It’s Friday, Friday…

Another month passes by as we look at the August market share stats to find out, how web browsers competed at the end of summer.

Internet Explorer is approaching the 50% market share mark, as it’s now down another 1.13 point, from 52.72% to 51.59%.

Firefox is the new IE and it continues to show, this time its market share has decreased by 0.4 point, down from 21.47% to 21.03%.

Another month and another gain for Google Chrome, in August Google’s web browser market share grew by another 0.97 point, from 13.49% to 14.46%.

Combining both desktop and mobile versions of Safari, its market share continues to climb as well, up from 7.37% to 7.71% (0.34 point increase).

Despite reporting growth in the latest financial report, all major trackers show Opera’s market share contraction, this time it went down from 1.62% to 1.58% (0.04 point decrease).

It’s August already as we look at the July’s web browser market share numbers. As you will see form the stats below, this month was awful for everyone but WebKit.

Internet Explorer is first in our list and there are no surprises here. It has lost some of its market share again, down from 53.68% to 52.71% (0.97 point decrease).

Firefox 5 did not change the situation for Mozilla as its browser market share continues to grind lower, down from 21.67% to 21.47% (0.2 point decrease).

Google’s Chrome growth is in a steady uptrend, nothing new here, up from 13.11% to 13.49% (0.38 point increase).

Q:

I have been warned on the Web that Microsoft Office won’t work on Apple’s new Mac operating system, Lion. Is this true?

A:

In my tests, and also according to Microsoft, Office for the Mac does work in Lion, though some relatively minor features won’t work right. Also, you must be using one of the two latest versions of Office.

In my tests, using the current version, Office 2011, all features I tested worked fine, though of course I wasn’t able to test every one of the thousands of features. I even wrote my entire Lion review in Word 2011 on a Lion-equipped Mac. According to Microsoft, the 2008 version also works, though the 2004 version doesn’t.

However, Microsoft hasn’t updated Office for Mac to take advantage of Lion’s new features. More information on Mac Office compatibility with Lion is here and here.

Q:

Can you point me in the right direction for a purchase of a tablet? I am a home inspector and presently use a Toshiba Satellite laptop with a special Windows software program for my job. I need a tablet with a screen size of 12 inches or more. USB ports would be essential.

With its iPhones and iPads, Apple has led people toward a new way of operating digital devices that relies on direct manipulation of items with finger gestures, not a mouse and scroll bars. App icons are arrayed front and center, not buried deep in a file system or limited to a strip at the bottom of the screen.

Q:

I have just been notified that Quicken 2007 for the Mac won’t run on Apple’s new Lion operating system. I don’t wish to use the new Quicken Essentials for Mac program, which has fewer features. What are the alternatives?

A:

There are other full-featured finance programs for the Mac, whose makers say they will work with Lion and can import your data from Quicken. Two better-known ones are iBank and Moneydance. I haven’t reviewed either yet, so I can’t say how they measure up. Another option is to install Windows on your Mac, or buy a cheap Windows PC, and run Quicken for Windows. Intuit, the maker of Quicken, says on its support site that, while the Windows version can import most data from the Mac versions, it cannot import investment history. Intuit says: “You will need to either re-download your investment transactions or manually enter them.”

Q:

How do I put my computer to sleep?

A:

One of the drawbacks of using an iPad or other mobile devices instead of a regular computer is that it can be hard to find suitable ways of doing the normal activities we’re used to. All of Apple’s products come with its Safari web browser, but it’s not always suitable for all web activities, whether it’s on a computer or mobile device. It doesn’t work with every website. Firefox and Google Chrome are used often to supplement Internet activity. For those who prefer using Chrome, iChromy is a suitable browser for the iPad, for when Safari just isn’t enough.

iChromy is not associated with Google at all, but it does have some of the same qualities Chrome has in a browser. Aside from that, it just has some much needed abilities. Safari’s iPad app just doesn’t have nearly enough.

Q:

I am going back to school in the fall and I contacted the school to see which laptop or tablet I should be using. They replied I would need the Adobe Flash Player to run the lectures. While I love Apple, I understand the newest Apple laptops and the iPad do not support Flash. Is this correct? If so, what should I buy?

A:

There’s a lot of confusion about this, so here’s the story. Apple’s Mac laptops and desktops do indeed run the Adobe Flash Player, and thus Flash videos and websites, just like Windows PCs. While they no longer ship with the Flash software pre-installed, you can quickly and easily download and install it free of charge. Once you do, Flash videos and websites will work on your Mac.

By contrast, the iPad won’t accept the Flash Player in its built-in browser and thus cannot run Flash videos or websites. There are some third-party browsers for Apple’s tablet, such as Skyfire and Puffin, that do run Flash on Web pages, albeit clumsily at times. The latter are available in the iPad app store. If you want a tablet that runs Flash natively, you could buy one of the newer Android models, or the HP TouchPad, but be aware that some Flash videos and websites don’t run properly on the current generation of Flash-enabled tablets.

