Firefox Sponsored Tiles Advert Strategy: Do You Object?

Mozilla Firefox nightly builds now include Sponsored Tiles on the 'New Tab' page

Here is the issue:  Firefox has survived on Advertisement revenue right along.  Yes?   Most of their revenue is based on a contract with Google which has been confirmed will end in November 2014, unless Google has a change of heart and renews.

Consequently, Mozilla is looking at contingency planning and has now added Sponsored Tiles to their nightly Firefox builds.  Sponsored Tiles appear on the 'New Tab' page and won't appear in your regular browser stream.  Being found on the New Tab page means they won't get blocked by tools like Adblock.

Remember, Mozilla is an Open Source company and this will help them to continue to fund Firefox development and continue to expand Mozilla Corporation at the same time.

So, I am fine with it, as long as Firefox remains Open Source.  What say you?  -- Dietrich

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It's Love All Over Again With New Improved Mozilla Firefox 29

Firefox logo (Photo credit: Titanas)

by Dietrich Schmitz

I go back to a time when in Linux Firefox didn't exist.  Then, I used Mozilla.  For me, Mozilla Application Suite, a fork of Netscape's Communicator, was the best browser available in Linux Distro-Land and when it came out with 'Tabbed-browsing' I thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

It was 'love at first sight'.  My infatuation with Mozilla grew and I became a loyal user overnight.

Enter Mozilla Firefox.  The genesis of Firefox was born out of many of Mozilla's features and overnight it became a hit.

Naturally, I switched away from Mozilla to Open Source Firefox and remain a loyal user.

Today, when I think about Open Source, I cannot stress its importance enough.  The need for Transparency in today's world has become magnified by world events and the increased public awareness that software can be exploited for nefarious purposes has become all the more clear.

How can we overcome such exploitation?  I believe that Open Source is vital to ensuring that rogue software exploit code becomes a thing of the past.  Proprietary code, that which cannot be seen, vetted with oversight by the general public, has the increased potential to become exploited on various levels.

Take for example something as simple as your average Microsoft Windows license.  Most people never read it.  And nobody other than Microsoft's programmers know what is specifically in their code base on an intimate level.  

How did Stuxnet happen?  

I am inclined to believe, it could not have happened if Windows was Open Source and I am also inclined to believe that it could not have happened without Microsoft's participation on some level.  There are 'back doors' into Windows legacy (x86) software, of that I am sure.

These 'back doors' are undocumented APIs which facilitate various control levels and, depending on the need, Microsoft shares those APIs with law enforcement and governmental agencies who request their assistance, unbeknownst to the general public.

This is only possible if the code base is proprietary and thus the programming APIs remain hidden.  And, proprietary being what it is, the ability to not disclose the full extent of how software governs itself is always an option and that is why I believe Proprietary Software = Exploitation.

Recently, I wrote WARNING: Google Chrome UNSAFE FOR GENERAL USE.
In that story, I disclosed my decision to stop using Chrome was based on its not being Open Source.

With world events in mind, Stuxnet, North Korean satellite launch systems (Windows) disabled, Flight 370 Boeing 777 'fly by wire' remote control software being undocumented and alleged to have been used for controlling and diverting said flight, I remain a staunch Advocate of Open Source and Transparency.

Just the other day Mozilla released their newest version of Firefox, version 29.

My good Friend Igor has scorned the design decisions made by Mozilla.  Okay, let's get it out of the way -- it 'looks' (to a degree) like Chrome.  But, if you really stop to think -- so what?  These are critical usability design considerations which I feel, on net, make Firefox all the more usable and at the same time extend its feature set with new much-welcomed rich functionality.

Firefox 29: A big win for Mozilla.  

When you combine the open source features of Firefox with the vast repository of plugins at users' disposal, the result is a powerhouse web browser.  There is no equivocating on that!

In fact, I'll go as far to say, I am in love all over again with Firefox and would like to thank the Mozilla Firefox Developer Team for all the innovative work done to date.  

Thank you.  Thank you.  -- Dietrich

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Boycott Mozilla: CEO Brendan Eich Reveals Gay Bias

By Dietrich Schmitz

[Edit 4/3/2014 17:00 GMT-5: Brendan Eich steps down as Mozilla CEO ]
 

It never ceases to amaze me how narrow-minded and judgmental people can be.  Scary even.

I have worked with many people from different walks of life and can tell you that first-hand experience tells me that 'intolerance' is a form of hatred and leads to extremism.  The world is filled with extremists who unfortunately seek to further their own agendas at the expense of others, and who have created misery and death. (Image right: Brendan Eich)

So, that makes me what?  Anti-Extremist?  I hope so.  And I really don't like to see when a cross-section of 'Human Beings' is simply marginalized as though they should not be conferred equal rights.

It's time to take a stand against recently appointed Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich who has taken sides on Proposition 8 in favor of restricting the right to marry to heterosexuals only.

Gay people who want to marry, should, I believe, have as much a right to do so as any other sexually-oriented group.  Their love for one another is just as strong as yours and mine.  They feel the same things we do, share the same life hopes and desires, and deserve like treatment.  That should be obvious.  Sadly, it is not.

With that, I am making a statement:

If Brendan Eich does not step down from Mozilla, I will no longer use any Mozilla product whatsoever.


It is wrong in my judgment and Mozilla need a CEO who is 'fair and balanced' with respect not only to technical acumen but also with how they relate to others in real-world terms.

Thus, Dear Reader, I ask you to join me in boycotting Mozilla as well.

Collectively, we can influence Mozilla Governance to reconsider appointing a qualified replacement CEO candidate having unbiased, even-handed thinking.

-- Dietrich

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