firefox 1.0 is here!

Firefox 1.0 has been released! What are you waiting for? Go forth and download…

Firefox Logo

For more information about this milestone release, read the Mozilla Foundation’s press release, or check out MozillaNews, the best place to read about and discuss Mozilla related happenings (along with Planet Mozilla)! See also posts by Ben Goodger, the lead developer of Firefox, Mitchell Baker, the Chief Lizard Wrangler at the Foundation, and Blake Ross, one of the developers who started the Firefox project. The BBC is also reporting on the release, and has written an article that is not only comprehensive, but (mostly) factually correct. Reuters has a story on it too, though it doesn’t really contain any meat (but is nevertheless sure to be carried by news outlets worldwide). CNN has also reported on the release, their article is a slightly souped up version of the aforementioned Reuters piece. Al Jazeera is also covering the release with a reasonable article of their own.

Also deserving very special mention is the new Google-based start page that Firefox 1.0 ships with. Very very cool, though if you’re located outside the US and/or don’t have your Google cookie set to show Google.com in English, it might display oddly, or in the language if your country. You can also see what it looks like below:

Firefox 1.0 Google Start Page

my thoughts exactly

There are many reasons I like the British print media more than the American print media. This is one of them. Granted, it’s a tabloid, but I’d like to see the day that an American tabloid has the balls to publish this cover. I also thought that this was both highly amusing and very telling.

There are many reasons I like the British print media more than the American print media. This is one of them. Granted, it’s a tabloid, but I’d like to see the day that an American tabloid has the balls to publish this cover.

I also thought that this was both highly amusing and very telling.

firefox 1.0 on track, relnote nominations wanted

According to Ben Goodger, Firefox’s lead developer, Firefox 1.0 is on track for a November 9 launch. At this point, only serious crash and dataloss issues will be considered blockers for 1.0, so please don’t nominate bugs as blocking-aviary1.0 unless they fall into one of these categories. Please do nominate new regressions that fall into … Continue reading “firefox 1.0 on track, relnote nominations wanted”

According to Ben Goodger, Firefox’s lead developer, Firefox 1.0 is on track for a November 9 launch. At this point, only serious crash and dataloss issues will be considered blockers for 1.0, so please don’t nominate bugs as blocking-aviary1.0 unless they fall into one of these categories. Please do nominate new regressions that fall into these categories.

The Firefox 1.0 release notes are also being prepared, and Ben is asking for nominations of bugs that you think should be included in the release notes.

thunderbird? what’s that?

According to the Thunderbird project roadmap (version 1.20), Thunderbird 1.0 is due middle of this month. But with all the hoopla surrounding the Firefox 1.0 release, you’d never have known. I found out simply by dumb luck, not because I was pointed there or because Mozilla.org had announced it anywhere. Sometimes I can’t help but … Continue reading “thunderbird? what’s that?”

According to the Thunderbird project roadmap (version 1.20), Thunderbird 1.0 is due middle of this month. But with all the hoopla surrounding the Firefox 1.0 release, you’d never have known. I found out simply by dumb luck, not because I was pointed there or because Mozilla.org had announced it anywhere. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if Thunderbird is always going to be Firefox’s forgotten little brother. I hope not, because Thunderbird rocks just as much as Firefox. I really hope that once Firefox is out the door, serious attention will be paid to marketing Thunderbird as well.

thanks, america

Fool voters once, shame on Bush. Fool voters twice, shame on the American electorate. Well done America. Thanks for another four years of crusades grounded in religious fanaticism. This is what I don’t like about democracy; too many uneducated bumpkins who can’t tell left from right end up skewing the vote. Only in America is … Continue reading “thanks, america”

Fool voters once, shame on Bush. Fool voters twice, shame on the American electorate.

Well done America. Thanks for another four years of crusades grounded in religious fanaticism.

This is what I don’t like about democracy; too many uneducated bumpkins who can’t tell left from right end up skewing the vote. Only in America is intelligence considered to be an undesirable trait in a President. Monkey see, monkey do. What else can I say?

outsourcing this election year

Following on from my last blog post on the elections, I wanted to mention one of the issues that is important to many Americans, outsourcing. Bush is for it, Kerry is against it. But what is outsourcing really about? Let’s take a look behind the scenes with Conan O’Brien!

Following on from my last blog post on the elections, I wanted to mention one of the issues that is important to many Americans, outsourcing. Bush is for it, Kerry is against it. But what is outsourcing really about? Let’s take a look behind the scenes with Conan O’Brien!

right or left?

Cheney ripped on Kerry today because Kerry apparently took a poll to gauge the American public’s reaction to the new Osama Bin Laden tape. Or, in other words: “Kerry chose to consult his electors, the American public, rather than acting on blind conviction.” This is the story of the whole election year. On the right … Continue reading “right or left?”

