An innovative and highly praised open source Web browser for Windows, Mac and Linux from the Mozilla project. Including a search box for Google and other major sites, the Firefox user interface was designed to be easily customizable by adding "extensions," such as a stock tracker, autofill and hundreds of others.
Quite an Impact
Introduced in 2004, Firefox received rave reviews and caused much notoriety. Within a few months, millions downloaded it, and by mid-2005, Firefox captured more than 10% of the Web browser market, a huge gain in such a short time. By 2009, it reached 20%. Many view it as a safer alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser, which is constantly being attacked.
Whether Firefox is safer because it was designed better than IE or simply because very few hackers have a quarrel with open source software, is an ongoing debate.
A Ghost from the Past
Firefox stems from the Netscape browser, which was soundly trumped by IE in the browser wars of the late 1990s, when Microsoft developed IE and gave it away for free. Netscape continued to evolve into a very large and somewhat bloated application, which was turned into the open source Mozilla project (see Mozilla).
Phoenix to Firebird to Firefox
In the early 2000s, the Gecko rendering engine was excised out of Mozilla and combined with the XUL user interface language to create a leaner, faster Mozilla browser. Renamed Phoenix, then Firebird, it finally gave birth as Firefox. For more information, visit www.mozilla.com. See Greasemonkey.
Firefox
Firefox provides many useful features; for example, it organizes Web viewing history by day (left window pane) and allows the user to keep pages visible as tabs (top red arrow), the latter known as "tabbed browsing." The bottom arrow points to a stock ticker, one of a myriad of extensions that can be added.
Quite an Impact
Introduced in 2004, Firefox received rave reviews and caused much notoriety. Within a few months, millions downloaded it, and by mid-2005, Firefox captured more than 10% of the Web browser market, a huge gain in such a short time. By 2009, it reached 20%. Many view it as a safer alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser, which is constantly being attacked.
Whether Firefox is safer because it was designed better than IE or simply because very few hackers have a quarrel with open source software, is an ongoing debate.
A Ghost from the Past
Firefox stems from the Netscape browser, which was soundly trumped by IE in the browser wars of the late 1990s, when Microsoft developed IE and gave it away for free. Netscape continued to evolve into a very large and somewhat bloated application, which was turned into the open source Mozilla project (see Mozilla).
Phoenix to Firebird to Firefox
In the early 2000s, the Gecko rendering engine was excised out of Mozilla and combined with the XUL user interface language to create a leaner, faster Mozilla browser. Renamed Phoenix, then Firebird, it finally gave birth as Firefox. For more information, visit www.mozilla.com. See Greasemonkey.
Firefox
Firefox provides many useful features; for example, it organizes Web viewing history by day (left window pane) and allows the user to keep pages visible as tabs (top red arrow), the latter known as "tabbed browsing." The bottom arrow points to a stock ticker, one of a myriad of extensions that can be added.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Chrome OS - The good, the bad and the ugly, and how it fits in with Windows, Mac and Linux
- Chrome OS - The good, the bad and the ugly, and how it fits in with WindowsI gave it some thought too and realized that Chrome OS only has the bad and the ugly. There is nothing good about it. All data stored in the cloud, and on Google's...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Mozilla: Still too dependent on Google for revenue; Can it diversify?
- well its in Google best interest ...that mozilla is healthy and and kicking .... anyone claiming monopole they point out that they support Mozilla foundation big time ...Google keep its competition alive they should do more invest in ubuntu ... so they...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- Mozilla: Still too dependent on Google for revenue; Can it diversify?
- Mozilla reported its 2008 audited financials and the organization behind the Firefox browser delivered consolidated revenue of $78.6 million, up 5 percent from 2007. The worry: Google, now a competitor, is still bankrolling Mozilla. by Larry Dignan
- Blog posts 2009-11-20
- RemoteSight 1.0.1 (Mac)
- RemoteSight is an application for video and audio transmission over a network. It captures video from any attached video input device (for example the built-in iSight camera included in many Macintosh computers), which can then be viewed on another computer over a network or the internet. The primary use of...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- Instant Hidden Internet 3.4 (Windows)
- Quickly hide or close all Internet browser windows, chat windows and folder windows with the touch of a customizable hot key boss key. Chat windows stay hidden even if new ones try to pop-up. Windows are even hidden from the Windows Task Manager. To make hidden windows visible, just press...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- Google makes Chrome OS open source today
- Contrary to rumors, Google did not release a beta version of its much anticipated Chrome operating system today. And nothing is coming anytime soon: the final version is at least a year away, the mega giant web company said. But there was some significant news for the...
