The fact that the Firefox web browser is free and open source works to the advantage of the end users!!!
One of the biggest advantages of the fact that the Firefox web browsing software application is a free and open source software application is the immense cooperation and coordination between various parties involved in the development and growth of the web browsing software application.
Recently, I came across a blog post where a minor problem in the Firefox web browser was being discussed. The discussion that ensued was a discussion between the various parties involved in the development of the Firefox web browser. The members from the developing team of the Mozilla Foundation were discussing the matter with the developers of some popular Firefox extensions.
These individuals who are completely unrelated to each other except for the fact that they contributed to the development of the Firefox web browsing software application were discussing ways and means to improve the functioning of the web browsing software application. Had the web browsing software application in question been any web browsing software application other than Mozilla Firefox, there is absolutely no doubt says the whole interaction between the parties involved in the development of the web browsing software application would have been a different one.
Individuals from different organizations having different objectives and different interests to protect would have met and would have been more busy in protecting themselves from any negative publicity and been more keen on shifting the blame to others. They would not have had a frank and open discussion about the functionality of the web browsing software application.
So, how does the fact that the Firefox web browsing software application is a free and open source web browser help? Due to the fact that the Firefox web browsing software application is an open source and free web browsing software application, there is no need for it to pretend that it is perfect and is devoid of all flaws whatsoever.
To admit that the Firefox web browsing software application has certain problems, however minor they may be, would have been very difficult for the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application of they were paid employees of a ‘for profit’ company. Such an admission would have resulted in an investigation into the capability of the developers of the Firefox web browser. They would have been accused of not doing the work properly despite having willingly accepted the salary for the same.
The most important thing for a company working for profits to view every problem and every matter related to the end product from the point of view of profits. This leads to a scenario where unreasonable and impossible demands are made. For any individual to create a perfect software application is impossible. When the company is working for profit instead of end user satisfaction, it is forced to portrays itself as the perfect company making the perfect software application
More often than not, it is the end user who has to suffer the consequences of such a flawed approach. Due to the fact that the Firefox web browsing software application is an open source and free software application, accepting that there may be minor problems in the Firefox web browser is not a big issue at all. If the developers of the Firefox web browser encourage all the end users to come together and find a solution to the same, it would not be regarded as a controversial thing at all.
The biggest advantage in doing so is that the end users become impressed with the fact that the problems were boldly acknowledged and a dedicated effort was made to find a solution for the same. The users are smart enough to realize that no web browser can be perfect. What the end users want is for the web browser development team to show willingness to improve
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Tags: Extensions & Plugins, Firefox Browser
