 distros supported.

Netscape 6.0.x

Windows 95 and above.
Mac OS 8.6 and 9.x.
Linux - some version 6 distros supported.