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Mozilla’s New Interim CEO Announced – Could He Be The Permanent One?

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chris beard mozilla ceoAfter the controversies involving Mozilla’s previous CEO Brendan Eich regarding his anti-gay marriage political views, Mozilla’s new CEO was announced: his name is Chris Beard and he will be chief executive officer replacing the former CEO who resigned after donating money to an anti-gay marriage support group. Brendan Eich only lasted in his position for about two weeks.

Mozilla’s new interim CEO Chris Beard has been an executive in residence at Greylock Partners which is a venture firm and he was also marketing chief for Mozilla. Beard has been involved with Mozilla since Firefox was created.

Mitchell Baker, the executive chairwoman for Mozilla said praised Beard saying that he has a very clear vision of how to take Mozilla’s vision further and turn it into programs and products. Baker also said that the election of the new CEO comes right in the middle of an unexpected leadership transition at Mozilla.

Baker wrote that “Chris has been a Mozillian longer than most. He’s been actively involved with Mozilla since before we shipped Firefox 1.0, he’s guided and directed many of our innovative projects, and his vision and sense of Mozilla is equal to anyone’s. In this time of transition there is no better person to lead us. Chris has one of the clearest visions of how to take the Mozilla mission and turn it into programs and activities and product ideas that I have ever seen.”

Chris Beard is also a serious candidate to become the permanent CEO for Mozilla. Beard has been working for Mozilla for many years and had important leadership roles dealing with new products, marketing and innovation and has been part of two major Mozilla products: Firefox for Android and the operating system Firefox OS. Beard also handled the launch of Firefox 1.0 back in 2004.

Mozilla’s new interim CEO – the beginning of a new chapter

Beard’s appointment on Monday signals the fact that Mozilla is trying to close a difficult chapter for their organization after the previous CEO resigned due to the controversies with the anti-gay marriage issues.

Mozilla employees are also eager to start a new chapter and seemed very pleased with the decision to make Chris Beard the new interim CEO, greeting him on their Twitter accounts.

Mozilla’s new interim CEO was also very happy about his new position and twitted that he was “Excited to step in as interim CEO to continue shaping the future of the Web for public good.”

 

Brendan Eich Resigned From His Position as Mozilla CEO

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brendan eich resignedNot so long ago, we were wondering how detrimental a CEO’s personal and private views, beliefs and politics would be over the company he or she manages, referring to Brendan Eich’s anti gay – marriage policy support and the controversy it ignited throughout the world. As we reported back then, one of the most popular dating sites on the web – OKCupid – jumped to initiate a boycott campaign against Mozilla, urging its users to stop using the browser, as a sign of general protest against Eich’s disregard towards human rights. Eich’s appointment as Mozilla CEO was received with a serious dose of dismay, and even if nobody confirmed that the resignation of three Mozilla directors soon after Eich’s appointment was directly related to his proven implication in the support of anti gay marriage, one cannot ignore the coincidence. The boycott campaign started by OKCupid didn’t end without a powerful wave of public discontent aimed at Eich and it seems that the organization had to make a public stand in order to calm things down.

In a very recent official statement released on the Mozilla blog, Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman apologizes for Mozilla disappointing its people. The blog post announced that Brendan Eich resigned from his position as Mozilla CEO, for the greater good of the company and for the community Mozilla is servicing with dedication since 1998. This may come as a surprise, as last week Eich firmly denied any intention from resigning, considering that OKCupid’s boycott was a bit rash and that his personal views have nothing to do with his abilities of running Mozilla. In an interview he gave for The Guardian, Brendan Eich told the journalists that

I think I’m the best person for the job and I’m doing the job.

However, a week later, Brendan Eich resigned from his position as Mozilla CEO, giving a lot of satisfaction to the people who campaigned against him. If in the case of Justine Sacco, the company didn’t even blink before deciding to fire her, it took Mozilla quite some time to realize that immediate measures should have been taken. For this, Mitchell Baker apologized. New information regarding a new Mozilla CEO appointment are promised in the days to come.

