Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 19:32:17 -0500 (EST)
From:"Linux Pipeline Newsletter" <tw@update.techweb.com>
To:mswier@YAHOO.COM
Subject: [LPN] Linux Pipeline Newsletter - 02-01-2005 - Firefox Needs A Sugar Daddy Linux Pipeline Newsletter | Firefox Needs A Sugar Daddy | 02.01.2005
Linux Pipeline Newsletter
www.LinuxPipeline.com
Tuesday, February 1, 2005


In This Issue:
  • Editor's Note: Firefox Needs A Sugar Daddy
  • Top Linux News
        - Gartner: Microsoft Anti-Piracy Plan Raises Security Risks
        - Firefox Hire Fuels Google Rumor Mill
        - Sun Pledges Bulk Of Open Solaris Release In Q2
        - More News...
  • Editor's Picks
        - InformationWeek 2005 National IT Salary Survey
        - Is 'Open Java' An Open Topic?
        - Microsoft Lumbers On, Google Learns To Fly
        - More Picks...
  • Voting Booth: Sun's "Linux-Killer"
  • Get More Out Of Linux Pipeline
  • Manage Your Newsletter Subscription


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    Editor's Note: Firefox Needs A Sugar Daddy

    Late last year, 10,000 people donated about $250,000 to the Mozilla Foundation. Their goal was to help Mozilla buy a full-page ad in the New York Times promoting its Firefox browser. When the ad ran on December 15, the two-page, $100,000 spread helped turn Firefox into the first open-source product to earn mainstream, mass-market recognition.

    From Mozilla's point of view, the donation drive and the ad itself were big successes. After the ad appeared, Firefox quickly snowballed into an international phenomenon; I wouldn't be surprised if even my mother (Hi Mom!) knew a thing or two about the upstart browser and its slow-but-steady market share offensive against the world's mightiest software company.

    All of this, from a non-profit group that might as well have organized a bake sale to advertise its software to the world.

    Just think what some real money could do for Firefox. Never mind the overpriced ads in some commie New York news rag--we're talking about flexiing some real marketing muscle here, folks.

    Want to buy a couple of Sting tunes for Firefox's prime-time, major network TV ads? No problem. Want to get Patick Stewart to do the TV ad voice-overs, driving millions to Mozilla's servers before his every silver-tongued syllable? You got it. Ready to hire a mad scientist to carve the Firefox symbol on the moon with his Death Ray? Go for it.

    Yes, I exaggerate. (Please, no email about that New York Times crack, OK? It's a fine paper; I read it all the time.)But I do so to prove a point: If a company with a lot of money were to take an intense interest in a born winner like Firefox--a company with a lot of money--then a 90 percent market share could quickly become a fond, distant memory for Team Internet Explorer.

    By a lot of money, I'm thinking of a company worth, say, the same amount as Ford and General Motors--combined.

    A company like Google. What are they up to at Google these days, anyway? Read on to find out, and have a great week.

    Matthew McKenzie
    Editor, Linux Pipeline
    mattcmp@sonic.net
    www.LinuxPipeline.com


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    Top Linux News

    Gartner: Microsoft Anti-Piracy Plan Raises Security Risks
    Microsoft will soon prevent users downloading security updates for illegal copies of Windows--a plan that could expose the company's own customers to a host of new security threats.

    Firefox Hire Fuels Google Rumor Mill
    Google's new hire--the lead engineer for Mozilla's open-source browser project--says he'll keep working for both groups. Is Google preparing to drop the Big One on the browser wars?

    Sun Pledges Bulk Of Open Solaris Release In Q2
    Sun unveils its first open-source Solaris component and a new developer portal, and company executives vow to have the bulk of Sun's planned open-source Solaris 10 release ready by mid-year.

    Microsoft, State Official Explain Open-Source Policy Shift
    The software maker says it worked with Massachusetts officials to amend the state's open-source software purchasing policy, aiming to give proprietary vendors more opportunities to compete for state contracts.

