Mozilla's Firefox has had a rough start. The project that began as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project, has undergone several name changes from Phoenix to Firebird, before finally settling to Firefox. Since then, the browser continued to develop until it's mature today.
Mozilla released Firefox version 1.0 on November 9th, 2004, as a free and open-source web browser.
10 years ago, PC was the computing interface for consumers around the globe. From desktops to laptops, almost a 100 percent of the market was owned by a single company: Microsoft. The software giant was inside almost all PCs with Windows for operating system, Office for documents and spreadsheets, and Internet Explorer for web browsing (first introduced for Windows 95 in August 16th, 1995). Microsoft was a monopoly in all three fields.
When Mozilla released the first version of Firefox, Microsoft was in catastrophe. The new browser, free and open-source, was loosening Internet Explorer's massive grip on the market. And in a relatively small amount of time, Firefox dominated the browser market, changing the mindset of users, making them know that Internet Explorer was not the only way to browse the internet. Since then, Firefox is one of the most popular web browser in the world.
Mozilla Firefox opened the market for others. Google started to compete with its Chrome browser, released in December 11th, 2008. Both Google and Microsoft are competing furiously to dominate the market, finding ways to pin down Firefox and the more exclusive Apple's Safari.
But as the browser matures, the market is already overwhelmed. With minimal development, Firefox is competing not for features, but for stabilization. Chrome and Internet Explorer are still growing, and they are taking away Firefox consumer base at a steady pace.
This was marked when the PC market has stalled. The PC has been surpassed by mobile devices of the likes of tablets and smartphones, notably by iOS and Android. Further growth is only seen from the mobile world, and for that, Mozilla is trying its bet with Firefox OS.
With the Firefox OS, the Linux kernel that has its "walls removed", is meant to compete in the mobile war against the likes of Apple with iOS, Google with Android, and Microsoft with Windows Phone.
"Microsoft controls all aspects of the Internet Explorer technology stack," said Andreas Gal, CTO and VP Mobile at Mozilla. "iOS and Android are the same today: highly controlled ecosystems where the owner of that ecosystem sets the rules and sets the technologies - and that's what we are trying to fight against."
Mozilla's competitors are all experienced on their fields. Convincing users to switch from their products is a difficult, if not impossible task. Mozilla needs a new strategy.
"Microsoft and Apple and Google's goal is to make money for their shareholders, which is not wrong but creates a different incentive for us. Our goal is to make a browser for you," added Gal.
Mozilla has little experience on the development of PC, unlike Microsoft and Apple, both have powerful grip on the market. Gal thinks that Mozilla may not be able to compete in a place where those giants have already put a stronghold. But Gal is positive that Mozilla can build a better mobile web through its work on standards and APIs that is implemented in mobile.
"Many of the APIs that are on the desktop today didn't exist 10 years ago in Internet Explorer ... so it was important to make a compelling mobile experience on the web," explained Gal. Mozilla can offer developers a cross platform ability using open standards and data portability so they don't need to build version of their apps for iOS and Android.
Firefox's early grip on the market was initiated by the fact that Mozilla was trying to make a web a better place with its browser. Mozilla was one of the first to contribute to the development of HTML5, a standard which has only just been completed at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
"You can bring HTML5 not just to Firefox OS but also iOS and Android users. If you want to take advantage of massive scale of the web you need to have developer tool integration," he said.
In the era of PCs, software applications are gaining popularity due to the massive usage of Windows operating system. But when smartphones and tablets have taken its place, apps and web applications are slowly getting popular.
Mozilla is certain that it can compete with apps with its knowledge of JavaScript and HTML5. These are the fields where Mozilla has more experience than others. And since JavaScript and HTML5 are already a powerful alternative to apps, Mozilla is expecting less competition.
PC software are more or less, similar to apps on mobile devices. When the internet steps in, Gal believes that the industry that was once complemented with software and apps, are now benefiting from browsers.
Gal made an example of Facebook, imagining it in creating a Windows version software for PCs and think of it to be ridiculous. Facebook was one of the early newcomers that uses HTML5 extensively before opting for mobile apps to fully utilize the resources of the device.
Mozilla lacks the power to create software applications like Apple and Microsoft. But it has experience in creating browser and the technology behind it. And as the adoption of JavaScript and HTML5 widens, Mozilla is certain that mobile and web applications are closing the gap, getting more or less equal to software applications and apps.
And this is where Mozilla excels at.
"10 years in, you know where we stand. Mozilla is a non-profit, global community, and our values are clear: choice and control for our users, openness and innovation for the web that has become so central to our lives," said Johnathan Nightingale, VP for Firefox.