Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
Friday saw Mozilla’s open source browsing platform Firefox finally reach one billion downloads, just two weeks after version 3.5 of the software was released.
Just five years after its initial release the once diminutive web browser now lays claim to 22.4% of the recorded usage share of web browsers, a feat which makes it the second most popular internet browser worldwide behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
The Mozilla Firefox project was created by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental offshoot to correct the perceived bloat in the Mozilla suite which integrated mail news and HTML editing into one software suite. The initial version was well known for its hidden humour and included a preferences panel that described cookies as “Delicious Delicacies”.
Since that first version the browser has undergone a number of changes. Firefox version 3.5, which was released on the 16th July 2009, now includes support for video and audio HTML 5 tags as well as multi touch for touch screen PCs.
The browser is also built on open source software which allows developers to create collaborative applications or products.
Perhaps the most notable fact about the Firefox platform is that, in today’s world of massive corporations and thousands of employees, the Mozilla Foundation which owns the rights to Firefox is a completely non profit organisation while its subsidiary the Mozilla Corporation only has 250 employees.
Despite Firefox’s massive growth over the years, it still has some way to go. As of July 2009 Internet Explorer held 67.68% of the browser market. With all other browsers, including Chrome and Safari, falling below the 10% mark and Microsoft’s recent confirmation that Windows 7 will ship with Internet Explorer the Mozilla team still has a hard graft ahead of them before Firefox can claim first position.
Just five years after its initial release the once diminutive web browser now lays claim to 22.4% of the recorded usage share of web browsers, a feat which makes it the second most popular internet browser worldwide behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
The Mozilla Firefox project was created by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental offshoot to correct the perceived bloat in the Mozilla suite which integrated mail news and HTML editing into one software suite. The initial version was well known for its hidden humour and included a preferences panel that described cookies as “Delicious Delicacies”.
Since that first version the browser has undergone a number of changes. Firefox version 3.5, which was released on the 16th July 2009, now includes support for video and audio HTML 5 tags as well as multi touch for touch screen PCs.
The browser is also built on open source software which allows developers to create collaborative applications or products.
Perhaps the most notable fact about the Firefox platform is that, in today’s world of massive corporations and thousands of employees, the Mozilla Foundation which owns the rights to Firefox is a completely non profit organisation while its subsidiary the Mozilla Corporation only has 250 employees.
Despite Firefox’s massive growth over the years, it still has some way to go. As of July 2009 Internet Explorer held 67.68% of the browser market. With all other browsers, including Chrome and Safari, falling below the 10% mark and Microsoft’s recent confirmation that Windows 7 will ship with Internet Explorer the Mozilla team still has a hard graft ahead of them before Firefox can claim first position.