So, Download Day 2008 is done, and they managed slightly over eight million downloads. That’s got to be enough to get them the record. I hope you all contributed.

Of course, there currently is no record for the most downloaded piece of software in a single day, so it’s not a hard one to set. The question is: how long will it stand? And will it be Firefox 4 that breaks it?

At some point in the next day or so Firefox 3 will be released, and they’re aiming to establish the record for the most downloaded piece of software within a single day of release.

Firefox 3 is a great browser; a noticeable improvement over version 2, and much better than any of Microsoft’s efforts (and I’m speaking as a web-​user here, not just as an open-​source advocate.) Even if you can’t see what all the fuss is about I’d encourage you to find out, and if you do it sooner rather than later, you’ll be part of a setting a world record.

So head over to their world record attempt site and grab the browser if it’s up by the time you read this, or pledge to do so if it’s not. It’ll be worth the few minutes of your time it’ll take.

Edit: It’s now live, you can go and grab it any time you like, and if you do so before 6PM BST tomorrow (18^th June 2008) it’ll count for the record attempt.

Edit 2008÷06÷18 12:00: Three quarters of the way through, and just shy of six-​million downloads. It’s a great figure already, and there’s still six hours to go. If you haven’t got hold of it yet, you haven’t missed the chance, and the servers all seem to be coping much better now.