What is Google cooking with Firefox?
January 29th, 2005 Leave a comment Visited 195 times, 3 so far today
What is Google cooking with Firefox?
It is all over the news that Google just hired two major software developers from the Mozilla Firefox development team. And ever since Google bought the domain GBrowser.com, we the media critics have long been speculating that they are planning to release a browser version based on the gecko source code. However, the way Google has progressed in the last couple of months… we might be wrong.
Google is turning out to be the biggest competitor to Microsoft on the web. They cannot directly compete with them on the desktop market as Microsoft is powering more than 90% of the desktop machines. Web is a place where they can beat the software giant and where the future lies. Web based applications and perhaps someday web based operating system might become as common as software applications we use today. That time Google would like to kick Microsoft’s ass.
And web browser is just the starting of it. Google can and might release a version based on Firefox’s engine. However, they do not need to. Firefox already uses a homepage hosted on Google’s server; they are already using Google’s I’m feeling Lucky feature for address bar quick search. In addition, Mozilla browsers also feature a Google search box. I have in addition seen extensions, which incorporates GMail Notifier in the Mozilla Firefox interface. Just add Google’s desktop Search in the Mozilla’s Engine (a field Mozilla expressed they are looking into for the future releases) and you already have a browser very much influenced by Google.
As long as Microsoft powers a majority of the browsers around the world, Google can only dream of the possibilities there exist to promote itself through Mozilla. Hence, the continues development of the Firefox browser is as important to Google as it is for the Open Source Community. And in my opinion, that is what Google is doing. Hiring some of the best brains working on Firefox, give them financial and job security in a company where people would kill to work in. And you get happy employees working for the better future for all of us on the Internet.
That seems to be the reason why Google has done these recent hirings. And I doubt the trend would stop anytime sooner. CNet in the past did something similar when they hired Matthew Mullenweg of the WordPress, which is another great Open Source Application under active development. Corporates hiring Open Source Software developers is really starting to look cool!
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January 29th, 2005 at 4:54 pm
go frickin google. I love their slogan of do no evil. They truly are the best ones out there. Screw Yahoo.
January 29th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
they’re all evil, greedy, and unimportant. nothng they do will ever change humanities eventual extinction.
January 29th, 2005 at 5:32 pm
Google would need a new twist on a browser because Mozilla and Firefox have the hi edge lately. This news of Google heading into the browser market might explain why there hasn’t been a Google Toolbar released for Firefox yet… Or if there is one, why there hasn’t been any hooplah about it. The only thing I miss from switching over to Firefox is the Google Tool Bar. It was a great tool.
January 29th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Google is the bright light of corporate America. The people running the company actually care about the consumer. I hate Microsoft not just because its popular but because my PC crashes or locks up about once a week. I have to say the google website has crashed on me a couple times but its hardly necessary for me to retype a 4 page paper because of that!
January 29th, 2005 at 5:52 pm
Firefox sucks, hangsup, rejects huge number of sites, it is still crap.
January 29th, 2005 at 6:30 pm
I-m using Firefox from version 0.7 .I use it to browse web all day .It is very good. But do not take my word for it .Just try it. (By the way get the adblock extension. It really blocks a lot of ads)
January 29th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
There is a Google toolbar for Firefox.
https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&version=1.0&os=Windows&category=Search%20Tools&numpg=10&id=33
It’s very good.
January 29th, 2005 at 7:01 pm
Wow.. how cool it would be to have a Google branded browser! Mind you, they have to get it right: Take the new Opera 7.65: sticks to the standards, and has some really useful features on the side, inculding built-in e-mail. If Google continue on the path of getting easy to install software that is very easy to use and ergonomical, then they MUST be on a winner. The question now is not “Are we going to get a Google browser” but “how good will it be” and “what will it look like”
January 29th, 2005 at 7:42 pm
I know since we are all liberal-minded, we are supposed to hate monopolies, cuz they don’t endorse competition, etc, etc, etc. They are not fair, so people bitch for hours and hours. It’s not so much that I would not like to have software that costs less than microsoft’s psychotic 500$ per soft–that’s like 140 dollars more than dell’s cheapest computer..it’s that I hate people that show extreme degrees of contempt for microsoft–it’s like—open source, yea–like a bunch of teeny boppers that got their period because of their close proximity or something.
Yes, I like the greed, the monopolizing microsoft–I don’t know why–I just do—I like it’s studly penis of software–and how it’s made all the little bitches whine.. I really do. I like it’s big corporate enterprise.
