Mozilla: IE7 will boost Firefox take-up

[MarineCorps]

Windows 2000 users are expected to migrate to Firefox in droves, taking advantage of enterprise-friendly features that will be available in version 1.1 of the open source browser



The Mozilla Foundation is expecting to see a surge in interest in the Firefox browser from enterprise users once Microsoft launches Internet Explorer 7 next year.

IE7, which will be available in beta this summer, will not be available to users of Windows 2000.

Asa Dotzler, the community coordinator at the Mozilla Foundation, said in an interview published on Tuesday that he hopes to attract many corporate Windows 2000 users to the Firefox browser, as they will be unable to take advantage of the improvements in IE7.

"We have high hopes that we'll do better and better in [the enterprise] space with Windows 2000 users," said Dotzler. "We're excited about Microsoft launching IE7 — it will remind a lot of people that if they want better features they have to spend hundreds of dollars upgrading [to Windows XP]."

Nearly half of all Windows-based business desktops are still using Windows 2000, according to a recent survey by AssetMetrix, meaning that there is a big market for the Mozilla Foundation to tap into.

Firefox 1.1, which is due for release this month, will include a range of features to encourage companies to migrate to the open source browser, including an auto-update and preference locking feature.

The auto-update system, which Dotzler described as a "world-class update system", will allow users to automatically install patches and updates, rather than needing to re-install Firefox each time an update is released. Version 1.1 will also include improved tools to lock-down browser preferences, he said.

Improvements in Firefox, along with IE7, could lead to a dramatic increase in the open source browser's market share, according to Dotzler. "As we improve our tools for corporate deployments and people feel they're being left behind on Windows 2000, hopefully we'll see a real domino effect," he said.

ZDNet UK also spoke to Dotzler about the history of Firefox and Mozilla, the rise of Firefox in the enterprise, future marketing campaigns and how the Mozilla Foundation plans to target less tech-savvy consumers. You can read his view of Firefox's and Mozilla's history here, and you can read the full interview with Dotzler here.

To see photos of the Mozilla offices and some of the people ZDNet UK met there, click here.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/applications/0,39020384,39209591,00.htm

Some times Microsoft can be it's own worst enemy.

 

[GenMarshall]

Tis true. To many holes in IE will never make me return to that Malware infested software. I perfer FireFox anyway .

 

[cidknee]

god if I could id delete IE totally from my pc. its garbage

 

[Dell19]

Microsoft bashers are so funny.

 

[Padma]

Microsoft bashers are so funny.

Almost as funny as Microsoft supporters.

 

[cidknee]

Microsoft bashers are so funny.

im not bashing microsoft. i think theyre great.revolutioised the world as we know it. but IE is garbage

 

[Strider]

Sounds good to me, if they put a auto-updater inside of Mozilla Firefox because of this, I'll be happy .

Almost everything I use (except windows) is not Microsoft. I uninstalled windows messanger, media player, internet explorer, etc. (After all Trillian, Winamp, and Mozilla is much better).

If it wasn't for most games not supporting linux and that I don't have a single idea how to use linux. I would likely use it .

 

[Volum]

*que Padma trying to convince Striker to use linux and recomend easy to use linux programs*

 

[Padma]

*que Padma trying to convince Striker to use linux and recomend easy to use linux programs*

I was thinking about it.

The kicker is I know Strider is a gamer. And that is where Linux hasn't made serious inroads (yet). At best, he would have to dual-boot to play the games he wants. (Unless he happens to be mostly interested in games that are currently playable under Linux, either natively, or with wine/Cedega.)

But as for *using* Linux? If you can use Windows, you can use most Linux distributions available. You can even make it look (and sort-of work) like Windows if you want. I do almost all my Linux stuff via "point-and-click", just like Windows users do. But the nice thing is, when I want/need to, I can "get under the hood" and solve any problems.

 

[Strider]

*que Padma trying to convince Striker to use linux and recomend easy to use linux programs*

Striker? Weird... I asked TF about a year and a half ago if I could have my name changed to that, but he refused (said I was to 'established').

 

[wit>trope]

I will never ever switch to Firefox. Why? I already use Crazy Browser and I don't want to spend a couple hours learning a new interface and then a couple more hours getting used to it on the off-chance that Firefox is better than Crazy Browser. I once downloaded Firefox and tried it for a few minutes ... it was confusing. Crazy Browser was intuitive and it seems to have more powerful features than Firefox. Crazy Browser has things called "groups" and I don't think any other browser software has "groups" Learn about Crazy Browser:

www.crazybrowser.com

It is freeware.

 

[Dell19]

Almost as funny as Microsoft supporters.

I use Firefox and IE

Just read several threads in this section and they seemed to have a common theme.

 

[Aphex_Twin]

*que Padma trying to convince Striker to use linux and recomend easy to use linux programs*

Easy to use linux? That's like an oxymoron, right?


Well if Linux is a full blown AK 47, Windows is a squirt gun - you can get wet, but you can't shoot yourself in the head.

 

[cidknee]

I will never ever switch to Firefox. Why? I already use Crazy Browser and I don't want to spend a couple hours learning a new interface and then a couple more hours getting used to it on the off-chance that Firefox is better than Crazy Browser. I once downloaded Firefox and tried it for a few minutes ... it was confusing. Crazy Browser was intuitive and it seems to have more powerful features than Firefox. Crazy Browser has things called "groups" and I don't think any other browser software has "groups" Learn about Crazy Browser:

www.crazybrowser.com

It is freeware.

and it sucks... couldnt get it to work. never detected settings. " connection could not be established." umm yeah ill stick with my simple Mozilla, and keep bashing IE for the grabage it really is.