The History of Mozilla Firefox: From Phoenix, to Firebird, to Firefox

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Ok, so I am a Firefox advocate, so shoot me.....I thought this was interesting

Posted by Team Flexbeta on 30 March 2005

Firefox is not just a browser; it is a religion, a way of life some might say, and for others, like me, a great damn way of reaching the web without all the ugly stuff that comes with it. Firefox has gone a long way, from name changes to added features, to conquering market share off of the world’s most popular browser. Firefox has reached millions via not just web, but also through newspaper headlines all funded by Firefox users themselves. Many of the current Firefox users have been loyal users since the bird’s initial flight, and though Firefox has been in the wild now for quiet some time, there are plenty of Firefox users that have recently discovered this marvelous browser. The Firefox browser was previously known as Firebird and before that, Phoenix. While the name has changed, the concepts remain the same. The history of Firefox begins with an idea to make an already existing web browser faster and leaner. Originally dubbed Phoenix, the browser within a few years turns into a revolution, an escape for many from the constant security vulnerabilities from Internet Explorer. The story starts with Phoenix 0.1, and builds up to what we know today as Mozilla Firefox.

Phoenix 0.1

Firefox begins not as Firefox, but as Phoenix, which was initially made public on September 23, 2002. The Phoenix browser, which uses a large amount of the Mozilla code, was designed to be a lean and fast browser that loads in about half the time of Mozilla. The initial release was codenamed “Pescadero”, which means fisherman in Spanish, with a build of 0.1. Phoenix did not feature an installer, rather the user had to download the file and run the executable. Though the menus were customizable, there wasn’t much to add to the toolbar. The only items that were available were the home icon, print icon, a go button and a button to go to the Mozilla home page. Though still a baby, Phoenix had a lot to offer such as a download manager which IE did not contain. Looking into the preferences, Phoenix 0.1 had little options for the user (compared to newer builds). This initial build did not contain a Google search engine on the toolbar, but it did contain a popup blocker and tabbed browsing. Certain shortcut features such as writing the URL then pressing Ctrl + Enter to automatically enter the .COM part of the URL was not available in 0.1. Phoenix 0.1 did not include a sidebar, which in the second release the Mozilla team would implement it.

Phoenix 0.2

The second release of Mozilla Phoenix, build 0.2, codenamed Santa Cruz, was released a few days after 0.1 on October 10th, 2002. Plenty of features were added to this new build including the sidebar, which allowed the user to view either their bookmarks, history, or recent downloads as a side window of the browser. Other enhancements were implemented including new options to the preferences section. Now users were able to disable Java and edit some tab browsing options. Phoenix 0.2 also introduced the ability to add extensions and themes to the browser.

The toolbar customization went through a huge overhaul. The user was able to add much more icons to their toolbar including a history icon, downloads, bookmarks, new window and a search bar. The search bar was for searching on the current page, dmoz.org, and Google, of course. Phoenix 0.2 was also marginally faster than 0.1, though it was very hard to notice the difference. Though some bugs were fixed in this build, the Mozilla team concentrated more on enhancing the browser and dedicated most their time in doing so.

Phoenix 0.3

Phoenix 0.3 was the first time the Mozilla team integrated the search engine by default on the toolbar. Also, the stop button and the refresh button were moved from the right hand side of the toolbar to the opposite side. The icons on the toolbar also decrease in size from the previous build. The preferences found its way into the Tools drop down list. Phoenix 0.3 also integrated the ability for the user to block images from a certain website. This build also was the first to see the popup blocker “whitelisting” feature, which let users choose which websites are allowed to show popup windows. Adding a website to the “whitelisting” feature however was only possible if that website generated a popup, there were no options from within preferences to enter the URL manually. Phoenix 0.3 also saw a drop in file size, shrinking approximately 1MB when compared to its previous build, 0.2.

Phoenix 0.4
Build 0.4 added a homepage icon to the toolbar by default. The popup whitelist was also improved; now users were able to manually add websites which were exempt from the popup blocker. Improvements were also made to tabbed browsing and shortcut keys. Users were able to toggle between tabbed windows by using shortcuts. The Mozilla team also tweaked the address bar to permit users to just enter the name of the URL, and then press Ctrl + Enter, which automatically added the WWW. and .COM.

