mozilla

With Firefox 3, Microsoft has reason to worry

In the chronology of Internet browsers, Netscape came out earlier, but Microsoft figured out a way to do most of the same things at least as well, if not better. It didn't hurt that the company violated the law as it mobilized to crush a nascent challenge to its desktop monopoly.

Still, it's an incorrect rewrite of history to explain the triumph of Internet Explorer solely in terms of antitrust violations. Fact is that by the time Microsoft got around to the third incarnation of its Web browser, IE was arguably as good--if not better--than Netscape. We all … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 687: ByeMax

I think we're going to have to call WiMax dead. After all, the CEO of a WiMax network said it's a "disaster." Ouch. In other news, Sony decided it's not cool to charge $50 to get rid of something you never wanted to begin with, Comcast maybe does and maybe doesn't want to put a camera in your set-top box, and Tom's gonna win himself an X Prize. Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 687

Breaking: Sony won't charge $50 to remove Bloatware http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/03/sony-pay-an-ext.html … Read more

Set Internet Explorer and Firefox to maximize your security

Modern browsers are much better than their predecessors at keeping your Web activity private and your data safe. Still, you may not have your browser configured to provide optimum security. Take a few minutes to give Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 a safety check.

Batten down IE7's hatches The version of IE7 for Vista adds the Protected Mode, which allows Web sites to access only the Temporary Internet Files folder on your PC. According to Microsoft, this feature is on by default for the Internet, Intranet, and Restricted zones, but disabled for the Trusted Sites and Local Machine … Read more

Forget Facebook. The Web's platform is Firefox

Correction: This post was updated to correct the time line of John Lilly's meeting with Jerry Yang.

I spent an hour Thursday with John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla, and Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla's vice president of Engineering, and learned a few things. For one thing, I once argued that Mozilla should hire more "capitalist pigs." John's riposte Thursday was, "We have more capitalist pigs than you think."

John didn't mean that Mozilla is just another commercial open-source company. It's not. Clarifying that comment, John went on to point out that four out of its five executives are entrepreneurs. In other words, though Mozilla is tiny compared to its proprietary competition (and big by open-source project standards), Mozilla's team and community are well-architected to compete. It's not going to fall over at Microsoft's feet anytime soon.

But while competing, Mozilla is heavily focused on its customers first and its competitors second. As John indicated to me:

Our question is always, how do we grow in a way that is leveraged? We always lead with the user experience and think about the money secondarily.

That user experience is starting to evolve beyond today's browsing experience. The most interesting topic discussed in our meeting was just how compelling Mozilla's Firefox will increasingly be as the platform for much that happens on the Web. Forget Facebook, MySpace, the iPhone, and other so-called platforms. Firefox could well prove to be the most disruptive Web platform on the market. Here's why.… Read more

Get your hands on Firefox 3 beta 4

Claiming a massive number of fixes, Mozilla has released Firefox 3 beta 4 (download for Windows and Mac). This version is more stable than previous FF3 betas, but it also showcases some of the more interesting new features that we'd been promised, but until now hadn't yet arrived.

Of the more than 900 changes and fixes, four of the most useful are the add-on finder, the full-page zoom, the one-click site info, and greater cross-platform integration. Extensions are handled the same way as in FF2: users can click on an XPI and it will automatically be saved to … Read more

Firefox 3 beta, memory usage, and overlooked extensions

The big news today in the software world is a new beta version for Mozilla Firefox. The world has been sitting on Version 2 for almost a year and a half now, but the open-source foundation is making sure that Version 3 is fully baked before releasing a final version.

The latest beta release promises "more than 900 enhancements from the previous beta," but a large number of those improvements are back end and mostly invisible. Two significant features in the fourth beta that I appreciate are: an improved password manager toolbar that replaces the old semifunctional dialog; … Read more

Cardboard key to a 'green' office space

A start-up launched on Friday aims to make furnishing an office as simple as assembling a cardboard box.

Bloxes are the latest option in cardboard furniture (see photo gallery), which is gaining a toehold in the world of 'green' design. The corrugated cardboard puzzle pieces lock together to form sturdy shapes such as chairs, walls, and play forts.

Bloxes founder Aza Raskin turned to his childhood for the idea, toyed with as an art project by his father Jef Raskin, known as the "father" of the Macintosh computer.

The junior Raskin is using Bloxes to furnish the lofted … Read more

Mozilla VP talks IE 8, Firefox 3

LAS VEGAS--Mozilla Vice President Mike Schroepfer said Microsoft's decision to support a more standards-compliant mode by default should keep Web developers from having to waste so much time.

With the current set-up, he said that developers have a fairly easy time getting a site that renders properly in Opera, Safari, and Firefox, but often spend a lot of energy trying to get that same site to also render correctly in Internet Explorer.

"Web developers burn through a tremendous amount of time getting their sites to work with IE because of IE's special quirks," said Schroepfer, who … Read more

Firefox hits 500 million, yet can't get a break on mobile phones

Mozilla's Firefox browser is truly one of the grand success stories of open source. This week Mozilla is celebrating 500 million Firefox downloads. Yet for all its success, it can't seem to crack the mobile wall, which is almost shameful given the innovation and competition it has sparked on the desktop:

One reason this walled garden approach benefits cellular operators is that they get paid both by subscribers and by content providers. With open Internet access, only subscribers pay. Another benefit is that their approach reduces use of limited 3G bandwidth, meaning carriers don't have to build a more robust network.

So, because mobile Firefox might benefit customers more than cellular providers, it's shackled. At least we can safely say this has nothing to do with a fear of open source. Rather, it's a fear of customers getting value, which the carriers spread to all software providers, open source or not.

Bozos.… Read more