28 October 2004
by Sarah Hawkins

With volunteers helping on every aspect of the campaign, release parties around the globe, and a full-page ad in the New York Times, the Mozilla Foundation (http://www.mozilla.org/) is launching its new Firefox 1.0 Web browser in true open-source style.

Using a grassroots effort to tap into the mainstream media, the Mozilla Foundation is seeking donations to fund a full-page advertisement in the New York Times to coincide with the launch. A US$30 donation (US$10 for students) will get your name in the ad that outlines the browser's features and benefits.

The "Spread Firefox" plan relies on release parties (so far 93 are scheduled in fifty countries on 19-21 November), word-of mouth, and a lot of hands-on help.

Volunteers are leading the effort and serving as Web developers, public relations agents, copy editors, and security experts. But, this is not the average advertising campaign.

"The full-page ad will be a celebration -- not just for a great new product, but for the open-source community that built it," according to the Spread Firefox Web site (http://spreadfirefox.com/).

While Microsoft's Internet Explorer is by far the most popular browser, Firefox is proving to be stiff competition - more than five million users have downloaded the preview version, available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Mozilla calls Firefox 1.0 a safer, faster, better Web browser, claiming that it will stop pop-ups, spyware, and viruses. Firefox 1.0 features also include tabbed browsing, integrated search, and live bookmarks for RSS feeds.

Though it hasn't been released yet, the mainstream media has already noticed Firefox. In a recent review, Walter S. Mossberg, technology writer for the Wall Street journal, said he prefers Firefox to the competition.

"I suggest dumping Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser, which has a history of security breaches," Mossberg said in the article. "I recommend instead Mozilla Firefox, which is free...It's not only more secure but also more modern and advanced."

From: InternetNews.com