- Blog posts 2009-11-19
- Live from Googleplex: Chrome OS details revealed
- Ubuntu 9.10 has more immediate potentialMight I suggest trying Ubuntu 9.10? A phenominal OS with much more to offer then even Windows 7.Open source, free and ready to try today...http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1122http://www.tuxradar.com/content/vista-windows-7-ubuntu-904-and-910-boot-speed-comparisonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYgWE6Svpaghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16-nad9N3pgNot that I have readI'd stick with 904immediate potential to sink in obscurityGoogle was Linux's last fleeting chance to turn...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Microsoft finds security hole in Google Chrome Frame
- HAHA! Way to go Microsoft! They basically just told Google to suck it! The best part is they were right the whole time. Yet people blindly defended Google. It would seem Google has more software issues than anyone else.RE: Microsoft finds security hole in Google Chrome FrameI'm not...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Real Clear History 3.2.1.2 (Windows)
- Real Clear History, a powerful computer evidence & web history cleaning tool, could clean all history of your computer use and web browsing easily and thoroughly. Many programs and web browsers record data including which programs you run, which videos you watch, and which websites you visit, etc. Use a...
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- Darq Software Transmute 1.65 (Windows)
- Transmute is a bookmark converter that can import and export bookmarks, or favorites, between the latest web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, Apple Safari, and Chromium in as little as one click.
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- 1Password 3.0 (Mac)
- 1Password is a Password Manager that uniquely brings you both Security and Convenience. It is the only program that provides Anti-Phishing protection and goes beyond password management by adding Web Form Filling and Automatic Strong Password Generation. All your confidential information, including passwords, identities, and credit cards, is kept in...
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- RapidCart 2.2.4 (Mac)
- RapidCart is a RapidWeaver plugin that lets you create your own e-commerce website in minutes. Add one or more RapidCart pages to your site and enjoy the slick and fully customizable cross-page AJAX cart that the plugin will automatically generate for you. Payments: checkout thru multiple trusted payment systems...
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- Mozilla locks out rogue Firefox add-ons
- Firefox has conquered IEIt is evident that Firefox free has conquered IE, plus the fact the majority of sites work regardless of browser.The days of this old bait & switch from MS are over.But I thought the whole point behind "open source"......was to allow ANYONE to put code in their...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Microsoft Office 2010, SharePoint 2010 public betas now available for download
- Microsoft still firmly planted in the LAST century.NTLinux Kernel speaks?Hmmm, I'd fear for the future of Linux if this is what comes out of it. You'd think the "many eyes" would have caught such silly logic in the kernel years ago...and looking ready to dominate this oneas well.Google is...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Mozilla locks out rogue Firefox add-ons
- Mozilla has made a significant tweak to this Firefox 3.6 code base to block rogue add-ons from loading in the browser's application components directory. by Ryan Naraine
- Blog posts 2009-11-18
- Google-Microsoft rivalry on with ChromeOS launch
- This will usher in an era of intense competition and innovation, as well aslower prices.This will be good for all concerned. Windows users will get lower prices and faster innovation. The Windows users should be Google's biggest fans here.Chorme OS could get 10% or more of the netbook market. That...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Firefox faces browser clone war in China
- Come on ZDNet!!!!Is this really newsworthy????Newsworthy? That's not the point...ZDNet's intent was not to write about anything worthwhile. It's intent was to draw you in and to have you read further in order to get you to visit at least one more page in their web-site.If they had...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Firefox faces browser clone war in China
- The browser war in China is heating up but not quite in a way that resembles the Western markets, as Mozilla's Beijing chief explains. The browser war in China is heating up but not quite in a way that resembles the Western markets, as Mozilla's Beijing chief explains. ...
- News items 2009-11-18
- Mozilla Firefox 3.6 beta 3 (Windows)
- Firefox 3.6 beta 2 Namoroka is the first developer milestone of the next release of Firefox. Namoroka is built on pre-release version of the Gecko 1.9.2 platform, which forms the core of rich internet applications such as Firefox. Please note that this release is intended for developers and testers only....
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Mozilla Firefox 3.6 beta 3 (Mac)
- Firefox 3.6 Beta is built on Mozilla's Gecko 1.9.2 web rendering platform, which has been under development for several months and contains many improvements for web developers, Add-on developers and users. This version is also faster and more responsive than previous versions, and has been optimized to run on small...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
- New Online Dashboard for IT Leaders
-
Read about top issues IT decision-makers face every day, plus get cost-effective solutions to real-life IT problems.
- Learn more >>
- The more you simplify, the more you save
-
When you transition from your existing Red Hat environment to SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, you can recognize dramatic cost savings, perhaps as much 50%
- Learn more >>
- The best support in the Linux business
-
If Linux is going to power your mission-critical applications, you'd better have the best support known to business. Novell was rated the top provider of Linux technical support.
- Learn more >>
SmartPlanet
- Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
- More from IBM
-
- Can your business work smarter? Learn more about Lotus Symphony
- Learn how to work smarter and optimize cost using the IBM Smart SOA approach Download the eBook
- Smarter ways to make smarter products Read the brief from IBM