Besides they have supplied nice software for 20 years, and we should thank them for that. However, I am going to make a “reasonable” statement and not an “emotional statement.” Yes, I beleive that microsoft may experience some turbulence because of google, sun’s solaris, open source…nanotechnology, computers from china–chip prices going down at very very psychotic exponential levels–phone by broadband–the embracement of grid computing (which is probably the most promising)..
we have only had the internet for about a decade now. And this has increased the developement in nanotechnology and the way we network from computer to computer. So in reality, there is much that we still don’t know. In fact, the internet and computer modeling has made research and developement advance exponentially (more than in 90’s or rate of change in 20th century) I recommed everybody just stick around and stop bitching..and me too–dammit I hate that.
microsoft may metamorph into something else, something completely new that offers sound prices–or something relating to open source—don’t put it down–this type of market will make all players compete eventually–so don’t worry, you will get your peice of pie.
January 29th, 2005 at 8:15 pm
in reply to the above…”theyve given us nice software for 20years” WTF you on about?
win95 was a horendous bit of kit, 98 was so bad they had to release a second edition!! ME was more unstable than a one legged man on a gym ball. 2000 leaked worse than my nans guttering. i dont know what Win XP is like, but for the price and lack of security i think they can stick it up their arses. open source all the way from now on methinks.
especially since theyve brought this “windows geniune advantage” bollocks
January 29th, 2005 at 9:02 pm
Know what? I have no problem with Microsoft, really, other than the high prices and potentially leaky security issues (never had a problem myself on that score- knock wood!). I use their stuff and I use other companies’ stuff, too. Firefox is a great browser. Google is a great, well, whatever they’re becoming. Great search tool, at the moment.
Use whatever works best for you. Become (and remain) informed. In my humble opinion, that is the best way.
January 30th, 2005 at 2:40 pm
One thing that no one has mentioned is that Google hasn’t registered GBrowser as a trademark.
Look on USPTO and you’ll see that they’ve registered Froogle as a trademark, for example, but not GBrowser.
This makes me think that Google has no intention of releasing a product called GBrowser.
January 31st, 2005 at 2:18 am
My understand that si that google will intergade all service include gmail, searching, blog, SNS… in to a web-based operating system(WebOS), which is based on google’s new browser:gbrowser.
Wait and see what happen when WebOS vs MS OS.
January 31st, 2005 at 2:27 pm
You cannot understate what Microsoft has done on the Personal Computers’ evolution. They brought the sophisticated and incredibly complex technology to average people. This had always been Microsoft’s main concern; ease of use, that is. Windows 95 is and will always remain a great revolution for the average man’s computer world. Bugs and security concerns are another issue. How they have been the only one company on PC OS’s is a great mystery for me. They were not a monopol power in the windows 3.1 days; they could well be defeated by a better OS.
Google has made a wonderful search algorythm, just at the times when the giants simply did not care about good search. Search was a headache for companies, pointless, needed lots of resources, no revenues. Up until google proved this wrong. Google had not done anything magical, or a super magical software, they became rich with good searching.
IMHO, google browser will not be very much different from microsoft’s efforts to combine all MS products and leave the user with no choice. In fact, I would hate that if google would give me a big flashy GMail button on a gbrowser and try to handicap me while checking my Yahoo account.(Although I love GMail)
About firefox, firefox is a really distinct browser wrto IE. It is definitely something else. IE is the default and most basic option while firefox is more advanced and thus needs special attention like customizing or extensions. IE is the local bus. FF is the limo service. You arrive at the same place, but the travel is much more enjoyable and safe.
I think google has nothing in common with the browsers; and it seems to me like a PR campaign, that google supports open software. They do not, and why should they? But the good thing is the side effects. What gmail did to yahoo (from 6 to 250) and hotmail (from 4 to 25, eventually 250). Force MS to be better, at least to look better. Where was MSN search, Amazon search, desktop tools and all the others. This is a chain “Me, too” reaction. And it is good that google’s strategy is to start this reaction and wait for the responses. Powerful response, back off, weak, then go for it. Gmail got weak responses while desktop search was backed off immediately and powerfully. But the “innovation” card is now in google’s hand, all others are loyal followers.
January 31st, 2005 at 8:28 pm
This makes absolute sense for Google. Being able to maximize their market share by releasing a browser to their users will lock those users into using their search product. Their default search will be Google, sidebar search Google, homepage Google, etc… etc…
Thus in the end all it ends up being is a revenue driver for the search engine. They are worried that their market share is slipping, and it is. Soon there will be much better search in the market and their reputation as an innovator (for doing things others did long before them) will be taken away. For now though I do agree that that have been doing the right things. Not in a “do no evil” sense, but from a marketing standpoint.
February 7th, 2005 at 8:40 am
I hope google’s plans with firefox include a really nice extension/theme/plugin thing that works in conjunction with existing and future versions of firefox. That way, perhaps, google can maintain their product independently and firefox can still have the opensource foundation. w00t
February 25th, 2005 at 9:58 pm
Yes this is the business. All we need now is for Apple to mass produce cheaper computers and we get rid of Mr Gates strangle hold finally. The best computer running the best open source browser by the best search engine. Utopia!
June 5th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Now herein 2007 Google seems to be Taking over. Well see soon how far they plan to go