"We'reincreasingMozilla'sfocuswithpeopleandmoney,andwe'rehopingtousethattocreatesomethingbetter,muchaswedointheFirefoxspace...foreveryoneinterestedinInternetande-mailcommunications,"Bakersaid.
DavidAscher,currentlychieftechnologyofficeratActiveStateandalongtimeMozillacommunitymember,willbecomethenewe-mailcorporation'sCEO.
Firefox,arejuvenatedincarnationoftheoriginalNetscapeNavigatorWebbrowser,hasbeenanotablesuccessintheopen-sourcerealm.Thoughithasn'tdisplacedthebrowserthatlargelyvanquishedNetscape,Microsoft'sInternetExplorer,it'sattainedsignificantmarketshare.Lastweek,Mozillasaidtherehadbeen400millionofficialdownloadsofFirefox,animperfectmeasureofitsactualusebutanotablylargenumbernonetheless.
ButreproducingthescaleofFirefox'ssuccesswon'tbeaseasywithThunderbird,RedMonkanalystStephenO'Gradysaid.Microsoft'sOutlookistightlytiedtoitswidelyusedExchangee-mailserversoftware,unlikethemoreeasilyswapped-outWebbrowser,andmuchofthenewe-maildevelopmentishappeninginWeb-basedservices.
"They'reunlikelytodisplaceOutlook,ofcourse,inExchangesettings,sothey'llhavetodependonconvincingusersofGmailorISP(Internetserviceprovider)e-mail...thatamailclientisnecessary,"O'Gradysaid.
ThenewcorporationwilldrawthetwoorthreededicatedThunderbirdprogrammersoutfromundertheircurrentFirefoxumbrellaandhirenewstaff,Bakersaid.AswithitssisterMozillaCorp.,thefoundationsetupthecorporationasaconvenientlegalmechanismtomeetoverallMozillaFoundationgoals,nottobeamoneymakingbusiness,sheadded.
Thedynamicnatureofthee-mailbusinesswasondisplayMondaywhenYahoo,whichoperatesaleadingWeb-basede-mailservice,spent$350milliontoacquireZimbra,whichdevelopsopen-sourcesoftwarethatgivesWeb-basede-mailmuchofthefeelofPC-basede-mailsoftware.Zimbraalsooffersanofflineversionthatletspeoplereadandwritee-mailfromcomputerswhenthey'renotconnectedtoanetwork,furtherblurringtheboundariesbetweenWeb-andPC-basede-mailsoftware.
MicrosoftassertssuperiorityMicrosoftsaidcompetitionishealthy,butitprofessednottobeworriedaboutincreasedresourcesbeingdevotedtoThunderbird.
"Businessestodayrequiremorethanbasicemail;theyneedtocommunicateandcollaborate,andthisiswhatOutlookandExchangeServerdeliver,"ClintPatterson,publicrelationsdirectorforMicrosoft'sUnifiedCommunicationsGroup,saidinastatement.Asevidence,hepointedtofeaturessuchasmanagementofcontactsandcalendars,andaccessviatheWebormobiledevices.
Andhewentastepbeyondthat,too,withaboldercriticism:"Theopen-sourcedevelopmentmodelhasyettodemonstratetheabilitytosupportprofitablesoftwarebusinessesthatcandrivethecoordinatedresearchandtestingnecessarytosustaininnovation,"Pattersonsaid,pointingtohybridbusinessmodelsthatsomestart-upsusetolayerproprietaryextrasatopopen-sourcefoundations.
MicrosoftwelcomedcooperationwithMozillatomakeThunderbirddovetailwithExchange,asMotorola,Palm,Nokia,Symbian,Sony-Ericssonandsomeusershavedone."MicrosofthaslicensingprogramsinplacefortheprotocolstoaccessExchangeServer--theOutlook-ExchangeTransportProtocolandExchangeActiveSync,"Pattersonsaid.
However,licensingsuchprotocolsisnotoftensomethingthatopen-sourcesoftwareprojectsareatlibertytodo,becauseofincompatibilitiesbetweenthelibertiesgrantedbyopen-sourcelicenseswiththerestrictionsofMicrosoftterms.
AmbitiousvisionAschersaidtheorganization'sgoalisn'ttocomeupwithanOutlookreplacement,andheacknowledgestheutilityofWeb-basede-mail.Butabettere-mailclientservesmanypeople'sneeds,andconqueringtheentireworldofe-mailisn'tthegroup'sagenda.
"Webmailisimportant,andIuseitallthetime,butIalsouseadesktopclient.Theyworktogether,"hesaid."There'sdefinitelylotsofroomforboth.Becausewe'reactuallyatthebeginningdoingthisforthepublicinterest,wedon'tneedtohave100percentofthemarket."
That'snottosayAscherdoesn'thavegrandambitions.Hisvisionisofaunifiedinbox,andthenewcorporation'sscopeisconsequentlydeliberatelyverybroad:"Internetcommunications"ratherthanjuste-mail.
"E-mailwasthekillerappoftheInternet,"butitisn'ttheonlyformofcommunication,Aschersaid,pointingtoInternetphonecalls,RSSfeedsforfetchingblogupdates,andtextmessagesonmobilephones."Peopleendupsubscribingtomoreandmorechannelsofcommunications.Itmakesithardtokeeptrackofwhat'sgoingoniftheyhavetochecksixdifferentinboxes,searchacrossavarietyofsystems."
And,headds,"Webmailiseasytocheckanywhere,butitdoesn'tmakeiteasytomanagesixdifferentaccounts."
It'sauserbasewithquality,Ascherargues:"ThefascinatingthingaboutThunderbirdisthateverybodyusingitnowwentoutoftheirwaytogetit.It'snotsomethingthatcomesprepackaged.That5millionpeoplearecurrentlyusingitmeansithascompetitiveedges."
Extendingabilitiesthroughplug-insOnefeaturethatinitiallysetFirefoxapartfromInternetExplorerwasthefactthatprogrammerscouldwritenewmodulestoextendthebrowser'sabilities.Mozillaisworkingtoreproducethesamevitalityoftheplug-incommunity'sworkwithThunderbird,Aschersaid.
"Thereisworktobedoneinthearchitecturetomakeiteasierfordeveloperstobuildthose,"hesaid."Also,there'srelativelysuperficialbutimportantworktomakeiteasierforuserstofindthose."
Onebigextensionunderdevelopment,calledPenelope,endowsThunderbirdwiththeinterfaceofthevenerableEudorae-mailsoftwarefromQualcomm.APenelopebetaversionisnowavailable.