[edeveloper]

Hey everyone,
My company has a subscription to a web service (www.statmarket.com)that tracks what operating systems, browsers and browser versions as well as alot of other info users are using globally in real time. as of today :
browser vers -
IE 5.0: 32.59%
IE 5.5: 28.81%
IE 5.01: 12.14%
IE 4.01: 6.96%
AOLIE 5: 3.38%
NS 4.7: 2.18%
AOLIE 5.5: 2.08%
NS 4.5: 1.29%
NS 4.75: 1.26%
NS 4.76: 1.25%
NS 4.73: 1.08%
all other browser vers are less than 1%

operating systems -
Windows: 96.84%
Mac: 2.32%
Other: .44%
Unix: .40%

if you were worried about compatibility and alienating users maybe this will make you feel better or maybe worse.

[Akane]

you're rigth
on our stats, we got less than 10% for netscape users, and 15%for mac users
but we must do ot compatible anyway, we can't forget even 5% of the users
that's my opinion ...

[edeveloper]

i don't discount anyone. but these stats definitely help me control how much time i put in to compatibility issues before i sniff and send the user to a step-down page.
oh, and to do the math, looking at major browser vers.
IE: 87.78
NS: 11.94

[Gargoyle]

well i absolutly agree to akane, even 2% r worth crossplatform and cross browser functionality even in flash and even more in dhtml. perhaps my pro netscape/unix and contra microsoft opinion is getting on yar nerves, but much too often i was offered to clean up a complete website for a company coz they realized that the standard silly lamer does nt seem to be intrested in products the company wants to sell and to get their audience they were forced to do it crossbrowser and crosspaltform. it my be just a little amount to u 11 or 12% but who is using netscape knows why and it's a question of operating sales profit to please these guys, otherwise u wont get a server sold to an administrator or anything else, coz administrators and managers decide what product is going to be bought, and most admins work on a unix and there is no ie at all, even when working under windoze they normally prefer the comfort of the netscape browser and the feeling of security using it.
and for a webdesigner i think these numbers r irrelevant coz u got to keep improving all yar knowledge all the time. if the major finace expert of a company is coming around the corner and telling me listen mac os dies coz they didn'T sell even one computer the last year, i might rethink, but as long as there r users which might be intresting (the masses never r intresting to me) for my company or the people i am working for i never would suggest anything else than crossbrowser and crossplatform compatibility, anything else the company could ask a kid to do it for them with a wysiwyg editor. but for me it is spirit and pride to break the limits and make real what ever the job might be, and if i do so everyone has the right to enjoy.