Loose vs. Controlled Code: The Competition Between Firefox and Internet Explorer

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Loose vs. Controlled CodeThe Competition
Between Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Chris Bartholomew
• April 19, 2005

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Agenda

• Open Source Software
• Whats In A Good Web Browser
• Direction Of Web Browser Movement
• Firefox vs. Internet Explorer
• Future of Web Browsing
• Conclusion

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Open Source Software

• The basic idea behind open source is very
  simple When programmers can read, redistribute,
  and modify the source code for a piece of
  software, the software evolves. People improve
  it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. And this
  can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the
  slow pace of conventional software development,
  seems astonishing.

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Whats In A Good Browser

• What do people do with browsers?
• Read
• Navigate
• Interact

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Whats In A Good Browser

• What do people want in browsers?
• Convenience
• Simplicity
• Security
• Stability
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Customizability

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Direction Of Web Browser Movement
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Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

• Firefox
• Loose code

• Internet Explorer
• Closed code

Features APIs Current Improvements Security User
Satisfaction Effects of the Battle
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Future of Web Browsing

• As Open Source Takes Over
• Whats going to happen?
• Will closed coded browsers simply mimic their
  counterparts?
• Will closed coded browsers become seemingly open
  source through APIs stripping open source
  browsers of one of their biggest advantages?

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Conclusion

• Open Source browsers have taken over the market
  due to their ability to give users more of what
  they want quicker.
• Their growth has slowed recently though as
  traditional browsers have begun to offer products
  similar to the open source browsers.

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Questions?