Safari beta downloaded a million times

That's an impressive number given the browser was only posted on Monday, although as ever, the figures have to be taken with a soupcon of salt. When the download is free, how many people end up using the program? Does the number include broken downloads? Those sorts of questions.

For context, it's also worth reminding yourself of other download claims. Type "million downloads since" into Google and you get some interesting historical comparisons.

In January, 2005, the Spread Firefox site that encourages uptake of the browser said it had helped to achieve 20 million downloads of the version 1.0 release in 76 days. In October of the same year, Mozilla.org claimed 100 million downloads.

3, the awkwardly named 3G carrier, said in September 2006 that there had been 12 million downloads of its SeeMeTV video-sharing software since its launch the previous October.

The Daily Audio Bible, said in December 2006 that it had received 2.5 million downloads since its launch in January of that year.

And, back to Safari, Apple shifted two million downloads of Safarai Beta 2 in two months early in 2003.

So, who wants to be a download millionaire? Plenty of people, and, in this age of freebies and fat pipes, it's not as hard as it used to be. µ