What makes Firefox different from other open source projects is its consumer appeal.
Until now, the open source community has been very good at creating useful software but lousy at finding nontechnical users.
By liberating Mozila Firefox from the "by geeks, for geeks" ethos,
Ross and Goodger have moved open source out of server rooms and onto Microsoft's turf: the desktop.
Borrowing from the Net-based grassroots techniques of the recent political season,
Mozzila Firefox inner circle has turned satisfied users into foot soldiers and missionaries.
How's this for a marketer's dream: In the weeks following the debut,
Mozilla Firefox contributors and fans threw their own launch parties in 392 cities around the world.
"People thought the browser wars were over," Ross says, relishing the giant-killer role.
"But now there's a widespread perception that IE is not secure - and here we are."
What started out as one schoolboy's exercise in minimalism,
with a nod to Google's back-to-basics obsession, has tapped into a growing desire for simplicity among ordinary computer users.
"The success of this thing has totally surprised us," Goodger adds. "Firefox Real Estate has really touched a nerve."
Mozilla Firefox the browser is an impressive piece of software. It's easy to use, easy on the eyes, and safer than IE - partly because it's too new to have amassed a following of evil hackers.
Firefox the phenomenon is something much bigger.
It's a combination of innovations in engineering, developer politics, and consumer marketing.
Mozila Real Estate
Mozila Firefox allows you to browse the internet much faster and more efficiently than ever. Real Estate
Since Mozilla updates Firefox pretty often it's recommended to make a free firefox download from the official website. Mozilla Firefox in Real Estate
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