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Mozilla will be assimilated (and feline musicphiles)
It's a trap! Or it's IT Blogwatch, in which Microsoft invites Mozilla to the party. Not to mention Snakes on a... no, wait, cats in a record store...
Microsoft wants to help in the development of Firefox. It sounds pretty scary, doesn't it? If you're still here, let me tell you that it's not as bad as it seems. Sam Ramjii, Director of Microsoft's Open Source Software Lab, has extended an invitation to the Firefox and Thunderbird developers asking them if they'd like to visit the company's open source research center. Microsoft's hopes are that, in a four-day span, the company can provide the open source developers with enough information to get the popular web browser running smoothly on Windows Vista ... Ramjii said that he's made a special exception for the Mozilla team since this isn't how the lab invitations normally work ... even if this event never becomes a reality, it's great to see that Microsoft is concerned about projects like Firefox and Thunderbird. Sure, this could be viewed as a publicity stunt since Ramjii posted in a public forum, but that doesn't make the offer worthless. If this is what needs to happen for Firefox to run unhindered on Vista, then I'm all for it.
Next to a picture of a Macarena-ing BillG, Nick Douglas muses:
Microsoft, in a move bound to inspire every geek forum in the world to make "It's a trap!" jokes, invited the makers of Internet Explorer alternative Firefox to MS HQ. The move gives some Firefox fans a case of the heebs, imagining what injuries Microsoft could inflict on the browser when trying to make it work in Windows Vista. But more importantly, will Microsoft make any moves to lure Firefox maker Mozilla away from Google? Google pays Mozilla to be the default search engine in Firefox. Meanwhile, Google pays web site owners who spread Firefox and hands out copies of the software in its freeware Google Pack. It runs so much deeper -- Google and Mozilla trade engineers like baseball players, so Google is practically building Mozilla's tools. It's sort of a soft control, like Britain and Canada. Both companies know it's the best way to defend against the hegemony of Microsoft and its browser. Considering all that, it's tempting to speculate what would happen to Mozilla in Redmond.
Mozilla's Mike Beltzner replied to the invitation:
I think we're already in discussion with someone on your team about this, but for the record: yes, we'd definitely be interested in getting some 1:1 support. We have, of course, been testing on Vista, and Rob Strong has done some work with Ed Averett to ensure that we take advantage of the new "Default Program" infrastructure.
Other areas that I think both Firefox and Thunderbird should investigate are:
- effects of running in the new application security mode
- interacting/integrating with InfoCard
- integration with the common RSS data store and services
- integration with the Vista calendar and address book
...
Looking forward to seeing this new Lab evolve and join into the OSS community at large.
Recovering Hater: Sense motive checks abound ... But seriously ... It has become obvious to Microsoft that OSS is not going away and that they need to embrace some of the popular choices in an effort to stem the flow away from Linux, etc.
nuzak: Firefox is big and important enough now that some folks at Microsoft want more familiarity, including making sure it doesn't break on Vista, because depending on how it breaks, it can make Vista appear broken itself (or yes, reveal where it actually is broken). The speculation you're reading about "traps" is just the usual grist for the Two-Minute Hate around here.
99BottlesOfBeerInMyF: Vista's biggest competitor is going to be earlier versions of Windows. Many corporate customers are still using Win2K and many are also using Firefox. Why would they upgrade? ... The hope is that the Firefox people will add some feature that will motivate people to want to upgrade to Vista.
dave562: Great strategic move on Microsoft's part ... If anyone refuses the invitation, Microsoft can later point at them and say, "We offered you the opportunity and you declined. You're the one who doesn't want to make the effort to have your product work on our OS." On another level, they can appear to be friendly and looking out for the consumer, and they can paint the OSS world as a hostile place.
melted: They did that to Netscape devs back in the day ... Expect some folks getting offers in Redmond. Higher ups in IE team are downright stupid if they don't try to hire people away from Mozilla. You kill two birds with one stone - strangle Mozilla and get a good, security minded dev.
At first I had to sit and think about who would benefit the most…and it would be about equal in my opinion. Microsoft would obviously benefit because there are a lot of people who fear a lack of program compatibility in Vista. That isn’t really Microsoft’s fault because they are just trying to create a better operating system and a more friendly user experience. However, it does also cause a lot of stress for the developers who’s applications don’t work properly.
Self-confessed "GeekyGirl" Dawn Foster is noncommittal:
I am withholding judgment until I see more. I think that we have seen this before with Mono. Miguel de Icaza had a good relationship with the .NET engineers for a while, but more recently has struggled with the PDC group at Microsoft and has been unable to get a Mono BOF at PDC despite great demand for the gathering. The invitation from the Microsoft Open Source Software Lab was probably offered with good intentions; however, any impact (positive or negative) resulting from Mozilla's involvement may depend on the response from other groups at Microsoft.
Other than the dreariness of Seattle in December, I can't imagine any sound reason why Firefox's developers wouldn't jump on this opportunity ... This is a chance to stop the whining and get the information needed to make Firefox the best browser for use with Vista. The Firefox team should accept the invitation, posthaste, if it has not already.
Buffer overflow:
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And finally... Cats in a record store [hat tip: b3ta]
Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk.
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