Mozilla Under OkCupid Boycott

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okcupidIf you remember the case of Justine Sacco, the PR executive of Internet giant InterActive Corp and her immediate firing after she made the terrible mistake to Tweet a racist status while on her way to Africa, then it occurred to you (and the world entirely) that a company’s CEO, PR head or another powerful executive becomes one with the company, a human synonym for an entrepreneurial policy.

And if the human in question makes mistakes or shares personal views that contradict other general accepted views, then the entire company takes the blame and the fall.

There have been just a few months that passed since the Justine Sacco incident and just a few days since Brendan Eich was appointed Mozilla’s new CEO and the world caught on fire again, as Mr. Eich was not shy in publicly expressing his opinions towards gay marriage, and those opinions weren’t the supporting and benevolent ones some might expect in 2014. But Mr.

Eich’s position towards the banning of gay marriage and his personal and political efforts to see this happening weren’t left without an echo: dating site OkCupid issued a message to all their users to boycott Mozilla and use other browsers, because Mozilla’s CEO goes against all principles and rights OkCupid’s users stand for.

Brendan Eich is not the most loved figure inside Mozilla and recently, three out of six Mozilla board members resigned, although official statements denied any connection between Eich’s views on gay marriage and the board members abandoning ship.

Now with Mozilla under OkCupid boycott, the second largest web browser might face some serious problems if the OkCupid users actually stop using Mozilla and the conflict escalates on a global scale. Of course, apologies have been issued and statements have been made, promises have been flashed before peoples’ eyes, but the fact is, how detrimental are a CEO’s personal views on sensitive subjects over a brand’s success and future?

Welcome to Mozilla Firefox 28

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Mozilla Firefox 28The launch of a new version of Firefox is no longer an event. If you remember, for the arrival of Firefox 2.0 the developers held parties in Europe, Mozilla offering T-shirts and backpacks to the participants. But now we have many more browsers and many more versions of each. And this is how we arrived at Mozilla Firefox 28.

 

What does Mozilla Firefox 28 has new to offer

What does this new version offer in addition? First of all, Firefox 28 knows how to play VP9 encoded video content. Secondly, it has buttons to adjust the sound for audio and video in HTML5. And in the third, under Mac OS X it receives web notifications. There is even missing the Metro support interface which was scheduled for Firefox 28.

In terms of interface, Mozilla Firefox 28 comes with:

–          a simplified reload/stop button

–          a home button moved on the right side

–          improvements on terms of bookmarks

–          Firefox button: all your menu items are now found in a single button for easy access

–          Tabs above the search bar

Read more on the Mozilla Firefox website about the new adjustments and improvements. I’m curious to see if they will convince you. I myself am a Chrome fan.

Only the version for Android brings us many interesting things, and that’s because Android is missing in most facilities. The address bar does automatic search in an attempt to guess your desire, we share a share button and support for OpenSearch.

In terms of system requirements, Mozilla Firefox 28 is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linuxand in terms of recommended hardware, you should have: Pentium 4 or newer processor that supports SSE2 (for Windows), Macintosh computer with an Intel x86 processor (for Mac) 512MB of RAM, 200MB of hard drive space.

If you meet the requirements mentioned above and if you wish, you can download the new Firefox 28 here or use the AutoUpdate function.

ZTE to Sell Low-Cost Firefox OS powered Smartphone In The UK And US

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ZTE has announced that they are releasing their first smartphone that will use the Firefox operating system. The launch will include sales on all eBay stores which will see people bid for a number of phones. The phone has an orange plate and it will cost about $79.99. The phone will be unlocked in the United States.

