August 3, 2005
Mozilla Plans Faster Growth for Its Browser
By JOHN MARKOFF
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/technology/03browse.html?pagewanted=print
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2 - The Mozilla Foundation, developer of the Firefox
Web browser, plans to announce Wednesday that it has created a for-profit
subsidiary to pursue wider potential for the software.
Since it was introduced in November of last year, Firefox has steadily
gained market share in competition with Microsoft's browser, Internet
Explorer. Some industry analysts estimate that Firefox is used by as many
as 10 percent of all those online. The Mozilla Foundation says more than 75
million copies have been downloaded.
Security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer have been blamed in part for
an explosion of viruses and spyware, prompting some computer users to
abandon it.
Foundation executives say they want to help Firefox gain greater use. That
will require offering service and support at a fee, which are beyond the
scope of the original nonprofit organization, they say.
Mitchell Baker, a former Netscape lawyer who has led the Mozilla
Foundation, will be chief executive of the new entity, the Mozilla
Corporation. She said in a telephone interview on Monday that while the new
corporation would be taxable, its aim was not shareholder returns but
furthering the goals of the foundation. The organization was established in
June 2003 to promote the open source software movement's creation of a
competitive Web browser.
"Our fundamental goal is promoting an open Internet," she said. At the same
time, she added, "We could not ignore the fact that Firefox has become a
valuable asset."
Most of the roughly 40 employees of the Mozilla Foundation will shift to
the corporation, but the operations of the Mozilla project, which develops
Firefox, will be unchanged. It is working on Version 1.5 of Firefox,
scheduled for release this fall.
One issue the new structure may raise is whether it will alienate Firefox
loyalists and volunteers who helped create the software. The corporation
will not consider a public stock offering, Ms. Baker said.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
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