User demands push Firefox
Published 13 November 2006
Rivalling Microsoft isn't enough in the browser wars for net supremacy
Two years ago those who, like me, inhabit the buffer zone between the geek and non-geek world experienced an historic moment. The Guardian devoted one of its editorials to the release of a piece of software. And not just any piece of software: it had been created by the open-source community, that merry band of geeks who think nothing of collectively donating millions of man hours to the joys of debugging code and subverting the largest computer corporation in the world. The piece of software was Mozilla Firefox.
Mozilla Firefox is a web browser, an application, like Microsoft's Internet Explorer, used to surf the web. Originally called Phoenix, it rose from the ashes of Netscape Navigator, after the latter lost the 1990s browser wars to Microsoft - a battle that would eventually lead to the high-profile Redmond anti-trust cases. Licking its wounds, Netscape laid Navigator on the altar of the open-source community, releasing the code under a licence that would let this band of volunteers tinker with it until the soldier could fight another day. On 9 November 2004, Mozilla Firefox 1.0 was released to the world.
This summer, the amount of people downloading Firefox to run on their computers hit the 200 million mark, and the browser's market share was estimated to be around 13 per cent. Renowned for its advanced features and tantalising menu of "plug-ins" - freely downloadable and easy-to-install ancillary tools that mesh seamlessly with the browser - Firefox was a big hit with many Internet Explorer users tired of pop-ups and phishing sites.
Last month, Mozilla launched Firefox 2.0. And according to the Spread Firefox campaign, more than two million users responded by downloading the updated version within 24 hours. But this time around, there was no mainstream media fanfare on a par with the Guardian leader. What's worse, rumours that the software contained a major security flaw appeared on the premier technology forum, Slashdot, under the heading: "Nine reasons to skip Firefox 2.0". It took more than 24 hours - a veritable aeon in internet gossip time - before they were convincingly quashed by a project insider.
After some debate the Slashdotters, for the most part, rallied round Firefox 2.0. But there is a valuable lesson in the story of this release. And that is that you can only be an underdog for so long. As more and more of us come to rely upon Firefox, fewer and fewer will see its origins, in and of themselves, as anything to recommend it.
While Firefox continues to trump Microsoft's web browsers - even the newly released IE7 - the Mozilla community can safely rely on the support of their users. But it looks as if, after two short years, the goodwill towards the project's volunteer spirit, which was enough to inspire a leader in a national newspaper, really is ancient history.
Post this article to
We want to encourage people to comment on our content and to exchange views with other readers and hope this will be done on a courteous basis. However, if you encounter posts which are offensive please let us know by emailing comments@newstatesman.co.uk and we will take swift action where necessary.
