Jetpack may be the only speed boost Firefox needs

OStatic reports that the latest build of Google's Chrome browser outpaces Firefox 3 beta 4, with up to 30 percent faster performance than its Chrome predecessor, but this report overlooks a speedier Firefox alternative (Firefox 3 beta 5 is zippier), but it also misses arguably the biggest advantage Firefox has over every other browser:

A massive, growing, deeply involved add-on community, one that is only going to get stronger with the release of Jetpack.

Google has talked about getting Firefox-like extensions for Chrome but it, like Microsoft's Internet Explore and Apple's Safari, woefully underdeliver on community.

Before you cry 'Foul!', recalling that I dubbed the value of community "overhyped" in software, let me quickly suggest Firefox as an exception to the general rule, and a significant one, at that. John Lilly, Mozilla's CEO, reminded me on Twitter that 40 percent of Mozilla's development comes from outside contributors.

This makes sense, as Mozilla's Firefox fits all the parameters I outlined to hit the open core, open complement, open community box on my "openness grid."

So, fast as Firefox is, forget speed for a minute. Or two, because you really do have time, especially when the benefits of the Firefox add-on development community dramatically outpace whatever JavaScript improvements Google, Apple, or Microsoft may manufacture into their browsers.

Jetpack, as CNET reports, makes building and maintaining add-ons much easier for developers. InformationWeek notes that Firefox already sports more than 7,000 add-ons/extensions. Imagine what happens once the bar to creating and maintaining those add-ons/extensions gets better with Jetpack....

Mozilla is also proposing new rules for commit access to the core Firefox code, which could further open up the development process and encourage even more community involvement. Firefox, in other words, is going from strength to strength while its proprietary peers (which does not include open-source Google Chrome) struggle to be all things for all people.

In a product like the browser, which has so many disparate uses and users, this is an exercise in futility. Horizontal technologies like browsers and operating systems are best developed by communities, not individual organizations. They can be shepherded by a single organization - be it a for-profit corporation or a non-profit - but unless they break through the walls of their own office complex, they will struggle.

Dave Neary has suggested different ways to calculate the size of an open-source project's community. By any measure, Mozilla's Firefox community is large and growing.

This, and not JavaScript enhancements (of which Firefox will continue to do plenty), is what sets Firefox apart, and ensures that it's the browser to beat. Even though its 22-percent market share, growing 5 percent each year, still trails IE's dwindling 68-percent market share, declining 5 percent each year, Firefox has community, and that community is the decisive factor in the browser battle.

Follow me on Twitter @mjasay.

[tmarlow]

Firefox is a great browser. It's usually the first thing I download when I get a new computer or update my OS. The only reason IE still has that high of a share of the market, is because for as long as I can remember, MS basically forced you to use IE as your browser. Many computer users really had no idea they could use other browser, nor how to get them. Now that MS can no longer tie you to IE, other browsers are starting to kick their butts, and as more people try Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome, IE will be sent to the graveyard where it belongs.

[SJ2571]

+1

[ldsfutbolplayer]

Firefox does have a fantastic developer community. And some of those add-ons are very cool.

But with each add-on I install, I feel the performance drain. Some people love add-ons. And that is precisely why they will stay with Firefox. But some people LOVE speed. Google Chrome is the speediest browser out there, and still faster than the latest Firefox Beta.

Google Chrome (Dev version) has introduced the framework for community add-ons, which support is likely to grow in the coming months. Browser penetration numbers also indicate a steady (if slow) increase in Google Chrome's numbers since launch back in 2008.

[u2v]

Chrome wins hands down for most browsing. It boots in seconds, fly through pages. With Chrome one can get in and out. The other browsers, especially non-top tier machines, are much slower. Just the boot time alone makes it worth using. And, the interface is so much simpler. I have 3 browsers on my machine, and Chrome is the one I use 99/100x.

[Unknown2You]

I'm also a Chrome convert. I just downloaded Chrome v2 and it's great. I love how simple and elegant Chrome is, and how quickly it performs.

[i_debian]

Matt, after running Chrome in Windows for more than a few months, whether it was XP or Chrome's fault, by the end of the day I had a lot of slowness in terms of the screen refreshing. It seems that Firefox is a more solid app, so I went back to it.

Now I'm back to using FF3 in Windows, Linux, OpenBSD and OS X (where I've just started using Safari a bit).

I just found that for a full day of running the browser, Firefox and even Opera seem to hold up much better than Chrome. Between those two, I haven' t run Chrome at all in months.

And tools such as Web Developer and Firebug in Firefox make it a much more attractive platform for development.

Google as an Open Source app seems like an Oxymoron. I'm sure it doesn't come bundled with my favorite Firefox add-on: No Script.

I'm rooting for Firefox, all the way.

Ya'll need to stop being tools.

[prince.siraj]

Guys haven't you heard that safari 4 is out of beta? It's like more stable than chrome and faster than firefox 3.5 beta 4 or w/e