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Sunday, April 15, 2012
Life after Firefox: Can Mozilla regain its mojo?
Mozilla Foundation president Mitchell Baker is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
The survival of her company, which pledges to make the web a better place, is at the mercy of one of its main competitors, Google.
If you haven't heard of Mozilla, you almost certainly know - and perhaps use - its most famous product: the Firefox browser.
Since 2002, it has been steadily gaining market share against Internet Explorer (IE), Microsoft's pre-loaded, oft-criticised equivalent.
It now has about half a billion users, a huge number of which are evangelists for the software. Many even help create it - it is one of the largest open-source projects on the net.
Google likes this. So much so, they pay Mozilla millions of pounds every year to secure a piece of prime real-estate on Firefox's default homepage encouraging users to perform a Google search.
This investment is believed to represent about 85% of Mozilla's entire income.
Mozilla loves that, no doubt, but can they trust it?
"If for whatever reason the Google deal wasn't renewed, it would be difficult," admits Ms Baker in an interview with the BBC.
"We have a good amount of retained earnings, and we manage it that way so that we would have a long period to adjust, but that's not the situation you want to be in."
Why would Google pull out or scale back its contribution? Well, unlike in the past, when Firefox was the only real competitor to IE, the browser war is now a three-horse race. For Google, with its highly popular Chrome browser, Mozilla has gone from being a partner, to one of its competitors.
Beyond the browserIn November last year, against a backdrop of uncertainty and worry, Google renewed its deal. The terms were not made public and, until we see Mozilla's next public accounts (due soon, they say), we won't know how much money Mozilla is currently earning.
According to some measures, Chrome overtook Firefox's market share in January. If this trend continues - and there's little to suggest it won't - the value of the Google-Firefox deal will begin to sag.
If Mozilla is to survive, it needs a new major revenue stream.
"We are not currently diversified, revenue wise," Ms Baker admits.
"With Firefox we have a sustainability model so we can pursue our public benefit goals effectively.
"It could be a good sustainability model for many years to come, but it's not good to rely on that. As we pursue these new initiatives, we do and will look for new ways to make them sustainable as well."
These new initiatives mean that Mozilla has been forced to look well beyond the browser.
'Explosive innovation'
In January Mozilla announced Pancake, billed as an effort to re-think the way we navigate and manage ourselves on the web.
It offers, in Mozilla's words "occasionally crazy ideas", such as doing away with the URL system (or at least, hiding it from view) and, crucially, creating a cloud-based framework that allows us to carry and manage our personal data wherever we go.
"Think of it more as your dashboard," explains Ms Baker.
"We really do want to encourage developers to develop across devices, using the same kind of power and explosive innovation and freedoms that the web has given us over the last 15 years."
Ms Baker knows that if projects like Pancake are likely to succeed, they will need not just developer backing, but the same mass-market adoption that made Firefox such a success.
But for a company that has dined out on a single, highly-monetisable project, such a dramatic change of direction could prove difficult.
"We've always been more than Firefox, but we haven't talked about it that much," Ms Baker says.
GoodwillFortunately for Mozilla, it is free to develop a good idea first, and worry about the money later.
"The reason for the other initiatives is not driven by revenue," Ms Baker says. "It is driven because we cannot fulfil the Mozilla mission unless we have a presence in these other spaces.
"Our stakeholders - we don't have shareholders - are not looking for a financial return on investment. The return on their time and energy and goodwill that they're looking for is the product that they like, and an internet that has a layer of user sovereignty in it.
"Things like Pancake are really early. When we have an idea of 'wow this is really exciting', at that point you then say: 'Ok, we know what people love about it now - what are some sustainability ideas that we can try?'"
As for where those money-making models might emerge, Ms Baker is less forthcoming: "I don't have much to say on that one."
The BBC asked Google about how it sees the future of the Mozilla deal.
"Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years," says Alan Eustace, senior vice-president of search. "We look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come."
