Asa Dotzler: Firefox and more

That is interesting!

Which is something I have always thought should be fixed. I know Mozilla has a small budget, but is there any chance you guys can convince Dell/HP/Acer, etc. to at least install Firefox, if not make it the default as well?

Jake, it's just not reasonable. Getting a desktop icon for Firefox would cost anywhere from $5-$10 per machine. That's not "default browser" either, which pretty much isn't for sale by the OEMs. We're just talking about making it available on the machine.

It would be pretty optimistic to assume that half of those installs would turn into regular Firefox users, but assuming that we did get 50% uptake at $5 per machine that works out to $10 per user.

Now, we've got approximately 200 million users today. If we set a goal of getting to 300 million users, we'd have to spend 1 billion dollars. ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!

Looking at it from a somewhat less optimistic and more realistic stance, assume $10 per machine and 20% conversion. Now you're talking about $50 for every new Firefox user.

It's just not a reasonable approach. If we spent every penny Mozilla has, and we got the cheapest deal possible and the best conversion rate imaginable, we'd only add a few percent to our user base. For companies that generate billions or tens of billions of dollars a year in revenue (like our primary competitors) that's not a big deal, but for Mozilla, with revenues in the tens of millions and the majority of that going to staffing and IT, it's just nowhere in our capability to go after that channel.

It's really unfortunate but that's the way the system works.

- A

Another way to look at this, and I think a much more pleasant view, is that with the help of our global community of advocates, we've achieved 200 million users -- something that would cost a traditional company using traditional methods around 5-10 billion dollars.

That's just phenomenal. That's the kind of influence on the Internet that we've built and hat's one of the most amazing aspects of Firefox, and the Mozilla project and community over the last 4 or 5 years.

- A

I'm in the difference between "very nearly 100%" and 100%: the last computer I bought had Firefox preinstalled as the default browser (it's an Asus EeePC with Linux).

Asa is right: Firfox cannot buy its way onto the desktop. The number one way to promote Firefox is the strength of the community. Have people pack Firefox on new PCs. If Santa forgot to install Firefox, do it yourself.

The second trick is to use technologies in web design that promote better browsers. IE is way behind everybody else technology-wise. If enough users want web apps that require good javascript performance and support of newest HTML standards, they will want Firefox (or Safari or That Browser From Norway).

Why isn't the default browser for sale? It certainly isn't for moral reasons. Why wouldn't a manufacturer go to MS and say, "give us $5 per machine or we'll set a different default browser." All I can think is that MS would reply by raising the OS cost which they're powerless to bargain with. Any thoughts?

Do you have a link where you got the stats from?

And is that just PC or does it also include Macs?

Thanks...

mike

Mike, I got numbers from reports and news articles by and containing quotes from iSuppli, Gartner, and IDC. The number is for all personal computers, including Macs.