Real-world usage data shows that most PCs now run Firefox, Skype displaces MSN Messenger, and Asia and Europe love OpenOffice

It finally happened. After years of building momentum -- and more than a few false starts -- Mozilla's Firefox Web browser has finally reached critical mass. There are now more users running some variant of Firefox (50.6 percent) than not running it, according to the latest statistics from the exo.performance.network, which tracks the actual usage and configurations of thousands of PCs globally, providing a real-world snapshot.

The real-world data also shows that Skype has become the most-used instant messaging client and that OpenOffice.org's open source productivity suite's adoption in Asia and Europe is 50 percent higher than in the United States.

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