The Fox Is in Microsoft's Henhouse (and Salivating)

NYT ^ | December 19, 2004 | RANDALL STROSS

[mathprof]

FIREFOX is a classic overnight success, many years in the making.

Published by the Mozilla Foundation, a nonprofit group supporting open-source software that draws upon the skills of hundreds of volunteer programmers, Firefox is a Web browser that is fast and filled with features that Microsoft's stodgy Internet Explorer lacks. Firefox installs in a snap, and it's free.

Firefox 1.0 was released on Nov. 9. Just over a month later, the foundation celebrated a remarkable milestone: 10 million downloads. Donations from Firefox's appreciative fans paid for a two-page advertisement in The New York Times on Thursday.

Until now, the Linux operating system was the best-known success among the hundreds of open-source projects that challenge Microsoft with technically strong, free software that improves as the population of bug-reporting and bug-fixing users grows. But unless you oversee purchases for a corporate data center, it's unlikely that you've felt the need to try Linux yourself.

With Firefox, open-source software moves from back-office obscurity to your home, and to your parents', too. (Your children in college are already using it.) It is polished, as easy to use as Internet Explorer and, most compelling, much better defended against viruses, worms and snoops.

[TomGuy]

FoxyVoice link

http://foxyvoice.kenche.info/

[Clara Lou]

My Firefox has no problems with Adobe documents.

[ohCompGk]

That's a good one I didn't know. Thanks.

[backhoe]

"How do you delete IE. I'd like to know."

Be advised- I have not tried this, and do not suggest you do ( at least not without a full backup )-- for informational purposes only:

http://www.litepc.com/ieradicator.html
IEradicator is a tiny, script that uses the Windows setup engine to surgically remove Internet Explorer versions 3 through 6.0 from Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium and Windows 2000(sr1).

Again, caution is advised.

[general_re]

If what Gates “stole” from Apple was copyrightable, Apple would have pursued it in court.

They tried - remember the "look and feel" lawsuit? Apple lost, luckily for the rest of the world.

[jimtorr]

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs hired MS (Gates) to write an OS or some programs (IIRC).

Apple hired MS to write Word and Excel for the first Mac OS.

[KoRn]

"They figured what's the point, Bill Gates will just steal it."

Well, we always have BitTorrent when new versions of Office are released for $600.

I wouldn't ever do such a thing though......../smiles

[clyde asbury]

My Firefox has no problems with Adobe documents.

Yes - enough nostalgia.

What version are you using? I'm in 1.0, but have added several extensions.

[gitmo]

CP/M was OK, but for the typical user it was difficult to maintain and navigate. But it was the best thing available other then Apple.

[Condor51]

What's to be better?
One word - SECURITY. IE has so many 'holes' its a hackers dream.

I am not looking for a lot of features I guess... a browser to me is just a box that web pages come in.
The basic Firefox is pretty bare bones. And even the basic stuff that it comes with can be removed. OR you can add tons of goodies (extensions).

But again, it's security. With Firefox you will NOT be redirected to other sites and your browser settings won't be taken over and altered, like you Home Page changed into PORN FOR U.

[TomGuy]

Too, you want to be cautious of deleting IE from Windows. There are other applications that use some of the IE engine. Be sure you have a backup or re-install capability. You could run some of your applications.

Unless you have a good reason to remove it, you probably should not. You can use other browsers anyway. Just install one (Firefox, for example) in a different directory and make it your default browser.

[shellshocked]

Simply browse to the page you want, such as the latest messages, then drag the iscon of FR from the address bar to your desktop.

[Clara Lou]

I'm using 1.0 also, also with several extensions. I use mine to download Adobe documents from the university library. I have no problems.

[HairOfTheDog]

Security issues don't affect me now. I have good, professional (not freeware) virus protection firewall that is always-up-to-date. I also keep my OS and other software up to date. Certainly choosing an alternate browser doesn't mean you don't still need to do that.

[Poser]

"Yup - DOS was a direct rip off from
OS/8 & PAL-8 from PDP8 DEC minicomputers
It was amazing to be able to run FORTRAN in 4K"

As the story goes, IBM was looking for an operating system. Bill Gates was writing a spreadsheet for them at the time. Some IBM suit guys went to visit a DOS writing group (was it QDOS or perhaps CP/M?) who turned out to be a bunch of dope smoking hippies. The hippy types didn't fit in well with the gray suit guys so the suits left.

Soon after, IBM asked Gates if he could provide an operating system, because Gates wore a suit when he met with IBM. Gates bought a DOS program (I think the number was $30K). That system became PC-DOS and later MSDOS.

Bill Gates' fortune and Microsoft's success are partially due to the fact that some hippy programmers couldn't put on a suit to meet with IBM.

I'm not entirely sure of the exact facts here, but the story has been documented well. I once saw a TV documentary with interviews of all of the partys.

The hippy programming dudes did OK but obviously never had the success of Microsoft. It seems to me that some of them were working/owning Digital Research at one time.

[Poser]

" Both MS-DOS and Windows are 'borrowed' from ideas/concepts developed by others early in the desktop computer history."

MS-DOS was purchased, Windows was stolen.

[backhoe]

Too, you want to be cautious of deleting IE from Windows.

That's why I advised "for informational purposes"-- far as I know, IE is hooked into the OS, besides other processes using it. That site claims it leaves that other stuff intact, but I would not try it without at least cloning the HD to another spare drive.

I just let IE lie fallow, using FF except for certain sites- like Microsoft (!) that won't accept rogue browsers.

[WHBates]

"If memory serves it was IBM. Gates 'scammed' IBM into a software deal, took their OS and .. ah.. 'modified it'."

IBM paid Gates and Company to develop the OS (PCDOS) which MS bought from someone else and adapted it( it may have been CP/M but it was no ripoff, just a business deal in which they got the better end).

In the IBM deal Gates retain the rights to the baseline code and marketed it to clone makers such as Compaq, Columbia and others. Again seems like a smart business deal to me and those types of deals is why MS is where it is. I believe that's basically how it went down originally but that's not to say MS & Gates didn't do other things that may have been underhanded.

[backhoe]

" It seems to me that some of them were working/owning Digital Research at one time."

Yep- here:
http://www.maxframe.com/idr.htm
Digital Research
Digital Research Family Members

[clyde asbury]

I have no problems.

Good for you. Still, I've heard of others say FF's problems with Adobe docs will be addressed in future updates.

Now that I know, it's a problem only in unknown links to PDFs. A small and temporary price to pay for kicking out IE. :)