This bodes well. Indeed, to pull out of a company that exists in order to mobilise "openness, innovation and opportunity on the internet" might be squarely at odds with Google's mantra of "don't be evil". However, if Chrome continues to grow, that partnership may not be as lucrative as it has been to date.
But while users may be flocking in their droves to Chrome, they'd be wise to remember that some of the couldn't-imagine-a-world-without features of the modern browser are largely down to the volunteer minds behind the Mozilla project.
Equally important, argues open web campaigner and co-editor of BoingBoing.net Cory Doctorow, is Mozilla's place as a leading non-profit in the connected web.
"They can remain a kind of Switzerland of technology that really only has one raison d'etre, and that is to make the internet better," he told the BBC.
"When you look at the early days of Mozilla, it was all about acting as an honest broker for users.
"That remains the role that Mozilla has to play because they are an independent third-party that doesn't have a commercial dog in the fight."
Apple releases tool to combat Flashback malware
Apple has released a fresh Java update that it says removes the Flashback Trojan on infected Macintosh computers.
The malware installs itself if a user visits a malicious website, exposing the computer to control by hackers.
The update's release comes two days after Apple said it was tackling the issue, and a week after an anti-virus firm warned 600,000 Macs were infected.
Another security firm, Kaspersky, has recalled its own Trojan-removal tool after it affected some user settings.
The company said its tool was removing settings on the computers it was being installed on, and promised to offer a replacement shortly.
'Slow reaction'Apple, on the other hand, states on its website's support section that its new removal tool gets rid of "the most common variants" of the malware.
The tool is integrated into the latest security update to Java on Apple computers running Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.7 ("Snow Leopard" and "Lion").
Users of infected machines running earlier versions of the operating system are told to disable Java in their web browser preferences to deal with the problem.
Earlier, Apple also said it was working with ISPs to shut down networks of servers hosted by the malware authors, which the code relies on "to perform many of its critical functions".
However, Apple has been criticised for the time it took to react to the Trojan infection.
Stealing dataIt is suspected that Flashback was designed to steal passwords and other personal data from users through their web browser.
Russian anti-virus firm Dr Web estimated on 6 April that some 600,000 Macs around the world had contracted the malware.
But security company Norton stated that the number of infected computers had since fallen to 270,000.
Several firms released their own Flashback removal tools ahead of Apple's latest security update.
However, Kaspersky Lab issued a statement after discovering problems with its software.
"In some cases it is possible that the use of the tool could result in erroneous removal of certain user settings including auto-start configurations, user configurations in browsers, and file sharing data," the firm's spokesperson Greg Sabey said in an email to the press.
"The company will release an updated version of the utility with the bug corrected and will send a notification as soon as it's available."
Some analysts say Apple could have avoided the attack if it had tackled the problem sooner.
Java's developer Oracle had issued a fix for other systems eight weeks before Apple's first security update.
Rik Ferguson, director of security research and communication at Trend Micro, said: "Security updates issued by Apple are issued too slowly and not on any regular schedule.
"Apple's sluggishness on security updates could perhaps have been defended in the past by the relative paucity of malware on that operating system. However, MacOS is increasingly attractive and increasingly exploited by criminals."
Apple also appears to be trying to improve safety for its online store iTunes, possibly addressing the growing number of complaints about some accounts being hacked.
Users are being prompted to add back-up email addresses and answer security questions to protect their accounts and devices.
Apple has not commented on the move, which initially confused some of its users.
Kaspersky fixes Flashback-fighting tool; Norton joins the fray
The fight against Flashback continues. Kaspersky Lab said late Thursday that it had fixed the problems that caused it to suspend the Flashflake Removal Tool earlier in the day; the anti-malware program is once again available for use. Mac users can go to the company's Flashback Checker site to see if their computer is infected.
Meanwhile, security company Norton unveiled its own Flashback detection and removal tool, available as a free download.
