Internet Explorer usage to plummet below 50 percent by mid-2012

According to new data posted this week from a company called Net Applications, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer appears to be continuing a downward spiral. Over the last ten months, Microsoft has lost five percent of the web browser market while Google’s Chrome has gained about six percent. The amount of people using Internet Explorer is expected to fall below the 50 percent mark around late May of 2012. One bright point for Microsoft is that usage of its latest version of Internet Explorer, IE9, increased by about two percent from July to August. However, IE9 is limited to usage on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows XP users are limited to Internet Explorer 8 until upgrading.

Across all operating systems, Internet Explorer 8 is the most popular browser at a bit over 30 percent of the market. Google Chrome 13 followed in second place at about 11 percent of the market and the aging, third place Internet Explorer 6 clocked in at about 10 percent. This version of Internet Explorer is often reviled by web designers and developers, but it seemed to hold fairly strong over July to August and barely dropped in usage. The ability of Google Chrome to quietly upgrade without bothering the consumer seems to have helped Google keep its user base consistently using the latest version of the browser.

Mozilla’s Firefox has remained fairly stagnant over the last 10 months, but has only lost about one percent of the browser market. Mozilla recently switched to an upgrade cycle identical to Google Chrome as the inability to roll out quick updates made the browser seem stale in comparison to Chrome. Apple’s Safari browser slowly gained market share over the last year to the tune of one percent and the Opera browser seems to be slowly fading away. Opera’s share dropped from 2.42 percent in September 2010 to 1.68 percent in August 2011.

A Touch Screen Technology

A touch screen is a device, which allows users to control a Personal Computer by simply touching the display screen by finger or pin. This type of input is suitable for a large number of computing applications. Most PC systems use a touch screen as easily as other input devices such as track balls or touch pads.



Working of Touch Screen

Touch screen has 3 main components: a touch sensor, a controller and a software driver. To make a complete touch input system, a touch screen is combined with a display and a PC or other device.



1) Touch screen censor

A touch screen sensor is a glass plate having touch responsive surface. The touch sensor is positioned over a display screen so that the responsive area of the plate covers the maximum viewable area of the video screen. There are number of touch sensor technologies available in the market today, each using a different approach to detect touch input. The sensor has an electrical current or signal passing through it and touching the screen causes change in voltage or signal. This voltage or signal change is used to find out the location of the touch to the screen.



2) Controller

The controller used in touch screen is a small PC card that interconnects between the touch sensor and the PC. Controller takes data from the touch sensor and converts it into information that PC can understand. For integrated monitors, the controller is usually installed inside the monitor or it is placed in a plastic case for external touch add-ons/overlays. The controller is useful to determine what type of interface/connection you will need on the PC. Integrated touch monitors are provided with an extra cable connection on the back for the touch screen. Controllers are available by connecting to a Serial/COM port (PC) or to a USB port (PC or Macintosh).



3) Software Driver

The driver is software for the PC system that permits the touch screen and computer to work together. It tells operating system of computer how to interpret the touch event information that is sent from the controller. Today’s touch screen drivers are a mouse-emulation type driver. This makes touching the screen the same as clicking your mouse at the same location on the screen. This permits the touch screen to work with existing software and provide new applications to be developed without the need for touch screen specific programming. Some devices such as thin client terminals, DVD players and specialized computer systems either do not use software drivers or they have their own in -built touch screen driver.



Uses of Touch Screen

The touch screen is one of the simplest PC interfaces to use, making it the interface of choice for a large number of applications. Following are uses of touch screen.



1) Public Information Displays

Tourism displays, trade show displays, Information kiosks and other electronic displays are used by large number of people that have little or no computing experience. The touch screen interface is easier to use than other input devices especially for novice users. A touch screen is useful to make your information more easily accessible by allowing users to navigate your presentation by simply touching the display screen.



2) Retail and Restaurant Systems

In retail or restaurant environment, touch screen systems are easy to use so employees can get work done faster and also training time can be reduced for new employees. As input is present right on the screen, valuable counter space can be saved. Touch screens can be used in order entry stations, cash registers, seating, reservation systems and more.



3) Control and Automation Systems

The touch screen device is useful in systems ranging from industrial process control to home automation. Valuable workspace can be saved by integrating the input device with the display. In real-time by simply touching the screen and with a graphical interface, operators can monitor and control complex operations.



4) Computer Based Training

The touch screen interface is more user-friendly than other input devices so overall training time for computer novices and therefore training expense can be reduced. It can also more useful to make learning more fun and interactive, which can lead to a more beneficial training experience for both students and educators.



5) Assistive Technology

The touch screen interface is very useful for those having difficulty using other input devices such as a mouse or keyboard. When touch screen used with software such as on-screen keyboards or other assistive technology, they can help make computing resources more available to people that have difficulty using computers.

Best Computer Security Software

Security is always an issue, when it comes to computers. Viruses, malware, trojan worms, spyware.. all sorts of nasty little programs or software which like termites, love to burrow deep into some unsuspecting computer and destroy it slowly but surely. And then there's the issue of Internet security. Your online identity should authenticate you correctly to various applications, at the same time, should remain private and privileged information. Phishing is another Internet threat.



The solution to all these problems and threats is a capable and efficient computer security software. This is actually a broad term, meant to encompass all different types of computer security mechanisms and programs, such as antivirus and anti-spyware or parental controls. Antivirus can come as a standalone or suite program. In standalone software, the program just handles virus and harmful programs threats, some may handle spyware. Standalones have limited functionality. But a complete computer security suite has a myriad of different programs or departments, such as handling viruses and spyware, acting as parental control software and handling your computer's safety online.



Check out the license or warranty provided with security software. Some programs can only be used on 1 PC, so if you have multiple computers, buy smart and purchase a security program which provides multiple licenses. Keeping such points in mind, below is a round-up of some of the best computer security software 2011 models.