Firefox's creator!
Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:20 pm
QUOTEThe teen who worries Microsoft
By DINA BASS
Bloomberg News
4/10/2005
Â
Bloomberg News
Stanford University sophomore Blake Ross started work on Firefox two years ago.
Blake Ross, the 19-year-old who created the Firefox Web browser in his parents' house in Miami, has done something big software companies have sought to do for years: capture market share from Microsoft Corp.
In the five months since Firefox was released, the program has snared 5 percent of the market from Microsoft's Internet Explorer, according to research firm Websidestory. Microsoft has dominated the market since surpassing Netscape Communications Corp. five years ago.
\"I don't think I am Bill Gates's worst nightmare, but this is a serious pride issue for Microsoft,\" said Ross, a Stanford University sophomore who began work on Firefox two years ago while doing an internship at Netscape.
Firefox, like the Linux operating system, is distributed using a free, open-source model that lets anyone modify the program. The growth of Firefox is a threat to Microsoft because it could be used as the basis for programs that bypass Microsoft's Windows operating system, which generates $11.5 billion in annual sales, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Wash.
Mike Nash, a Microsoft vice president, said the company is accelerating its browser development to boost security. \"If you look at the number of security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer versus Firefox, we feel very good about where we are,\" said Nash, who wouldn't disclose specific features of the next version.
About 30 million users have downloaded Firefox, and Ross predicts the software will capture as much as 15 percent of the browser market in the next year.
\"Six months ago, I would have said the browser wars are over,\" said Gary Barnett, an analyst at London-based researcher Ovum. \"Now I have changed my tune. Firefox has not just cloned Internet Explorer, they have done some cool things and out-innovated Internet Explorer.\" (continues...)
Taken from: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20 ... 068618.asp
By DINA BASS
Bloomberg News
4/10/2005
Â
Bloomberg News
Stanford University sophomore Blake Ross started work on Firefox two years ago.
Blake Ross, the 19-year-old who created the Firefox Web browser in his parents' house in Miami, has done something big software companies have sought to do for years: capture market share from Microsoft Corp.
In the five months since Firefox was released, the program has snared 5 percent of the market from Microsoft's Internet Explorer, according to research firm Websidestory. Microsoft has dominated the market since surpassing Netscape Communications Corp. five years ago.
\"I don't think I am Bill Gates's worst nightmare, but this is a serious pride issue for Microsoft,\" said Ross, a Stanford University sophomore who began work on Firefox two years ago while doing an internship at Netscape.
Firefox, like the Linux operating system, is distributed using a free, open-source model that lets anyone modify the program. The growth of Firefox is a threat to Microsoft because it could be used as the basis for programs that bypass Microsoft's Windows operating system, which generates $11.5 billion in annual sales, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Wash.
Mike Nash, a Microsoft vice president, said the company is accelerating its browser development to boost security. \"If you look at the number of security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer versus Firefox, we feel very good about where we are,\" said Nash, who wouldn't disclose specific features of the next version.
About 30 million users have downloaded Firefox, and Ross predicts the software will capture as much as 15 percent of the browser market in the next year.
\"Six months ago, I would have said the browser wars are over,\" said Gary Barnett, an analyst at London-based researcher Ovum. \"Now I have changed my tune. Firefox has not just cloned Internet Explorer, they have done some cool things and out-innovated Internet Explorer.\" (continues...)
Taken from: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20 ... 068618.asp