As Internet Explorer is heading towards the 49% market share mark and Firefox continues its downtrend, we see interesting times are approaching indeed, but as for now, let’s focus on what had happened over the course of June.

No surprises here, Internet Explorer has lost some of its market share again, down from 54.27% to 53.68% (0.59 point decrease).

After slightly increasing its share in the month of May, Firefox resumes its downtrend as it goes down again, down from 21.71% to 21.67% (0.04 point decrease).

In the expense of other web browsers, Google Chrome share continues to climb higher, up from 12.52% to 13.11% (0.59 point increase).

It looks like WebKit web browsers are on the roll, as Safari managed to increase its market share by another 0.2 point, up from 7.28% to 7.48%.

Opera took another big hit (-15% this time), losing 0.3 point of its market share, as it went down from 2.03% to 1.73%.

A small army of multitouch tablet computers has been launched this year to take on Apple’s iPad, which has managed to sell 25 million units and attract 90,000 tablet-specific apps in just about 15 months, and is already in its second generation, the iPad 2. So far, none of these contenders has gained any significant traction with consumers or app developers.

Q:

When Apple’s MobileMe service goes away in June 2012, what happens to the stuff I have stored on iDisk? Will Apple still store my material someplace else remotely on one of its servers that I can access via my laptop? Will I still have some sort of .Mac mail system that I can access when on the road and using a computer other than my own?

A:

Apple says it won’t continue to have the equivalent of the iDisk online storage system, accessible directly from the cloud, after MobileMe gives way to its new iCloud service. It advises iDisk users to copy their online files to their Macs or PCs before next June. However, it says the new service will still support mac.com and me.com email accounts, and they will still be accessible via the Web. It promises details later, but has in the meantime published a document answering common questions about the transition at apple.com/mobileme/transition.html.

Q:

Is there a good program that will allow me to capture a Web video, especially a YouTube video, and convert it into an MP4 format file so I can play it on my Android-based Iconia tablet while offline on an airplane?

A:

Q:

If you wanted a new phone, would you go with the Motorola Atrix or the iPhone 4? Also I heard that a new iPhone is due out this fall. Do you feel it is wise to wait or jump into one of the phones I just mentioned?

A:

It depends on your needs and preferences. Unless you dislike Apple’s iPhone operating system, called iOS; require a physical keyboard; or prefer Sprint or T-Mobile, I would wait if possible until the fall to see what the rumored new iPhone is like. That way, you will have a better basis for comparison.

However, if you wish to buy now, you should know that there are major differences between the two devices.

The iPhone 4 has roughly double the available third-party apps, and a somewhat higher resolution screen. But the Atrix, which is an Android phone, has a larger display, and can handle AT&T’s 4G network.

Most importantly, it was designed to power a laptop-like dock and, when connected to the dock, can run the full PC version of the Firefox Web browser. AT&T is currently selling the Atrix and dock together for $300, after a $100 rebate, with a two-year contract. The iPhone 4 starts at $199 with a two-year contract.

Q:

This week, post-WWDC keynote, Charlie Rose sat Walt down to discuss the implications and impact of Steve Jobs’s iCloud announcement, and of cloud computing in general. In clip one, Walt lays out cloud computing basics. In clip two, Rose asks Walt about Jobs’s vision of the “post-PC” era.

Watching movies and TV shows on an iPad is a pleasure. Deciding what to watch, and then figuring out which iPad app offers which film or show at that moment, isn’t.

Once again, the way to buy music is changing.

For years, the legal digital music world has seemed relatively simple to grasp. There were two basic models: the online stores, where you buy singles or albums and store them on individual computers or devices; and the subscription services, where you pay a monthly fee or listen to ads for access to an online trove of songs.

Television programs, like music and books, are migrating from their traditional form of delivery to transmission over the Internet for consumption on computers, tablets and smartphones. A growing number of people, at least some of the time, are choosing to watch shows on these devices rather than on television sets.

Q:

I have two homes and travel frequently. I would like to use a smartphone’s hot-spot capabilities to totally replace the two Internet services I have to buy for my two homes and to also have when I travel. What are the options?

A:

Many phones that use Google’s Android operating system, as well as Apple’s latest iPhones, can be used as a hot spot to take in the Internet connection from a cellular data service and then pump it out to personal computers and other devices as a Wi-Fi network.

However, in most cases, speeds are slower than home Internet connections and this service usually requires an extra monthly payment to the cellular carrier and data consumption may be limited.

If you want the greatest speed, I would advise using a device on Verizon’s new 4G network, called LTE, if it is available where you live and travel. So far, it’s only offered in one phone, the HTC Thunderbolt. But Verizon also sells dedicated 4G mobile hot-spot devices.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com. Email mossberg@wsj.com

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