Cheney ripped on Kerry today because Kerry apparently took a poll to gauge the American public’s reaction to the new Osama Bin Laden tape. Or, in other words: “Kerry chose to consult his electors, the American public, rather than acting on blind conviction.”

This is the story of the whole election year. On the right we have a candidate called “blind faith; act based on rigid convictions” and on the left we have a candidate called “consult the American public before embarking upon reckless policy”.

On the right we have the side who says that “you’re with us or against us” and on the left we have the side who says “we want to build genuine multinational force, not a ‘coalition of the willing’, where the US does the grunt work and has a few ‘allies’ tacked on for the sole purpose of perceived legitimacy”.

On the right we have the side whose sole criterion for making any decision is whether something is “good or evil; right or wrong” and on the left we have a side that attempts to engage in some level of cost-benefit analysis to arrive at policy decsions based on rational thought.

On the right we have the side who has attempted to quash the freedoms of the American people, and has offered false hope of freedom to those abroad. It is the side who wants to ‘strengthen’ the Patriot Act by enacting a second bill and eliminating all sunset clauses on the first. On the left we have the side who is open to re-examing the Patriot Act, and will stand up for the individual rights of all Americans, especially those falsely accused of terrorism.

On the right we have the side who has attempted to polarise the public using the (irrelevant) issues of homosexual marriage and abortion. On the left we have the side who chooses to respect the individuality of Americans and focus on substantive issues.

On the right we have George W. Bush. On the left we have John Kerry. You know what needs to be done; vote Kerry!

UPDATE: Also of interest is a simulation done by Jesse Ruderman, which calculates that only 22% of the popular vote is technically required to win a US presidential election (based on census data for 2000).

macos x firefox 1.0 on november 9th!

According to this post by Chris Hofmann, Firefox 1.0 for MacOS X will ship with the Windows and Linux releases on November 9th! He says: Ben, Asa and I met to review a plan for synchronizing the Mac 1.0 with the Windows and Linux releases on 11/9. We looked at feedback and satisfaction data from … Continue reading “macos x firefox 1.0 on november 9th!”

According to this post by Chris Hofmann, Firefox 1.0 for MacOS X will ship with the Windows and Linux releases on November 9th! He says:

Ben, Asa and I met to review a plan for synchronizing the Mac 1.0 with the Windows and Linux releases on 11/9. We looked at feedback and satisfaction data from version tracker and other sources, recent Mac specific bugs fixed and decided to move forward with a plan to ship Mac Firefox 1.0 on 11/9. The hard and anecdotal data shows the satisfaction rating of Mac Firefox to be very close to Safari, and we see many users choosing Firefox over Safari which is a clear sign that we should be calling it 1.0.

For more details on how the MacOS X specific issues are going to be handled in the short time prior to release, read the post.

thanks — and donate to the NYT campaign!

Wow! I’d like to thank everyone who has donated to the SpreadFirefox New York Times advertising campaign via my blog or personal prodding. When I first set out to refer people, I never expected this kind of response! As well as my blog entry, I spoke to a lot of people via AIM, as well … Continue reading “thanks — and donate to the NYT campaign!”

SpreadFirefox Weekly Roll Call Climbers showing aebrahim at #1 Wow! I’d like to thank everyone who has donated to the SpreadFirefox New York Times advertising campaign via my blog or personal prodding. When I first set out to refer people, I never expected this kind of response!

As well as my blog entry, I spoke to a lot of people via AIM, as well as emailed a lot of my friends, and also a University of Chicago email list, where this would be considered on-topic discussion. The response I got from people was amazing. I even posted in the pair.community newsgroup hosted by pair Networks, my web hosting provider. People were actually excited to open up their wallets and contribute to the campaign. A lot of people who were marginally interested became interested when I mentioned that their name would be included in the ad. This is one marketing campaign that Mozilla has got dead right.

I got one email from a friend at UChicago, who had the following to say:

Ali,
I swear- I have already gotten four emails about this same thing, all originating from you. Just wanted you to know that word is getting around.

Another thing that amazed me was the sheer number of people who were using Firefox, had heard of Firefox, or had friends or family using Firefox. I spoke to a lot of people, and only one didn’t know what Firefox was. More on this will follow in a later blog post.

If you haven’t already donated, then donate today! Get your name in the first Mozilla community funded advertisement.

An important reminder. When emailing friends, be sure that they are your friends, and not random people whose email you’ve email you’ve harvested. When emailing lists, make sure that sending an email about the NYT campaign would not be considered off-topic or inappropriate for that list. It’s great to let people know about Firefox and the NYT ad campaign, but don’t spam in the process!

UPDATE: Looks like I’ve become a Community Champion. Thanks again for your support!

UPDATE 2: The goal of 10,000 names has been reached! Signups have ended. If you try, you’ll get an error.