From: Mustafa Akgul (akgul@Bilkent.EDU.TR)
Date: Wed 10 Nov 2004 - 05:04:03 EET
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/3993959.stm
Published: 2004/11/09 11:19:10 GMT
FIREFOX BROWSER TAKES ON MICROSOFT
Microsoft's Internet Explorer has a serious rival in the long-awaited Firefox
1.0 web browser, which has just been released.
Few people get excited when some new software is released, especially when the
program is not a game or a music or movie player.
But the release of the first full version of Firefox has managed to drum up a
respectable amount of pre-launch fervour.
Fans of the software have banded together to raise cash to pay for an advert in
the New York Times announcing that version 1.0 of the browser is available.
The release of Firefox 1.0 on 9 November might even cause a few heads to turn
at Microsoft because the program is steadily winning people away from the
software giant's Internet Explorer browser.
Hearts and minds
Firefox has been created by the Mozilla Foundation which was started by former
browser maker Netscape back in 1998.
Several early versions of Firefox have been released since February when the
browser made its first appearance.
Since then the software has been gaining praise and converts, not least because
of the large number of security problems that have come to light in Microsoft's
Internet Explorer.
Rivals to IE got a boost in late June when two US computer security
organisations warned people to avoid the Microsoft program to avoid falling
victim to a serious vulnerability.
Internet monitoring firm WebSideStory has charted the growing population of
people using the Firefox browser and says it is responsible for slowly eroding
the stranglehold of IE.
Before July this year, according to WebSideStory, Internet Explorer was used by
about 95% of web surfers. That figure had remained static for years.
In July the IE using population dropped to 94.7% and by the end of October
stood at 92.9%.
The Mozilla Foundation claims that Firefox has been downloaded almost eight
million times and has publicly said it would be happy to garner 10% of the
Windows- using, net-browsing population.
Firefox is proving popular because, at the moment, it has far fewer security
holes than Internet Explorer and has some innovations lacking in Microsoft's
program.
For instance, Firefox allows the pages of different websites to be arranged as
tabs so users can switch easily between them. It blocks pop-ups, has a neat way
of finding text on a page and lets you search through the pages you have
browsed.
Recruiting volunteers
One of the most powerful features of Firefox is the many hundreds of extras, or
extensions, produced for it.
The Mozilla Foundation is an open source organisation which means that the
creators of the browser are happy for others to play around with the core code
for the program.
This has resulted in many different add-ons or extensions for the browser which
now include everything from a version of the familiar Google toolbar to a
Homeland Security monitor that keep users aware of current threat levels.
Firefox, which was originally called Firebird, also has a growing number of
vocal net-based fans.
A campaign co-ordinated by the Spread Firefox website attempted to raise the
$50,000 needed for a full page advert in the New York Times.
The campaign set itself a target of recruiting 10,000 volunteers. Ten days in
to the campaign 25,000 people had signed up and now about $250,000 has been
raised.
The ad is due to run sometime in a three-week period in late November/early
December.
The surplus cash will be used to help keep the Mozilla Foundation running.
© BBC MMIV
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