Both developments occurred after Apple--as promised--released another Java update for OS X, one that removes Flashback from infected Macs. The update, released on Thursday, can be accessed through Apple's downloads support site or via OS X's Software Update.
It's been a busy week in the battle against Flashback. The Trojan horse malware may have infected more than half a million Macs; the latest version can install without a password if the victim merely visits a maliciously crafted website.
Apple on Tuesday said it was working with service providers to shut down the "command and control network" for the malware. Other solutions have emerged as well: Last week, F-Secure published a set of Terminal commands to uncover the exploit, and on Monday an independent programmer released a Mac app that can check for the infection as well.
3 tips for actually making money making mobile apps
Let's face it: Your prospects of becoming an overnight billionaire by inventing the next Instagram probably aren't good.
But that doesn't mean you can't make a decent living in the mobile app market. Although competition for mobile users' attention is fierce, there are ways to steadily build your user base and monetize your app's content. During the Sloan Hi-Tech Conference at MIT this week, five veterans from the mobile app industry dished out tips for up-and-coming mobile companies for building lasting business models and ensuring that their apps don't end up as the mobile equivalent of Pets.com. In no particular order, here are some of the nuggets of wisdom.
Don't assume you're going to be Instagram. Sure, you'd love to have Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ring you up and offer $1 billion for your yet-to-be-monetized application, but the chances of that happening are slim. This is why it's best to take a long-term view of what has to be done to gradually make your app successful, which invariably means establishing a business plan to monetize your app and thus show venture firms that you will be able to create a steady revenue stream.
"When you look at OMGPOP, Facebook and Instagram, those are the one-percent of the top one percent of startups out there," said George Bell, CEO of Jumptap. "If you're a normal startup, you're going to have to go through rounds of funding and you're going to have to prove that you have a sustainable model."
When it comes to revenue models for apps, the panelists said there were generally two major systems in vogue: Apps that are free to download and are supported by advertising, and "freemium" apps that are free to download but that charge money for additional premium content that users will presumably want to enhance their experience. The general consensus was that the "freemium" model is the one gaining traction since it typically provides a more consistent stream of revenues. Aaron Woodman, the director of Microsoft's mobile communications business, said that app developers have to insist on charging something for their content despite the fact that mobile app stores are overflowing with apps that promise users everything for free.
"At Microsoft we've struggled with how we create floors for values to defend your ability to sell your product," he said. "I don't think there are a lot of models other than 'freemium' where you can sell content within games."
Not everyone shared the enthusiasm for the model, however. Ray Sharma, the founder and CEO of XMG Studio, said he "strongly disliked" the freemium system and instead pushed something he referred to as the "paymium" plan where users would pay a small amount for their app while also being charged extra for optional goodies.
"We believe the ultimate model is to charge $0.99 for a game and then charging for additional content," he said.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Kalender akademik
SEMESTER KEDUA
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Hackers
Hackers aligned with the Anonymous group of online activists defaced today the Web site of a major contractor operating detention facilities, calling the move a protest of the for-profit prison system, which, they said, benefits from stricter laws and more arrests.
The home page for the Geo Group's Web site was inaccessible this afternoon after it had had been replaced with an image of imprisoned activist Mumia Abu-Jamal and audio of a song about him, according to news site RT.com.
Phone messages left by CNET at the Geo Group headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., were not returned late today. But company spokesman Pablo Paez said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that no information on staff or operations had been accessed. "Our public Web site is hosted by an external offsite third-party vendor--therefore no such information was compromised," he said.
Hackers operating under the "AntiSec" banner claimed responsibility and released a statement that alleges that owners of private prisons lobby for expansion of criminal laws, even as they operate at near capacity.
Those claims seem to be corroborated in a recent report from the nonprofit Justice Policy Institute, whose statistics find there are nearly 2.4 million people behind bars in the United States, giving it the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-57385013-245/hackers-target-prison-system-with-latest-defacement/#ixzz1nMhr40Yd
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