Posted on 01/25/2005 3:42:22 PM PST by aculeus
Google confirmed that it had hired Ben Goodger and said the move was based on his solid engineering skills and not necessarily his browser-building experience. Ben Goodger, the lead programmer of the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, which has taken the browser market by storm and become the first significant threat to Microsoft's Internet Explorer in five years.
Will Google develop their own browser? Well, Google has repeatedly denied it's developing a browser, and while some analysts have said such a move could be viewed as straying too far from its core competency, others say it makes perfect sense. Google has made it clear that it is interested in developing plug-ins and add-ons for browsers to make the most of its search technology.
However, a number of people have moved from one employer to another within the Mozilla project. Having multiple companies offer jobs to key Mozilla figures whose employees contribute to the Mozilla project.
Google has made it clear that it is interested in developing plug-ins and add-ons for browsers to make the most of its search technology, such as the popular browser toolbar it already offers. The leap from there to a Google-branded browser built on the Firefox chassis isn't that far.
Goodger will work for Google but maintain his connection to the Mozilla Foundation. In a blog posting in which he revealed the new position, Goodger said he would maintain his lead role on the Firefox browser, including pushing forward on future releases.
If nothing else, Google gains an engineer in the hiring who is responsible for the fastest-growing browser on the market. While Mozilla's Firefox still has less than 5 percent of browser market share, its rise has been dramatic since mid-2004, when thousands of people downloaded the free software in the days after it was made available.
GameSHOUT noticed a large jump of FireFox browser users in December 2004 and January 2005. GameSHOUT web statistics are showing FireFox increasing above 10% usage, while Microsoft Internet Explorer is dropping steady below 90%. A full report on January 2005 statistics will be available on GameSHOUT in early February.
Copyright © 2003-2005 Red Planet, LLC, Inc.
He should change the spelling of his name.. Ben Google.. Hehe
I'm not panicked about it, just would like to figure it out. I suspect that it might have something to do with the Java script settings (since the Jave Script console under "Tools" shows many errors) but as far as I can tell all the Java settings are enabled.
Any FReeper help out there would be appreciated.
As to the article, I have a sneaking suspicion that a Google browser will be available in the near future. Just a hunch.
I too switched several months ago and don't regret the change. However my online broker account doesn't work with Firefox. The broker's tech people acknowledged that it doesn't so I continue do my stock trades on IE.
Google's gone public, and now they will go on a drunken sailor shopping spree. Look for Firefox to morph into GoogleExplorer, to go along with GoogleMail.
bump
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