Browser-maker Mozilla still has a tricky relationship with Google, judging from statements made last night by its new chief executive, Gary Kovacs.
Reporters had a chance to ask Kovacs a few questions at the Mozilla open house yesterday, when the company invited us into its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters to preview some of the new features in its Firefox browser. The gathering came just a day after Google held its own press event, where it announced some improvements to its Chrome Web browser, as well as a pilot program for Chrome OS, its netbook operating system thata4ぎa4г built around Chrome.
Kovacs, who was announced as CEO in October and took over just a month ago, said that Mozilla has always aimed to provide an alternative to commercial browsers &8212' and now that includes Chrome. Firefox doesna4ぎa4д need to privilege any particular website or application, while Googlea4ぎa4г Chrome is a4ぎAtied to their commercial purposes,a4ぎ he said.
On the other hand, Google has said that it wants to a4ぎAdecouplea4ぎ Chrome from its other Web services, so that Chrome users arena4ぎa4д pushed to use Google search, email, and so on.
a4ぎAIf they say ita4ぎa4г decoupled from Google, great,a4ぎ Kovacs said. But he added, a4ぎAI dona4ぎa4д believe it.a4ぎ
Google isn&'t deliberately lying, he said. However, the company created Chrome for a business reason, and Kovacs said that purpose is not &''to free the world from any connection to Google.a4ぎ Instead, the search giant wants to use the data gathered by Chrome to create a better, more personalized experience in search and other Google products, he said.
Firefox, on the other hand, has gone out of its way to avoid keeping any information about the user. For example, with the Firefox Sync service (which allows users to access bookmarks, tabs, and passwords on multiple devices) all your data is encrypted on your computer, so that when it gets sent to Firefoxa4ぎa4г servers, Mozilla isna4ぎa4д able to use it at all.
In the coming year, Mozilla will be focusing on giving users more control over how their information is shared on different websites and applications, Kovacs said. This is something the Federal Trade Commission addressed last week, when it said Web browsers should give users an option to block websites from collecting data about their online activity.
Microsoft responded with a a4ぎADo Not Tracka4ぎ feature in Internet Explorer. Kovacs said Mozilla is also trying to figure out the best way to implement this idea. a4ぎAWe need to balance a bunch of things,a4ぎ he said, because ita4ぎa4г important to distinguish between different types of data sharing and to recognize that some kinds of sharing improve the user experience.
On the Google question, Kovacs noted that the relationship is both friendly and competitive &8212' the companies are always either a4ぎAhugging or hittinga4ぎ each other. Google was the first company to visit Kovacs when he started at Mozilla, and Googlea4ぎa4г search deal in Firefox provides the vast majority of Mozillaa4ぎa4г revenue.
a4ぎAFor Google to win, it doesna4ぎa4д mean we lose,a4ぎ Kovacs said.
Next Story: With new programming tools, Foursquare hopes more developers will check in Previous Story: Epic releases groundbreaking 3D game Infinity Blade on App Store
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: Google, Mozilla
People: Gary Kovacs
Companies: Google, Mozilla
People: Gary Kovacs
Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments