By Rupert Goodwins, 20 October 2004 09:30
NEWS Open source enthusiasts are being asked to open their wallets and advertise Firefox in the mainstream media.
The Mozilla Foundation has called on its supporters to chip in for a new piece of community action - buying a full page advert in the New York Times for the launch of Firefox 1.0 in November.
Running the funding campaign from the Spread Firefox site, Firefox advocate Rob Davis said: "[This will be] the first-ever, full-page advertisement in a major daily newspaper created and paid for by the open source community."
Up to 2,500 supporters are expected to donate at least $30 apiece, with the fund also supporting further marketing efforts. For that, each supporter will get their name in the advert itself - with Community Champion status being awarded to anyone who signs up ten or more extra names.
"We [sfx members and Firefox users] will only ever have one Firefox 1.0 launch," Davis says on the front page of the site. "This is it! Let's take the world by storm."
Already available in a preview version, the Firefox browser has been downloaded more than five million times. On the back of intense media interest and strong word-of-mouth recommendations, the browser is becoming seen as a potential contender against Microsoft's Internet Explorer - still the overwhelming market leader with around 94 per cent share.
Rupert Goodwins writes for ZDNet UK
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