Phoenix 0.5

Though Phoenix 0.5 did not go through much UI improvements from its previous build, there was plenty of under-the-hood tweaking and bug fixes. Phoenix 0.5 was equipped with Intellimouse 5-button support, which meant users can now use their mouse’s back and forward button. In previous builds, if you closed Phoenix it would not remember its previous state, such as if you had the sidebar open. Phoenix 0.5 would now remember a user’s last state which the browser was in. Phoenix 0.5 also saw a noticeable file size reduction along with less memory usage than 0.4. The ability to open history items in tabs was added, and the longstanding bug that history quicksearch was case sensitive was also fixed. The download manager went through a fumigation phase; tons of bugs were exterminated including the bug that caused -1 to be displayed as the progress.

In general, Phoenix 0.5 went through a huge bug fix overhaul. A few of the bugs that were fixed includes the menubar staying disabled after customizing the toolbar under certain circumstances, effectively rendering that browser useless, also a longstanding full screen bug that made the feature a pain to use was patched.

Firebird 0.6

Phoenix users were definitely in for a surprise when the Mozilla Team decided it was time for a new name, and new look for the browser. The name of the browser had to be changed in order to avoid trademark issues with a company called Phoenix Technologies, which markets a browser of its own. After months of brain-storming, the Mozilla team rested on a new name, Firebird. However, the name Firebird would have to be changed again later because Firebird was the name of an open-source development project that produces a relational database.

Though the new browser sported also a new name, the general layout did not change much; a new default theme was used however for Firebird 0.6. New icons were introduced for every button on the toolbar. The term “Preferences” was switched for “Options”, and the Options window obtained some eye candy. Firebird 0.6 also included a new privacy feature, which allowed the user to clear all privacy data including form data, history, cache and cookies with a single click. If Firebird 0.6 crashed, the user was now able to submit a message to the developers about this error. Firebird 0.6 also introduced automatic image resizing; which shrinks any image that is bigger than the window to make the whole image visible. Smooth scrolling was also introduced in this version, along with a few bug fixes. MAC OS X fans were also in for a treat with Firebird 0.6 announced support for the OS. However, Firebird OS X users were experiencing many bug issues. Firebird 0.6 did see a 5MB file increase from its previous version.

Firebird 0.6.1

Before running Firebird 0.6.1, users noticed that the executable icon for Firebird was change. No longer did the icon resemble the Mozilla Browser icon; now Firebird had its own identity. Firebird 0.6.1 was mainly a minor bug-fix release fixing a few critical issues in Mozilla Firebird 0.6. Some of the bugs that were fixed in this build included:

* Fix for the auto-complete crash bug
* Fix for the DOM security restriction bug that broke many bookmarklets
* Rich Text Editing support
* Toolbar buttons for cut, copy and paste
* Brushed up default theme, including updated toolbar icons
* New application icon

Firebird 0.7

Firebird 0.7 added a new feature to the “Options” window: an advanced options tab. Options such as turning off smooth scrolling and automatically resizing images were able to be turned off within the advanced options tab. Cookie whitelisting was also added which allowed users to deny or allow certain websites to use cookies. A password manager was added which enabled users to view which websites and usernames were being stored by Firebird. Send Page, Send Link, and Send Image menu items were added to the list of items available to the user. Firebird 0.7 also saw a decrease in file size from 0.6.1 of about 2MB. Users were also able to use Autoscroll, which occurs when users middle click on a page (typically by clicking a mouse wheel button) which permits movement of the mouse up and down to have the page scroll by without further mouse movements.

Firebird 0.7.1

Firebird 0.7.1 was a service update to Mozilla Firebird 0.7 for MAC OS X; all other editions to Firebird for other OS remained the same. Firebird 0.7.1 went through some bug fixes which included:

• Unable to open URLs sent by other applications when set as default browser. (Shows XML error window)
• Save Page As, Save Image As, Save Link As, are non-functional.
• Double clicking a tab when using the Pinstripe theme opens a new one
• Automatic download of files to desktop not enabled by default
• First new window after closing all windows has non-functional UI (bookmarks, navigation, session history, etc)

Firefox 0.8

Again, Mozilla Firebird seeks a new identity due to another trademark dispute. As was noted earlier, the name Firebird was already being used by an open-source database project. After some further brain-storming and research in trademark names, the Mozilla team settles on Firefox mainly because it was closely similar to its previous name, Firebird. Along with the new name comes a new logo/icon: the infamous image of the reddish fox wrapped around the globe.

