Firefox maker moves towards a browser-free world

Open...and Shut Something interesting is brewing at Mozilla, and it appears to have very little to do with browsers.

For years, Mozilla's brand has been closely aligned with its open source browser, Firefox, despite the non-profit's efforts to branch out into mail suites (Thunderbird), social networking (Raindrop), and more.

Now, Mozilla is moving beyond the browser, just when the web seems to be outgrowing the browser.

The browser is dead. Long live the web?

Not exactly. No one at Mozilla is offering eulogies for the browser just yet, but the language at Mozilla does seem to be changing. At least, a little.

Mozilla, while always centered more on freedom of the internet than any particular software program used to access it, used to identify itself much more with the browser. For example, in February 2004 Mozilla touted its mission as "maintain[ing] choice and innovation on the Internet by developing the acclaimed, open source, Mozilla 1.6 web and email suite and related products and technology."

These days, Mitchell Baker, Mozilla Foundation chair, states that "Mozilla’s mission is to build user sovereignty into the fabric of the Internet." It's no longer about browsers, in other words, but rather something much more fundamental.

Read more: The Register
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