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Mozilla Firefox - Open Source Browser Technology
Where did it come from?
We all know why Mozilla FireFox has come to be so popular among browsers today but what we don’t know is where and what mozilla actually is. Firefox was built with speed in mind, and does away with many of the components of its big sister, Mozilla. The creators Blake Ross and DaveHyatt began experimental work on Firefox as a branch of the Moxilla project.
The pared-down browser well known as Phoenix aimed to combat the perceived software bloat of the Mozilla Suite which integrated several features in one suite of software. Before its 1.0 release on November 9 2004, Firefox had already gained acclaim from numerous media outlets, like the Wall street Journal. With over 25 million downloads in the 99 days after its release, the Firefox browser became one of the most used free applications, especially among home users.
On April 29 2005, Firefox had its 50 millionth download, this was less than 6 months after the release of the first version, called version 1.0. Mozilla Firefox retains the well known cross platform nature of the original Mozilla browser by using the XUL (user interface markup language). The use of XUL makes it possible to extend the browser's capabilities through the use of extension and themes. The only problem was the raised security concerns of the development and installation processes of these add-ons.
Customizability of Firefox
A key feature of the Firefox browser is its Customizability. The design of the browser had aims at high extensibility. Users can activate new features like mouse gestures, proxy server switching, popup blocking and debugging tools. Many Mozilla Suite attributes like “ChatZilla” and a calendar have become Firefox extensions. The Firefox browser also supports a variety of skins/themes that enables users to change the look and feel. The themes consist of packages of CSS style sheets and image files. These themes are all downloadable from the Mozilla update website. Themes are not where it ends, users can customize the whole Firefox interface by moving and manipulating the various buttons, menus and fields.
Usability and accessibility of Firefox
Simplicity defines the Firefox browser and the developers put in a huge amount of work towards the simplicity of Firefox, the results where a browser interface that appears less cluttered than many other internet browsers today. Firefox also has a customizable pop-up blocker built in. Tabbed browsing (a Mozilla suite characteristic) enables users to open multiple web pages in the same browser window. “Find as you type” is a Firefox feature that enables a user to type a word and view a web page simultaneously while Firefox searches for it and highlights the first instances found, as a user types more of the word the search is refined.
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