Firefox
Mozilla Firebird is a web browser, a spin-off project from Mozilla. The project aims to develop software that is smaller and faster than Mozilla by extracting and redesigning the browser part of the application suite.
Mozilla Firebird retains the cross-platform nature of the original Mozilla, as it uses the XUL user interface language. This contrasts with some other Mozilla-based projects—such as Galeon, Epiphany, K-Meleon, and Camino—as well as the popular Internet Explorer, which all use interfaces native to their respective platforms.
Future releases of Mozilla are intended to consist of Mozilla Firebird coupled with Mozilla Thunderbird, a standalone mail client built on similar principles, to replace the current all-in-one application suite (codenamed SeaMonkey). At this time, Mozilla Firebird will be named "Mozilla Browser", and Mozilla Thunderbird "Mozilla Mail."
Despite all official Mozilla Foundation work being centered on the standalone browser and mail client, the SeaMonkey application suite frontend continues to be maintained by volunteers and corporate users.
Mozilla Firebird was known as "Phoenix" until April 14, 2003, when a name change was made, because of trademark issues with Phoenix Technologies, a BIOS manufacturer. The new name—initially just "Firebird" without "Mozilla" prepended—was met with a mixed reaction. Users and developers of the Firebird database server claimed that a Firebird web browser causes confusion. In late April 2003, the Mozilla Organization published a document stating that the browser should be referred to as "Mozilla Firebird" and not just "Firebird."
On 5 February 2004, Mozilla Firebird was given a high honor by AMS, a business and IT consulting company. AMS, as cited in Keating (2004), categorized it as a "Tier 1" (meaning "Best of Breed") open source product. This means AMS considers it to be virtually risk-free and technically strong.
On 9 February 2004, Mozilla Firebird was renamed as Mozilla Firefox due to strong pressure from the Open Source community to rename the browser. On the same day, Mozilla Firefox 0.8 was released, including a new download manager and an installer program for Windows. This release was also the first after 0.71 to have no codename.
Release history
- Phoenix 0.1 (Pescadero) - September 23, 2002
- Phoenix 0.2 (Santa Cruz) - October 1, 2002
- Phoenix 0.3 (Lucia) - October 14, 2002
- Phoenix 0.4 (Oceano) - October 29, 2002
- Phoenix 0.5 (Naples) - December 7, 2002
- Mozilla Firebird 0.6 (Glendale) - May 17, 2003
- Mozilla Firebird 0.7 (Indio) - October 15, 2003
- Mozilla Firebird 0.7.1 for Mac OS X - October 26, 2003
- Mozilla Firebird 0.8 - February 9, 2004