Firefox passes 50 million download mark

The Mozilla Foundation's Firefox Web browser passed a significant milestone in adoption on Friday, with more than 50 million copies of the program downloaded, according to its distributors.

To commemorate the moment, the foundation said on its Web site that it would create 50 limited-edition coins, to be distributed to people with stories of spreading the browser online. An additional, a still-unnamed prize will be given to the owner of the Web site responsible for the 50 millionth download.

"It's funny how the counter just blows by 50 million without a care in the world, isn't it?" Mozilla developer Blake Ross wrote on the foundation's Web site. "But it's not just a number to us. It's a validation of half a decade of work, and the beginning of half a decade more."

With its first full-fledged release last November, Firefox has shaken up a Web browser market that most analysts had deemed almost wholly mature. For the first time in years, the market share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer has begun inching downwards as Firefox adoption rises.

Much of the interest in Firefox has been driven by repeated security holes found in Internet Explorer. Some prominent security researchers have even recommended against using IE if possible, a criticism that has stung in Microsoft executive suites.

Indeed, after years of saying that Internet Explorer was inextricably tied to new releases of Windows, Microsoft executives said in February that they would release a new version of IE before the due date of Longhorn, the next planned operating system release. That new version would focus on creating a secure browsing environment, the company said.

However, Firefox itself has begun to show the wear of popularity, with the emergence of several critical security flaws over the past few months. Open-source developers have contended that the browser's architecture is still safer than IE, however.

[pooyak]

It's not all about security

Well, while security is really an important matter but it is also important to have a browser which supports standards, actively developed and easy to customize. Open source software will never die as far as users feel the need. It is so powerful that it can even drive other companies to listen to the users and not just do what they want to do. That is were security fits too if looking in the correct direction: it is not that hard to imagine an open-source project to redesign the whole code if needed, but it is totally a fiction for big companies to do that. These are just some of the reasons why I believe Firefox is the best browser around.

[pooyak]

It's not all about security

Well, while security is really an important matter but it is also important to have a browser which supports standards, actively developed and easy to customize. Open source software will never die as far as users feel the need. It is so powerful that it can even drive other companies to listen to the users and not just do what they want to do. That is were security fits too if looking in the correct direction: it is not that hard to imagine an open-source project to redesign the whole code if needed, but it is totally a fiction for big companies to do that. These are just some of the reasons why I believe Firefox is the best browser around.

[JLP]

Firefox is simply the best

I'm glad I switched from old Internet Explorer to Firefox. I have much less problems now, in fact almost none. It also displays pages faster and more correctly. I also like all the extra features and better security. And it is also translated into my mother language. Firefox is simply the best web browser and I'm not going back to obsolete IE.

[JLP]

Firefox is simply the best

I'm glad I switched from old Internet Explorer to Firefox. I have much less problems now, in fact almost none. It also displays pages faster and more correctly. I also like all the extra features and better security. And it is also translated into my mother language. Firefox is simply the best web browser and I'm not going back to obsolete IE.

[NWLB]

It is a fun browser to use, and you...

....don't have to sware loyalty to Redmond each time you load it.

It has a near cult-like popularity that goes beyond simply looking at web sites.

Right now, as I'm a Firefox user, I can tell that it will be cloudy with rain later today, the national terrorist threat level is Yellow-Elevated, and Abe Vigoda is still alive. Plus I have a custome skin, and six other windows open in tabs.

The other cool part is that when I load some software and such, all the bloatware spy features load into IE, and leave my Firefox alone!

NWLB
****
http://www.NWLB.net

[NWLB]

It is a fun browser to use, and you...

....don't have to sware loyalty to Redmond each time you load it.

It has a near cult-like popularity that goes beyond simply looking at web sites.

Right now, as I'm a Firefox user, I can tell that it will be cloudy with rain later today, the national terrorist threat level is Yellow-Elevated, and Abe Vigoda is still alive. Plus I have a custome skin, and six other windows open in tabs.

The other cool part is that when I load some software and such, all the bloatware spy features load into IE, and leave my Firefox alone!

NWLB
****
http://www.NWLB.net

[Classic Software]

FireFox is Safer

First, the security issues with Firefox are NOT real, just potential problems. No actual exploit exists. Unlike Microsoft, Mozilla fixes the problem before they become an issue.

Secondly, I have used FireFox for at least six months and I have had no adware,spyware or browser Hijack since then. IT IS SAFER!

[Classic Software]

FireFox is Safer

First, the security issues with Firefox are NOT real, just potential problems. No actual exploit exists. Unlike Microsoft, Mozilla fixes the problem before they become an issue.

Secondly, I have used FireFox for at least six months and I have had no adware,spyware or browser Hijack since then. IT IS SAFER!

[Earl Benser]

Now, if I could just....

.... totally eliminate IE/OE from my PC's - termination with extreme
prejudice, as the CIA says in the movies. I know I can't remove the
code, MS hid half of the criticalt Windows code in IE/OE. But Iwould
settle for making IE/OE impossible to run under any circumstance.

Or maybe someone can tell me how to keep XP from reloading the
files I just put in the trash?

[Earl Benser]

Now, if I could just....

.... totally eliminate IE/OE from my PC's - termination with extreme
prejudice, as the CIA says in the movies. I know I can't remove the
code, MS hid half of the criticalt Windows code in IE/OE. But Iwould
settle for making IE/OE impossible to run under any circumstance.

Or maybe someone can tell me how to keep XP from reloading the
files I just put in the trash?

[201293546946733175101343322673]

Not again

# of downloads make no sense at all, I think some people just don't get it

[201293546946733175101343322673]

Not again

# of downloads make no sense at all, I think some people just don't get it

[M C]

CNet won't get off the "security flaws"...

Which were patched before CNet even wrote one word about them.

At least this isn't a mainstream site, so the general public won't be harmed by the irresponsible reporting.

[M C]

CNet won't get off the "security flaws"...

Which were patched before CNet even wrote one word about them.

At least this isn't a mainstream site, so the general public won't be harmed by the irresponsible reporting.

[edbong]

Firefox validates Open Source

the best about Firefox is that it schow that Open Source can not only produce "cheaper" copies of existing software, but that real innovation can be done. And the the underlying "Gecko" could really be a thread to Microsoft Longhorn in the short term. The question is where will Firefox keep innovating if Microsoft fixes its security problems? If you remember MS vs Netscape.... with all due respect IE turned out to be the superior browser at one point... sad bud true...
tim - http://www.humano2.com

[edbong]

Firefox validates Open Source

the best about Firefox is that it schow that Open Source can not only produce "cheaper" copies of existing software, but that real innovation can be done. And the the underlying "Gecko" could really be a thread to Microsoft Longhorn in the short term. The question is where will Firefox keep innovating if Microsoft fixes its security problems? If you remember MS vs Netscape.... with all due respect IE turned out to be the superior browser at one point... sad bud true...
tim - http://www.humano2.com