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According to data gathered by StatCounter, on Sunday 18th March 2012, Google Chrome became the world's most used browser with a total market share of 32.71%, inching ahead of Internet Explorer by 0.21%.



However, Chrome's lead did not last long - on Monday 19th March 2012, Internet Explorer was back on top, with a difference of 4.98% separating the two.



From this, we could argue that users are more likely to use Chrome if given the choice - at the weekend everyone is free to use whichever browser they choose. However, when back in a corporate environment employees are often forced to use one sanctioned browser - usually Internet Explorer due to legacy applications and business resistance to change. And with Chrome constantly eating away at the market share of all other browsers (see below chart), I don't think it will be long before Chrome tops IE in the long term either.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." -- Steve Jobs

Benoit Mandelbrot, the mathematician who is chiefly known for discovering fractals, passed away yesterday at the age of 85.

Mandelbrot's research lay almost entirely outside mainstream research, and his discoveries have had far-reaching consequences. His work on fractals was so revolutionary that, not only did the most famous fractal become his namesake, but it also led to the development of a modern information theory.

In the non-mathematical-but-still-quite-geeky circles, he will probably be best remembered for being the subject of one of Jonathan Coulton's songs (video below). The more mathematical readers may notice that the song actually describes the Julia Set, not the Mandelbrot Set.



And, as everyone on Twitter seems to keep saying, "Thank goodness he wasn't murdered. It would have taken the police forever to draw the chalk outline.".