Opera Software said Tuesday that its Web browser had been downloaded a record 10 million times already this year, showing growing signs of use despite Microsoft's continued dominance.
Read more: CNet News.
It'll be nearly impossible for Opera & Mozilla to become a true IE competitor (usage wise) given that IE comes with Windows, and so, pre-installed with 98% of all systems sold. In the other hand however, Microsoft has said they are no longer interested in developing IE further, making browsers like Opera more attractive given the extended features and functionality.