    Google Hires Second Firefox Coder
    Another developer says he's working for Google now, although he, too, will continue to work on Mozilla's open-source browser development program.

    Open-Source Effort Needs A Few Good Polyglots
    Linspire is recruiting volunteers to translate Linux applications into 78 different languages, including work already under way in 24 languages.

    MySQL Worm Likes To Chat
    Security experts are tracking a new type of worm, targeting the open-source MySQL database, which has likely infected thousands of Windows systems.

    Apple Issues OS X Security Patch
    Apple patches bugs in its OS X operating system and applications, including some that security experts consider potentially serious.

    IBM Readies Low-Cost Addition To Linux Server Line
    IBM previews a new entry-level Linux server that will compete against similar, low-cost HP and Sun products.

    Consortium Aims To Sell Businesses On Grid Computing
    A new grid-computing confab's to-do list includes creating a bug-fixing service and new systems management software.

    Vendors Combine Java And Linux For Mobile Devices
    Esmertec will merge its Java platform with MontaVista's Linux platform for mobile devices, according to announcements from both vendors.

    Tivo Takes The Platform Plunge
    A new Tivo software development kit will allow outside developers to turn the company's set-top box into a fledgling home entertainment platform--and, Tivo hopes, turn up the heat on its competitors.

    Planned Firefox Update Slips To June
    The next version of Mozilla's open-source browser will ship three months later than planned, according to the project's lead engineer.

    Scalix Launches Channel Program For Linux Groupware
    The company has launched a global partner program for its Linux-based groupware, which it markets as an open-source alternative to Microsoft Outlook.

    ISP Serves Up Firefox To New Customers
    Speakeasy rolls a customized build of the open-source browser into self-install kits for its new residential broadband customers nationwide.


    Editor's Picks

    What HR Won't Tell You--But We Will
    Would you like to know how your job satisfaction and pay compare to your peers'? Help us help you find out: Take the InformationWeek 2005 National IT Salary Survey. The survey, now in its eighth year, tracks over 20 IT job categories. It's quick, it's easy, and it's completely confidential. It could even pay off: If you respond by Feb. 12, you're eligible to win one of several prizes, including a Panasonic wide-screen plasma TV worth more than $2,500.
    Click here to get started.

    Is 'Open Java' An Open Topic?
    This week, Sun delivered the first product of its rekindled open-source romance. And now, Open Solaris could get a surprise sibling, if Sun execs get serious about open-sourcing the company's Java Enterprise System.

    Microsoft Lumbers On, Google Learns To Fly
    The folks in Redmond are too busy squeezing nickels out of their own customers--and too sure they'll come back for more--to grasp the key to Google's success: simplicity.

    Open Source Means Business
    Slowly but surely, companies are bringing open-source software out of the data center and onto the desktop. For most, the results more than justify the risk.

    Whose Weblog Is It, Anyway?
    As the blogosphere continues to grow, so do the questions Weblogs within it are raising about copyright, creative control, and corporate liability.

    Look At The Nitty Griddy
    There are two ways to look at the new Grid Consortium, headed by Argonne National Laboratory and Globus veteran Greg Nawrocki: Either things are going well, or grid computing needs a jump start.

    SPECIAL REPORT: The Firefox Guide: You Want It, We Have It
    One-stop shopping for all of your Firefox needs: Tips, tricks, extension picks, and a soup-to-nuts review of the world's most popular open-source browser.


    Voting Booth:

    Cast Your Vote Now!
    Will Sun's 'Linux Killer' Draw Blood?

    Several weeks ago, we asked you whether Open Solaris would help or hurt Linux in big-business environments. More than 600 of you have cast votes since then: More than 60 percent think Open Solaris either won't affect enterprise Linux or simply won't matter, period. Another 30 percent think both platforms will enjoy solid growth, while just 8 percent think the "Linux Killer" deserves its moniker.
    Haven't voted yet? There's no time like the present.


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