Mozilla's Firefox - the big challenger in the browser wars

Sun, 13 Dec 2009

Hamburg - There wasn't much in the way of choice in web browsers in the late 1990s, after Microsoft's Internet Explorer edged out Netscape Navigator and got itself pre-installed on almost every PC. Microsoft's strategy left competitors few options. But, after the dust settled, Netscape made its source code open, allowing a community of developers to create an open source browser, presented to the world in 2004 as Firefox.

Since then, Firefox - with its logo of a fox circling the globe - has captured the hearts of surfers around the world. It has surged globally, even becoming the market leader in Germany, where 44 per cent of computer users prefer it, according to a recent poll by Fittkau & Maass. That compares to 37 per cent for Microsoft's Explorer.

Guided by the Mozilla Foundation since 2003, the program grew almost under cover. Like a phoenix, it returned to life on a very few computers as early as 2002 under the name of Firebird. Only on November 1, 2004, was Firefox 1.0 released.

From the start, it included options that made Explorer look old-fashioned, like a pop-up blocker and dynamic bookmarks for newsfeeds.

And those were just the start. Firefox also introduced practical features like managing multiple sites with tabs and the option to install add-ons. Its universal language allowed Mozilla's collaborators to make those add-ons themselves - for example, features that block banner ads or access Twitter functions.

The addition of Weave Sync allows Firefox users to upload their personal settings - bookmarks, cookies, passwords, user history and open tabs - up to Mozilla servers, allowing them to access the data via Firefox browsers on other computers. Encryption ensures security for that sensitive data.

People who prefer to carry their personal Firefox around with them on a USB stick can also do so thanks to a portable version of the browser.

"In hindsight, taking on Microsoft with a small, non-profit community could naturally be seen as a crazy undertaking," said Tristan Nitot, European president of the Mozilla Foundation, on the five-year anniversary of Firefox in November.

But the group considers itself lucky to have already attained two of its goals: "Choice and promoting innovation on the web."

The next version, Firefox 3.6, should make add-on personas a set part of the software, allowing users to customize their browser's appearance and individualize it. Boring monocolor backgrounds will soon be replaced by autumn forests, movie scenes, abstract patterns, or even the body of an electric guitar. There will be 35,000 of these skins from which to choose. The truly creative will be able to tailor their own.