I know that browser statistics can be misleading, but after looking at some numbers from a few clients, and checking out the publicly available numbers from outposts like Browser News, thecounter.com and webreference, it appears that Internet Explorer 5.x is taking its last gasps of breath, and could be all but dead within a year. And given the differences in IE 5.0 and 5.5's box model, as well as the red-headed step child known as IE 5.2 Mac, that last gasp will be a breath of fresh air for standrads-loving, browser-testing web developers everywhere.

If you haven't checked lately, Netscape 4.7 seems to be checking in at a fraction of a percent these days, which is comforting for standardistas like myself. Now were just waiting patiently for IE 5.x to kick the bucket. Last year, a combination of the various IE 5 flavors was clocking in around 12-13%, and just a year later, the number is looking like something around 4% and dropping steadily.

If that pace continues, IE 5.x will be all but dead by next fall, and who knows, IE 7 might even be released by then.

Of course, we realize that these sites are somewhat skewed toward the web professional audience, but a review of some recent client site logs reveals similar numbers. And with that in mind, remember that your own site logs are always the best browser statistics for your site.

Labels: browsers, IE-5, IE-7, Netscape, web-standards