Firefox 1.0 November 9th

[Codegen]

Mozilla will today launch the nearly-final version of Firefox, its open source web browser, ahead of the 1.0 product launch on 9 November. The organisation says it aiming for 10 million downloads in the 100 days after inauguration, sparking much discussion of a return to the days of the browser wars, when Microsoft, AOL and Netscape battled for market share.

Bart Decrem, spokesman for Mozilla, was in London last Friday to promote the browser. He noted: "When you look at how many people are downloading Firefox already, the 10m downloads target starts to feel very safe."

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But despite the fighting talk, Decrem argues that Firefox isn't about taking back 80 per cent of the web, but about "preserving meaningful choice" on the internet: "One of our goals for the next year is to have 10 per cent of the market, but it is more about momentum than absolute market share."

He says that since IE so conclusively won the browser war, the product has barely changed. "It has stagnated," he said. "CSS, for example, is poorly supported, and web developers have been stuck a box. We need to bring back choice, which will stimulate innovation."

Decrem also predicts Mozilla will ink some deals with OEMs over the next year: "We will see OEMs deploying Firefox to users, perhaps as the default, but certainly as a secondary browser. It makes business sense because every time there is a bug or a security problem in IE, OEMs are bombarded with calls from their customers."

But its main focus over the next year will be on developing Firefox as a consumer product, and the Thunderbird email client.

"The sequence is that we get Firefox 1.0 out the door, hopefully with some positive word of mouth. Then we can look at ways of further improving the product," Decrem says. "As we get more into the mainstream, certainly things like ease of use become more and more important."

As more people start to use what Decrem calls "modern web browsers", like Opera, Netscape, Safari and Firefox, web developers will start to design pages that take advantage of, for example, better CSS support. Then, Microsoft will be forced to update IE, which "will be very good news for IE users".

There are signs that this is happening already - for example in an update to IE in SP2 blocks popups, which, Decrem says, shows that "Microsoft is paying attention".

But surely the last thing Mozilla wants is to make Microsoft pay very close attention to what it is doing. After all, we've been here before, and it didn't end well for Netscape.

Decrem concedes that the idea of having Microsoft coming after Mozilla is not a pleasant one, but argues that the landscape has changed considerably since the late 90's. As well as regulatory changes, he points to the broad community support the Firefox product has. Over 6,000 people have donated money to the organisation's bid to buy a full-page ad in the New York Times, celebrating the launch of Firefox, something Decrem says is hard to see happening in response to a new release from Microsoft.

"When Netscape open sourced its code in 1998, it was about inviting the world in. Firefox is fulfilling that goal. Microsoft can't compete with this sense of community, because people feel like they own a piece of Firefox."

As to why Firefox is doing so well - the previous release saw five million downloads in the first month - Decrem says it is an expression of support for the open source movement. He argues that there is a slice of the web community that likes the idea and the ideals of open source, but is not technically minded enough to run Linux.

"These people see Firefox as the open source thing they be a part of," he concludes. ?

[sOURCE]

Edited November 7, 2004 by Codegen

[sim1]

so firefox final will be out nov 9...

NICE

same time as halo 2 here in canada :cool: :woot: :) :D

(i havent read the thread :blush: :pinch: :rofl: )

/edit: wtf happened with the thread !?!?! :blink:

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

then why post it if you haven't done the research? let somebody who knows what there talking about post it.

also.. november 9th is gonna be a big day :D

halo 2 :D

firefox 1.0?

and i get my new PC :D

[sim1]

then why post it if you haven't done the research?  let somebody who knows what there talking about post it.

also.. november 9th is gonna be a big day :D

halo 2 :D

firefox 1.0?

and i get my new PC :D

584877062[/snapback]

gimme ur old one :yes: im stuck with my pentium 2 @ 333mhz :pinch:

[j.r.l.]

and the day to update ur sig

[StaticX]

yay

[evo0o]

Holy cow! ~~~~~ 60 pages of waiting in anticipation beings Nov 08!

[Codegen]

Holy ****, 150+ views already.

Yep., I'm gonna be glad to download Firefox 1.0 Final.

[Redestium]

Wasn't this known for at least 1 week already?

[NeoXY]

wow........3 more days here in Canada.....CAN"T WAIT!!!

[empty]

Wasn't this known for at least 1 week already?

584877108[/snapback]

yup yup.

[YBG]

Don't forget, NFSU 2 is also on Nov. 9th.

Can't wait to see Firefox Final 1.0..

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

so firefox final will be out nov 9...

NICE

same time as halo 2 here in canada  :cool:  :woot:  :)  :D

(i havent read the thread  :blush:  :pinch:  :rofl: )

/edit: wtf happened with the thread !?!?!  :blink:

584877061[/snapback]

hehe, already sold sorry :p

watch for my signature update :D

- AresXP

and this thread has turned into more of a halo 2 thread then a firefox 1.0 thread lol

[sim1]

hehe, already sold sorry :p

watch for my signature update :D

- AresXP

and this thread has turned into more of a halo 2 thread then a firefox 1.0 thread lol

584877141[/snapback]

lol u did the same thin than me! :p

*look at his sig and thx ares*

[L3thal Veteran]

Not really looking forward to final release. Nothing is being added that's not in RC1, just bug fixes. Nevertheless, it's a milestone for Firefox :)

[Hidea]

ZOMG!!!!

First... Firefox, then..... NFS UG 2!!! :D :D

[Codegen]

November 9th to 13th I have off. (9th 10th 11th are PD Days, 12th 13th is the weekend)

[webeagle12]

cant wait :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:

[Nelsinho]

yep, go firefox (Y) :p

[IceDogg]

Just in case any of you missed it. https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=241163

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

Just in case any of you missed it. https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=241163

584881017[/snapback]

this was posted first :p

[DigitalN.]

yay! time to update my browser again! :sleep:

[kars85]

that's the only issue i see with firefox seriously attempting to get OEM's to install firefox on their PC's. Don't get me wrong, but firefox has changed versions numerous times, probably more than any other software i've downloaded. it does sometimes become a hassle, but the pros still outweigh the cons considerably

hopefully though, 1.0 Final will put a slowdown to this trend.

just for clarification...the Nov 9 release is the FINAL version which means this is the climax of Firefox for the time being?

[kainashi]

that's the only issue i see with firefox seriously attempting to get OEM's to install firefox on their PC's. Don't get me wrong, but firefox has changed versions numerous times, probably more than any other software i've downloaded.  it does sometimes become a hassle, but the pros still outweigh the cons considerably

hopefully though, 1.0 Final will put a slowdown to this trend. 

just for clarification...the Nov 9 release is the FINAL version which means this is the climax of Firefox for the time being?

584881141[/snapback]

until march, of course. or if there's more big security bugs. ;\

[SaLiVa]

One more day! Almost there! Cant wait to see whats new in this version. Though I have to admit I miss the type and find function of the older 0.9. Ohh well, its just a great browser! It has won the popularity award by having a better name than "Opera". :p