Firefox 3 v. Explorer 7! Coming To A Computer Near You: June 17

Blaise Zerega is getting ready to download: Mozilla announced yesterday that the Firefox 3 browser will be available for download effective June 17.  And in true Mozilla fashion, there was no giant party with an over-the-hill band performing bad medleys of their greatest hits. And there isn't a multi-million dollar marketing campaign in the works. Mozilla simply published a two-paragraph notice -- I wouldn't even call it a press release. Yet, month after month Firefox's use grows and the marketshare of Microsoft's Internet Explorer slips. It's got all the makings of a summer blockbuster. What's going on?

Last June, according to Marketshare, Explorer commanded 79.1% market share of all Web users, followed by Firefox with 14.6% and Apple's Safari with 4.5%. But in April, Explorer had slipped to 74.8%, with Firefox and Safari climbing to 17.8% and 5.8%, respectively. And in May, Explorer had slipped to 73.75%, with Firefox up to 18.41% and Safari at 6.25%.

While falling a few percentage points may seem trivial, it's not. Across the entire Internet population, such a drop represents tens of millions of users and because Firefox has to be downloaded, its rise signifies users who actively sought an alternative. Moreover, Explorer's fall-off is occurring at a time when consumers and businesses were meant to be buying Microsoft's new operating system which includes it, Vista.

The success of Firefox would not be possible if it wasn't a superior product. It is. But also afoot is an emerging sort of do-good, hybrid business model followed by Mozilla, one that's less dependent on money capital and more dependent on human capital. It's in part what's responsible for the success of  Kiva, Wikipedia, and Craigslist. It's also what's propelling GOOD Magazine.  And it could not be more different than the "cathedral" approach long practiced by Microsoft.

So instead of hanging out in the movie theaters this summer, Microsoft should be taking summer school courses at Mozilla U. In the meanwhile, I'll enjoy the show.