Browsers/Firefox

Can IE8 Neuter Firefox?

By Mark Evans in Browsers, Browsers/Firefox 2 Comments

So, IE8 ready to be unleashed into private beta.

Question: will IE8 be able to fend off Firefox, which now has now has more than 15% market share?

Firefox has a few key elements going for it: momentum, a great brand and a thriving ecosystem happy to develop extensions/add-ons to make Firefox make useful. As well, the increasingly profitable Mozilla Foundation is getting more aggressive strategically – and even getting serious about taking Thunderbird along for the ride.

Should be interesting to see IE8 vs. Firefox 3.0.

Picture 1-50
Source: Janco Associates

Technorati Tags: , ,

Firefox’s Leopard Woes

By Mark Evans in Apple/iPod, Browsers/Firefox 14 Comments

Apparently, Firefox has worked out some compatibility issues with Leopard but I’m finding they still aren’t playing nice together. My biggest issues are Firefox freezing, an inability to switch between applications, and the inability to quit an application. Anyone else struggling with Firefox and Leopard?

Update: There’s already a service pack for Leopard (10.5.1) in the works that fixes a number of bugs. And I thought service packs were just a Windows thing!

Technorati Tags: ,

The Mozilla/Firefox Cash Machine

By Mark Evans in Browsers/Firefox, Google 2 Comments

Firefox-2
It’s amazing how much money that one little [Google] search box within Firefox makes for the Mozilla Foundation.

According to the foundation’s 2006 consolidated financial statements, Mozilla made a cool pre-tax profit of $47.1-million last year compared with $44.7-million in 2005. As impressive is the fact Mozilla has operating margins of 76.5%.

As much as I’m excited about Firefox 3.0, it would also be good to see some of that Google Mozilla money be invested in giving Thunderbird a much-needed kick in the pants. Thunderbird was spun off into a new subsidiary last month but it’s future is far from clear after its only two full-time developers quit.

For more on Mozilla’s financial performance, check out Between the Lines, which does a nice job of breaking out and analyzing the balance sheet. Search Engine Watch, meanwhile, suggests Firefox be re-named Googzilla or GoogleFox.

Picture 3-3

When’s the Firefox IPO?

By Mark Evans in Browsers/Firefox, Google, Main Page, Search Engines No Comments

If you thought Firefox – the Web browser – was doing well, check out the organization behind, the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, which reported via CEO Mitchell Baker’s blog it made a profit of $44.7-million in 2005. Most of the $52.9-million of revenue was made from “search engine relationships”, which means Google paid Mozilla a whack o’ cash for making it the default search box within Firefox, which has about 10% of the browser market. The profit will go into a “reserve fund” but you have to wonder how an organization that had operating costs of $8.2-million is going to deal with such a large amount money. Maybe it can purchase a bunch of those $100 PCs – or do they now cost $150? – or build some high-speed wireless networks in less-developed countries. For more check out, GigaOm.

Technorati Tags: ,

Firefox 2.0 – Not Quite Yet For Me

By Mark Evans in Browsers, Browsers/Firefox, Main Page, Uncategorized No Comments

There's a lot of excitement about Firefox 2.0 (although it seems muted compared with 1.5) but I have no plans to jump on the bandwagon quite yet despite the new version's better security and better speed. Why not? It mostly has to do with the compatibility of extensions. Why would I want to jump to 2.0 if some of my 1.5 extensions won't work? It would be like buying a new car with a better motor but the headlights and speedometer don't work. For now, I'll stick with 1.5. Who knows, I may even try IE7.
Update: Hardware 2.0's Adrian Kingley-Hughes has a post looking at 2.0's shortcomings, including memory leaks, weak anti-phishing features and incompatible extensions. He still believes 1.5 users should upgrade: “If you stick with 1.5.x then you're going to
be at risk from unpatched vulnerabilities.  The only way to go is up to
2.0 and keep downloading updates as they become available.”

Will IE7 Kill Firefox?

By Mark Evans in Browsers, Browsers/Firefox, Main Page, Microsoft, Uncategorized 8 Comments

After months of anxious anticipation, Internet Explorer 7 is finally available. Now, we can abandon those pesky open-source browsers that have kept IE from cementing its domination of the market. I can't wait to uninstall Firefox, Flock and Opera. No more worrying about cool extensions and plug-ins from an army of developers, no more worry about Web sites that just don't look quite right, and finally no more guilt about trying to be one of those people who seeks out Microsoft alternatives. If I were you, I'd rumble over to IE7's download site immediately. Can it only be a matter of time before Firefox's 10% to 12% share of the browser market returns to a more reasonable level – say 2% to 3%? Then, we'd be back to normal again with a true king and lots of little wannabes wandering around to make it seem like competition is alive and well.

   Then again…what if IE7 isn't the be all and end of browsers? What if it's a simply much-needed improvment from IE6, which was still using Spyglass technology from late-1990s? What if Firefox 2.0 is just as good and user-friendly? (and less of a memory hog would help as well!) Surely, this would force Microsoft to deal with competitors (Firefox, Opera, Flock, Maxthon, etc.) that encourage innovation. What if all those Firefox users and all those Firefox developers just keep on doing what they're doing? Now, this could be interesting, very interesting.

   So what do you do as a browser user? Well, if you're curious and brave, download IE7. If you're happy with Firefox, Flock and Opera, just keep on doing what you're doing. For more view check out FactoryCity, Inside Microsoft and Matt Cutts.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
1 2 3 4