|
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Firefox, the freeware Mozilla-based browser alternative, is emerging as a fascinating case study and example of the power of open source software, community and word of mouth. SpreadFoxfire.com is a companion site that has coordinated efforts to publicize the freeware, with results including positive reviews from national publications, and currently 9 million users worldwide, an amazing number since the number started at several in September and which is increasing daily at an increasing rate.
Today, starting at 2 pm Pacific time, a live webinar and chat will be held to celebrate, along with numerous launch parties all around the world. (Find information at www.spreadfirefox.com) There will also be a full page endorsement ad in the New York Times in the coming weeks that was fully funded by contributions. The forum dialog on the site shows how the group walks the line, careful to avoid dwelling on the anti-Microsoft theme that has motivated many of its core group of users and developers.
Instead, the focus is on rediscovering the Web, stopping spyware and trusting your browser. These messages are well-matched to the simple to use, yet technically powerful software.
I have been using Firefox for a couple of days, now, and highly recommend it. It is easy to install and solves the spyware vulnerabilities in IE. I have tested it on two online university sites, PayPal, eBay and numerous other sites, and it works fine. You don't have to uninstall IE to run it, so give it a try. The download is very quick.
Other benefits of the Firefox browser include spyware protection, popup protection and RSS aggregation. I wrote more about it yesterday, in the blog.
Be an early adopter. Give Firefox a try!
 
|