Mozilla is celebrating Firefox’s eighth birthday today. It was November 9, 2004, when Mozilla launched the browser. Frankly, I can’t believe it’s been only eight, but that is a long time in Internet years.
“We had the audacity to believe that we could change things. We believed that a community of people who understood the power of the Web, and who put people above profits, could build something amazing,” writes Johnathan Nightingale, Vice President of Firefox Engineering. “Today, on Firefox’s 8th birthday, we’re proud to say that our mission hasn’t changed, but the Web has. These days, hundreds of millions of people trust Firefox with their online lives and they encourage their friends and family to do the same. We still put people first and, with the support of our Firefox fans, we drive the Web towards openness and interoperability.”
“It’s hard work,” adds Nightingale. “But in the last year, Firefox has gotten faster, more secure, friendlier to use and more fun to personalize. We’ve also brought the speed and power of Firefox to millions of smartphone users with Firefox for Android. In the next year, we’re going to take Firefox even further.”
Nightingale links to the original Firefox 1.0 press release, if you want to take a trip down memory lane. Here’s a sample:
The Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving choice and promoting innovation on the Internet, today announced the worldwide availability of the Mozilla Firefox 1.0 web browser. Development of Firefox has been driven by a desire for a more robust, user-friendly and trustworthy web experience. Mozilla Firefox 1.0 arrives on the heels of last month’s highly successful Preview Release that over eight million people downloaded, contributing significantly to the final phase of its open source development.
Today’s announcement marks the worldwide launch of Mozilla Firefox-with immediate availability for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux-as a free download from mozilla.org and by CD from the Mozilla Store. Firefox is now available in over a dozen languages, with many more on the way.
“We are delighted to be announcing this major milestone for the Mozilla Foundation and for the Firefox browser, which has been made possible thanks to the tireless effort of hundreds of community volunteers and developers around the world,” commented Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla Foundation. “Now millions more will be able to enjoy a better web experience.”
When was the last time you got a web browser from a CD?
Last month, Mozilla talked about some future plans for Firefox, which includes the Social API and Facebook Messenger for Firefox. More on that here.