The company, Mozilla, says that the phones will be unlocked allowing developers to create applications that can be used on the Firefox OS. The company wants to create applications that people love, and bring the web as a platform for innovation. The low-cost ZTE will ensure that more people can access a good Smartphone. This will bring the web to more people especially those who cannot afford the mainstream Smartphones.

zte-logo

The New ZTE Smart phone has a 3.5-inch screen, and processor from Qualcomm that has the capacity of 1 GHz. It has a 3.2 Megapixel camera that faces the back. The phone can access Wi-Fi and an A-GPS.  The ZTE also has 256 MB RAM, and has 512MB of integrated storage. The phone will have integrated applications to access Facebook and Twitter.

The phone can also use HERE maps from Nokia. Firefox has put a mobile browser and a MarketPlace in the phone. The ZTE is not the only phone that will use this operating system, as LG and Huawei Technologies say that they will produce phones that use the operating system as well.

The applications that the phone will come with include The Weather Channel, CNNMonday, Time, Huffington post, eBay, amongst many others. The makers say that these applications will enable the phone user to be closer to the news, and keep the informed. This will give advanced technology to people who may have never owned a Smartphone. The company executives say that the phone was created specifically for first-time Smartphone users. This is the reason why it is being launched at such a low cost. The phones will also sell in the UK for £59.99.

The phone, although set to be launched in the UK and US, has already been launched in Spain, Colombia and Venezuela. The company will not sell the phone to Mobile Carriers in the US. The phone will battle with Alcaltel’s One Touch Fire which the manufacturer Deutsche Telekom has sold in a number of countries including Poland. The phone performs just as well as any Android or iOS phone. The phone is bound to get popular especially in developing countries where spending a small fortune on a phone is not possible for most people.

Application developers will have a great time making app for the Smartphone. People who were not familiar with creating application for Android and iOS can now get in on the relative easy task of making applications using HTML5. The applications bundled into the phone are made in HTML5 and there are a great proportion of people who know how to develop using this writing language. The phone is well suited for the emerging markets countries.

Firefox OS Tablet to be Released by Mozilla, Foxconn

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Rumors have it that Mozilla has teamed up with Taiwan based Foxconn to manufacture a new tablet that will be powered with Firefox OS. In fact, both companies have sent out press invitation for the press event that will be held on 3rd June.

The invitation only talks about a new yet unknown device. So, it’s not confirmed whether it is going to be a smartphone, phablet or tablet. However, a reliable source has told Focus Taiwan that device which Mozilla and Foxconn are talking about is a tablet PC. In the recent past, there were a lot of rumors about Mozilla that it was working on producing a tablet running on Firefox operating system. In the past months, Mozilla had unveiled two low-priced smartphones.

firefox-os

The sale of the two smartphones namely Keon and Peak were carried by a Spanish firm called Geeksphone. Both the phones were aimed at developers for building new apps that can work seamlessly on the new Firefox OS. The phones are yet to hit the US markets and the performance of both the phones will mean a lot to Mozilla. The nonprofit organization, Mozilla aims to gain a foothold in the US markets through these phones.

Even though Firefox OS is in its initial stages, it has acquired support from various across the globe such as Deutsche Telekom, China Unicomm and America Movil. When the Mobile Congress event was held in February, at that time Mozilla had claimed that they will be approaching 18 cellular service providers and 4 mobile phone manufacturers. Till now, it has managed to work with LG Electronics, Alcatel, Huawei and ZTE for manufacturing Firefox OS powered devices.

The cellular network providers that Mozilla has partnered with are lesser known providers in US. Firefox aims to manufacture budget phones to sell in budget-conscious areas. Mozilla is very popular for its Firefox internet browser. At the moment, Firefox is very little compared to giants like Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. It will take quite some time for the operating system to take upon big ones in the market.

The Firefox internet browser is not supported on iOS and even on Android, it is not the default internet browser. So, it makes sense for Mozilla to plunge into manufacturing its own devices by teaming up with other makers. In future, Mozilla aims to partner with well-known carries which will definitely help in popularizing the Firefox OS.

Tech enthusiasts are quite curious about the new device (may be a tablet) from Mozilla that is going to be unveiled on 6th June. We will have to wait for the press event to unfold to know more about the mysterious device running on Firefox.

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