Articles about Mozilla

November 9, 2004. The date may not mean much to you, but it was rather big in the land of Mozilla. It wasn't the 'start' of the Firefox web browser, but it was the official ship date of version 1.0. That makes today a birthday celebration for the browser that dared to take on the Internet Explorer-giant.

"In the nine years since we first launched Firefox, we have moved and shaped the Web into the most valuable public resource of our time", the organization announces.

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 Mozilla has followed on from the recent release of Firefox 25.0 FINAL with the update of its two pre-release channels to Firefox 26.0 Beta 1 and Firefox Aurora 27.0a2 respectively.

Like version 25, version 26 has little in the way of visible new features other than that all plug-ins now default to "click to play" mode. Version 27 has no brand new features either, although some features -- notably optimized Windows 8 support -- remain exclusive to this build.

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Even though LG is the second-largest Android smartphone vendor and showing strong growth in the market, the South Korean manufacturer does not want to put all its eggs in one basket. The company is now also pursuing success with Firefox OS, with its new Fireweb smartphone.

The smartphone launches today in Brazil, alongside the Alcatel Onetouch Fire, at local mobile operator Telefonica Vivo. Like other Firefox OS devices, the Fireweb is aimed at the low-end smartphone market, featuring modest hardware by modern standards.

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Even though Mozilla may be among the latest entrants in the smartphone market, it has a real chance to succeed in its quest to turn Firefox OS from yet another new kid on the block into a major player. The mobile operating system is available on inexpensive devices, is backed by a couple of large mobile operators and will reach a significant number of prospective buyers in emerging markets.

Today, Mozilla announces it is gearing up for the second round of Firefox OS launches, which are set to reach more markets and more devices. The latest expansion will kick off "soon", with mobile operators Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Telenor revealing their short-term plans for expanding the Firefox OS market availability.

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Back in the 90s, while everyone was watching Melrose Place and listening to Pearl Jam, internet usage was exploding. At the time, the Netscape Navigator browser was all the rage -- it was the most popular way to access the web. One of the most innovative features of Netscape was the introduction of plugins. You see, this ushered in the era of web-based multimedia. For example, while it is almost extinct now, the Realplayer plugin was mind blowing -- you could stream video in a web browser; amazing at the time. This was all thanks to the Netscape Plug-in API (NPAPI).

Of course, all things must end, and Netscape Navigator is just a memory; a no longer developed piece of software. However, despite that particular web browser's demise, the NPAPI lives on. Unfortunately for NPAPI, Google Chrome and the Chromium project have just put it on death row -- lethal injection in 2014.

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Mozilla has released Firefox 23.0 FINAL, the latest version of its open-source, cross-platform browser for Windows, Mac and Linux. The new build’s main highlight is the implementation of mixed-content blocking for improved security, but it also comes with a host of minor changes, including one that has already provoked a negative response from power users.

The controversial change is the consolidation of search default preferences so both Address bar and Search bar use the same default search engine. Previously Address bar searches defaulted to Google regardless of the default provider set in the Search bar.

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Your web browser records everything you do on the web. It knows where you go, it knows where you’ve been, what your favorite websites are, and it likely even knows your passwords. But fortunately it doesn’t share that information with the world. At least not yet.

Mozilla, the non-profit behind Firefox, is proposing to change that. The organization wants your browser to be able to tell websites the sort of things you’re into, allowing those sites to serve up personalized content tailored just for you.

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Mozilla is now set to reach a wider audience with its up-and-coming Firefox mobile operating system. We had previously heard the first handsets would be coming to Deutsche Telekom soon, but a press conference has yielded more details about what potential customers can expect.

During an announcement in Warsaw, Poland the carrier says that "sales of the Alcatel One Touch Fire powered by Firefox OS will start soon in Europe. T-Mobile Poland will offer the Firefox OS-powered smartphone via its online sales channels from tomorrow on and from July 15 nationwide in 850 shops".

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On Monday, Mozilla announced that the first Firefox OS smartphones will arrive "soon". The initial devices that run the new operating system, the Alcatel One Touch Fire and ZTE Open, are set to be released by mobile operators Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica in a number of regional markets.

"The launch of Firefox OS marks an incredibly exciting time for the Web. Firefox OS powers the first smartphones built entirely on Web technologies and will stimulate an inspiring new wave of innovation for the Web", says Mozilla COO Jay Sullivan. "We are proud to deliver an experience for first time smartphone users that will delight them and really put the power of the Web in people's hands".

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Hot on the heels of the release of Firefox 22.0 FINAL, Mozilla has released Firefox 23.0 Beta 1, a preview version of the next release that will ship in around six week’s time.

Version 23.0 implements mixed-content blocking for greater security, plus allows plugins to be evoked only when specific websites require them. New consolidated search default preferences have also been implemented that could prove controversial.

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The advertising industry is in a huff over Mozilla’s plans to support "The Cookie Clearinghouse" at the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) at Stanford Law School. The Cookie Clearinghouse starts with some browser behavior changes and adds what Mozilla’s Brendan Eich describes as both block and allow-lists of sites and a mechanism for managing exceptions to them. What would be blocked? Third-party tracking cookies.

The advertising industry is displeased, as it has been in the past when its abilities to track users are impeded.

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The repercussions of last week's PRISM story continue to ricochet around the web. The latest domino to fall is that belonging to Mozilla, maker of the popular Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client. The organization announces sweeping actions against this news with a campaign designed to raise awareness on perceived privacy intrusions.

Mozilla's Alex Fowler, leader of privacy and public policy, announces "last week, media reports emerged that the US government is requiring vast amounts of data from Internet and phone companies via top secret surveillance programs. The revelations, which confirm many of our worst fears, raise serious questions about individual privacy protections, checks on government power and court orders impacting some of the most popular Web services".

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We have not seen a Firefox OS phone hit the market yet, though there are developer handsets out there. However, Mozilla continues to move forward with its mobile platform and you can check it out now with a browser simulator if you just cannot wait. Today the organization grabs its first victory, and it is a major one, scoring one of the largest tech manufacturers in the world.

Mozilla officially announces that manufacturing giant Foxconn is adopting Firefox OS. The organization tells us "the Foxconn Technology Group today announced at a press event in Taipei a wide-ranging partnership with Mozilla to collaborate on the use of the Firefox OS open platform, based on HTML5 and open Web technologies, on Foxconn devices".

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After releasing a number of important details related to Firefox OS in mid-January, Mozilla revealed two developer preview phones, dubbed Keon and Peak. The devices are meant to provide developers with the opportunity to test and release software designed for Mozilla's new operating system.

At the time there was no word on pricing nor availability of either Keon or Peak. Geeksphone, the manufacturer of the two devices, however left us with a "price you could never have imagined" teaser suggesting that we shouldn't have to reach too deep within our pockets in order to afford either of the two. And today the moment of truth is upon us as Geeksphone officially introduces Keon and Peak for sale.

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Say, Google, do you feel a sharp burning sensation in your back? That's the knife Samsung just plunged in. Ouch! The twisting motion must really hurt.

Mozilla and Samsung are collaborating on a new mobile web browsing engine, Servo, which success would offer huge benefits to both companies. Apple and Google dominate mobile devices with their respective WebKit browsers, largely shutting out Firefox from the most important device category since the PC. Incumbency is an advantage, with browsers preinstalled on Android and iOS. Users must download rival products, and many don't. Meanwhile the South Korean electronics giant accounted for nearly 43 percent of all Android smarthphone sales in fourth quarter, according to Gartner. The company controls the broader user experience via TouchWiz UI, but Google controls the browser.

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