Shawn Walker wrote: > On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 10:59 AM, Alan Coopersmith > <alan.coopersmith at sun.com> wrote: > >> Shawn Walker wrote: >> > I suppose though, that the update mechanism could be modified to check >> > for an updated package in the repositories and then offer to upgrade >> > by calling ips to do it. >> >> Though remember the Debian/IceWeasel situation - all changes like that >> must be approved by the Mozilla Foundation or you'll have to change the >> name from Thunderbird to something like StormFowl. >> > > Wait...so you can remove the update functionality completely without > approval, but you need approval to put in your own update mechanism? > > Bizarre. > > I didn't think operating system specific issues like updates were > covered by their trademark restrictions. > > The problem is that one of the trademarked attributes of Firefox is the default layout. The update mechanism included with Firefox is a standard offering with all installations of Firefox across platforms, so by removing or changing it, it in a strange way might confuse users on why it's not consistent on a specific platform. By bundling a changed version with a different updater, Mozilla will not take kindly unless you nag the user to death with attributions that state such changes are not at the hand of the Mozilla Foundation. Risk analysis is every corporation's weapon, and what we do not know or understand *could* scare users to death, companies do not like risk. Risk assessment is the norm, and other companies besides Mozilla Foundation have used in the past these illusions of risk through trademarks and patents as their weapon. Watch Penn & Teller's episode on terrorism for example, you'll see how the mindless sheep must eat up what big brother and big company say.
James
