Mozilla
Company: Mozilla, Mountain View, CA
Company Description: Mozilla is a global community dedicated to building free, open source products and technologies that improve the online experience for people everywhere. We work in the open with a highly disciplined, transparent and cooperative development process.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories / Innovation Awards
Nomination Sub Category: Most Innovative Company of the Year - Up to 2,500 Employees
Nomination Title: Mozilla’s Good Fight – Keeping the Web Open and Participatory
1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved since January 1 2009 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Mozilla is a global community of people who believe that the power of Internet
technology can enrich lives. It’s a public benefit organization that pushes
aggressively for technical innovation and openness on the Web. Mozilla’s primary
efforts to accomplish this are centered around its open source software project,
which provides both a social and technical platform for advancing the Internet
through end user products like Firefox. Mozilla’s mission is to promote choice,
innovation and participation on the Internet.
In the past year, Mozilla has reached a number of significant milestones and
launched new initiatives focused on its goals of making the Web open and
participatory.
Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 in June 2009, which was a major update to the
popular, open source Web browser and included a significant number of changes in
user interface, security and performance, such as Private Browsing mode, native
support for open video and audio and Location Aware Browsing.
In September 2009, the Mozilla Project celebrated more than one billion
downloads of Firefox, reflecting the popularity of Firefox and the enormous
growth of the Web.
In January 2010, Mozilla released Firefox 3.6 with even more user-facing
improvements, including more than 100,000 custom browser themes called personas
as well as a number of “under the hood” improvements, like improved JavaScript
performance and enhancements to familiar favorites like the Awesome Bar for a
more personalized Web experience. Firefox 3.6 has since been downloaded more
than 200 million times.
On January 28, 2010 Mozilla released Firefox for mobile – bringing the Firefox
experience to select mobile devices. The mobile initiative was Mozilla’s next
step in the organization’s goal of creating one Web that anyone can access
whenever, wherever. Firefox for mobile is the first mobile browser with add-ons
as well as the first to offer tabbed browsing. In 2009, Mozilla Labs introduced
the Weave project, which explores deeper integration of the browser with online
services. The Weave Sync add-on allows seamless integration between a user’s
desktop and mobile Firefox experience.
Through the success of Firefox and relentless focus on improving the Web for
people everywhere, Mozilla has been instrumental in defining the components of a
modern browser. Users enjoy a more competitive market where Web browsers iterate
at a faster pace, adding features Firefox has championed like open video and
audio, browser customization, and delivering a safer and more personal
experience overall.
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Mozilla at a Glance:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/press/ataglance.html
Mitchell’s Blog
Firefox turns 5
http://blog.lizardwrangler.com/2009/11/09/firefox-turns-5/
Mitchell’s Blog
Firefox in Context
http://blog.lizardwrangler.com/2009/06/24/firefox-in-context/
Mitchell’s Blog
Mozilla, Firefox and Google Chrome
http://blog.lizardwrangler.com/2008/09/02/mozilla-firefox-and-google-chrome/
General news stories:
Ars Technica
Over 1 billion served: Firefox passes download milestone
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/07/the-fox-is-on-fire-firefox-downloaded-over-1-billion-times.ars
The New York Times
For Mozilla and Google, Group Hugs Get Tricky
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/technology/companies/26mozilla.html
BusinessWeek
Mozilla’s Crowdsourcing Mystique
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2009/tc2009071_384108.htm
Lifehacker
Firefox 3.5 Inches Past IE7 As World’s Most Popular Browser
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2009/12/firefox-3-5-inches-past-ie7-as-worlds-most-popular-browser/
Firefox Mobile news stories:
Ars Technica
Hands-on: Mozilla's pocket-sized Firefox mobile for Maemo
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2010/02/hands-on-mozillas-pocket-sized-firefox-mobile-for-maemo.ars
CNET News.com
Add-ons in Firefox's first mobile browser
http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10448255-12.html?tag=mncol
TechCrunch
Firefox Mobile For Maemo Officially Launches
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/01/29/firefox-mobile-for-maemo-officially-launches/
ZDNet
Firefox Mobile version 1.0 now available for the Nokia N900
http://blogs.zdnet.com/cell-phones/?p=2964
Weave news stories:
Ars Technica
Mozilla Weave 1.0: take your tabs and bookmarks everywhere
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2010/02/mozilla-weave-10-take-your-tabs-and-bookmarks-everywhere.ars
ReadWriteWeb
Weave Goes 1.0: Firefox Gets an Official Bookmark Syncing Tool
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/weave_goes_10_firefox_gets_an_official_bookmark_sy.php
Firefox 3.6 news stories:
CNET News.com
Mozilla forges ahead with Firefox 3.6
http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10438907-12.html?tag=mncol
ComputerWorld
Make the right browser update: Firefox 3.6
http://blogs.computerworld.com/15439/make_the_right_browser_update_firefox_3_6
eWeek
Enterprise Applications: LABS GALLERY: Firefox 3.6 Is a Small But Worthwhile Upgrade
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Applications/LABS-GALLERY-Firefox-36-Is-a-Small-But-Worthwhile-Upgrade-410834/
Financial Times
Firefox 3.6 launches
http://blogs.ft.com/techblog/2010/01/firefox-36-launches/
InformationWeek
Mozilla Releases Firefox 3.6
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/web_services/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222400123
Mashable
Firefox 3.6 Released
http://mashable.com/2010/01/21/firefox-3-6-released/
PC World
Firefox 3.6 Brings Performance Improvements, a Few New Features
http://www.pcworld.com/article/187383/firefox_36_brings_performance_improvements_a_few_new_features.html
Technologizer
Firefox 3.6 is Here
http://technologizer.com/2010/01/21/firefox-3-6-is-here/
VentureBeat
Mozilla releases Firefox 3.6 with promise of more speed, stability
http://venturebeat.com/2010/01/21/mozilla-firefox-3-6/
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:
As leader of the Mozilla Project, Mitchell Baker is responsible for organizing
and motivating a massive, worldwide collective of employees and volunteers who
are breathing new life into the Internet with Mozilla products. As Chairman of
Mozilla, Baker continues her commitment to an open, innovative Web and the
infinite possibilities it presents.
As the CEO of Mozilla, John Lilly is responsible for guiding the product and
organizational development efforts for Mozilla Corporation. John is a regular
speaker at industry events and serves on the board of directors of the Open
Source Application Foundation and Participatory Culture Foundation.