Firefox Browser and Open Source
From: William S. Hammack
Series: Stories of Technology
Length: 02:27
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- Firefox Browser and Open Source
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- William S. Hammack
The Firefox browser represents a new way to write software: No giant corporation, just thousands of volunteers around the globe linked via the internet. They are part of an informal revolution called the Open Source movement. By Open Source I mean that their computer code is available to anyone to modify as they wish. This is a stark contrast to Microsoft, for example, that keeps it Windows operating system under tight wraps: Only Microsoft employees know how it does its magic.
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Piece Description
The Firefox browser represents a new way to write software: No giant corporation, just thousands of volunteers around the globe linked via the internet. They are part of an informal revolution called the Open Source movement. By Open Source I mean that their computer code is available to anyone to modify as they wish. This is a stark contrast to Microsoft, for example, that keeps it Windows operating system under tight wraps: Only Microsoft employees know how it does its magic.
Broadcast History
See series description
Transcript
For years Microsoft's Internet Explorer has dominated the web browser market - by some estimates capturing almost 100 percent. But their share has dropped to 89% and continues to decline. An upstart browser called Firefox recently clocked its 50 millionth download. More is at stake, though, then a surfing the web.
The Firefox browser represents a new way to write software: No giant corporation, just thousands of volunteers around the globe linked via the internet. They are part of an informal revolution called the Open Source movement.
By Open Source I mean that their computer code is available to anyone to modify as they wish. This is a stark contrast to Microsoft, for example, that keeps it Windows operating system under tight wraps: Only Microsoft employees know how it does its magic.
It would seem that this new model doesn't build strong software, but there are thousands of pr...
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