Part V: Commentators on Firefox/IE
Scott Rosenberg, as usual, is skewering the critics who just don't get why open source software has been a success.
Scott's writing about an anti-Firefox screed by C|Net columnist Molly Wood. She had the nack for the turn of a phrase -- I mean, this one sure rings:
"If IE 7 has tabs, Firefox will be destroyed as surely as the Hungarian uprising of 1956 was crushed by the Soviets... now that the sleeping giant has awakened, I think the buzzing gnat of the browser wars is about to be squashed flat."
But cheap phrases and cute metaphors won't take you far in the real world of revenue reports, expenditures and software margins of 90%. If Steve Ballmer really does put the effort into making IE 7 a kick-ass product, he won't be able to show results. If Free Firefox is still ahead at the end of the day, shareholders will start asking questions.
Firefox is no Netscape or even an AOL. Competing with this phoenix-like product is not like competing with any other company MS has ever fought.
Firefox has resurrected itself without the need for any sort of corporate power structure, marketing budget or even paid development resources. As BillG has pointed out, how do you compete with free?
Scott's writing about an anti-Firefox screed by C|Net columnist Molly Wood. She had the nack for the turn of a phrase -- I mean, this one sure rings:
"If IE 7 has tabs, Firefox will be destroyed as surely as the Hungarian uprising of 1956 was crushed by the Soviets... now that the sleeping giant has awakened, I think the buzzing gnat of the browser wars is about to be squashed flat."
But cheap phrases and cute metaphors won't take you far in the real world of revenue reports, expenditures and software margins of 90%. If Steve Ballmer really does put the effort into making IE 7 a kick-ass product, he won't be able to show results. If Free Firefox is still ahead at the end of the day, shareholders will start asking questions.
Firefox is no Netscape or even an AOL. Competing with this phoenix-like product is not like competing with any other company MS has ever fought.
Firefox has resurrected itself without the need for any sort of corporate power structure, marketing budget or even paid development resources. As BillG has pointed out, how do you compete with free?
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