Google Snags Mozilla Developers, Fuels Browser Speculation
Ben Goodger, the lead engineer for Mozilla Firefox, and Darin Fisher, another Firefox developer, announced this week on their personal blogs that they'd be making the jump to the search giant.
The acquisition of the two browser developers ignited speculation on the Web that Google was planning to release its own browser, with Google watchers citing the hiring of the two developers and Google's registration of the "gbrowser.com" domain last year.
Fisher, who owns a piece of the Firefox source code and is a former employee of IBM and Netscape, was in charge of cookies and permissions for the foundation's free browser. Goodger served as the lead programmer for the browser. Both men will join Google's engineering department. Goodger signed on with Google Jan. 10, and announced his move on Monday, while Fisher announced his move on Tuesday.
Both developers said on their blogs that they plan to continue to be active in the Mozilla Foundation. "My role with Firefox and the Mozilla project will remain largely unchanged, I will continue doing much the same work as I have described above--with the new goal of successful 1.1, 1.5 and 2.0 releases," Goodger wrote. "I remain devoted full-time to the advancement of Firefox, the Mozilla platform and Web browsing in general."
Mozilla's Firefox was released in November 2004 and touted by such media outlets as Forbes.com and The Wall Street Journal. Firefox has become one of the most-used open source applications on the Web, and is seen by some as an alternative to Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer.
According to a study by Adtech AG, a user of Internet Explorer is four times more likely to click on an ad than a Firefox user, suggesting that any similar features in a Google-based browser could have significant implications for online advertisers.
Google spokesman Steven Langdon declined to comment on what the pair would be doing for the company, and on whether a Google browser was in the works. "Many of Google's products aim to enhance the browsing experience," Langdon said. "We do not comment on speculation on product development."
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Path Seeks Dismissal Of Wireless-Spam Case May 23, 5:07 p.m.
Mobile social network Path is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the ... -
Amazon Appstore Goes Global May 23, 4:59 p.m.
Amazon may have been late to the app store game, but that hasn’t stopped it from ... -
Data Is Springboard For Product Development May 23, 4:44 p.m.
iProspect named Ben Wood to global president Thursday; he's tasked with growing the company's network and ... -
Lack Of Data About Data Drives Opportunity May 23, 4:24 p.m.
Richard Frankel, president, Rocket Fuel, argues that there won’t be a standard for evaluating the value ... -
Vice, Twitter Partner For Mobile Show May 23, 2:14 p.m.
Simultaneously expanding its video and social strategy, Vice on Thursday unveiled #dailyvice -- a daily show ... -
MediaVest Database Charts Brand Experience, Social Media Impact May 23, 12:11 p.m.
After a year-long research effort, Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest has created a massive database designed to help ... -
Discovery Launches TestTube.com, Ups Digital Video Involvement May 23, 11:27 a.m.
Discovery Communications is looking to get into the digital video platforms in a big way -- ... -
Network Advertising Initiative Proposes New Mobile Privacy Rules May 22, 9:03 p.m.
Moving forward with its plan to issue mobile privacy rules, the self-regulatory group Network Advertising Initiative ... -
Entertainment, Travel Bet On Mobile Banners May 22, 4:16 p.m.
Banner ads have long been the whipping boy of online advertising, and the same is now ... -
Marketers Should Tailor Specific Pitches To Tablet, Smartphone May 22, 2:51 p.m.
Don’t lump tablets in with mobile. That’s the takeaway of a new Forrester study looking at ...
Be the first to comment on "Google Snags Mozilla Developers, Fuels Browser Speculation"
Leave a Comment