Firefox 0.8 was the first release to feature a Windows installer. Previous versions of the browser included a zipped folder with an executable. The installer was unique to its users because now users were able to choose how much of the browser they wanted on their PC’s, such as if they wanted to install the developer tools or not. Though the theme did not change from the previous version, some of the toolbar features did. For example, the default search engine was now Google, and only Google. Users would have to manually add other search engines if they wanted to. The download manager was also changed to reflect a cleaner look. Firefox 0.8 also includes the ability for user to surf the web offline. This new build made it easier to install themes and extensions by featuring an XPInstall frontend.

Firefox 0.9

Firefox 0.9 was the first to feature a data migration tool which enabled users to import data such as Favorites, History, Settings, Cookies and Passwords from Internet Explorer. The Windows installer diminished in size from 6.2MB in Firefox 0.8 to 4.7MB in build 0.9. Mozilla Firefox 0.9 also featured a new default theme with an edgier back and forward button. The Mozilla Team also integrated SmartUpdate, which notifies users of any updates which may are available. Firefox 0.9 featured a new extension and theme manager.

Firefox Linux users also benefited from this new release. Firefox integrated an installer for Linux/GTK2 users. The new installer made the installation process much simpler.

Firefox 0.9.1

Firefox 0.9.1 phased out the old theme and was dressed with a new default theme, which is the theme which the current Mozilla Firefox theme uses now. A few bug fixes were also fixed in 0.9.1.

Firefox 0.9.2

Firefox 0.9.2 was released for Windows only, and was actually a security update to Firefox 0.9.1. Windows users did not need to install this new build, Mozilla provided a separate patch for previous builds.

Firefox 0.9.3

Firefox 0.9.3 was released to patch four security holes. The four security fixes are:
• 249004 - Importing false CA certificate leading to error -8182 (perm DoS).
• 250906 - Null (%00) in filename fakes extension (ftp, file).
• 251381 - libpng buffer overflow vulnerabilities.
• 253121 - Lock icon and certificates spoofable with onunload document.write.

Firefox PR 0.10

Firefox Public Release 0.10 was the first build to let users use RSS feeds to read in their bookmarks. A new “Find” toolbar was integrated at the bottom of the browser. The “Find” toolbar was a hit with users, many users love the fact that you were able to highlight the text you were looking for. The popup blocker also got smarter; users were now allowed to open the blocked popup window, instead of having to disable the popup blocker and refresh the page to allow the wanted popup window. Firefox also got safer; the extension install system blocked all attempts to install software from sites other than update.mozilla.org. A “Master Password” was introduced which when used, would prompt users for the Master Password every time the password field was to be filled automatically by Firefox. Linux users also saw some changes to the browser. For example, in previous builds pressing the backspace key would do nothing in Firefox, now it does what it should, which is to go back to the previous page. Other default search engines were also added. The list of search engines now included: Google.com, Dictonary.com, Ebay.com, Amazon.com and Yahoo. Firefox PR 0.10 also went through a lot of security fixes, mostly patches were added to deter spoofing and phishing attacks.

Firefox 1.0

Firefox 1.0 now spoke 31 languages. Firefox 1.0 debuted in English, French, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Italian and hordes of other languages. This was definitely a sign that Firefox’s influence was being felt around the globe. Though Firefox 1.0 itself did not go through any drastic changes such as a new theme, the Mozilla team gradually implemented the changes through the public releases. One of the new features which Firefox 1.0 users experienced included new options for controlling where links from other applications open. Firefox 1.0 went through many bug fixes also. Just to mention a few: the View Source: Save was fixed, using Page Info -> Media -> Save As was also fixed, and several crashes which generate random malformed HTML were fixed.

Firefox 1.0.1

Most of the changes in Firefox 1.0.1 were security fixes and stability fixes. Some of the security exploits that were patched included an exploit which allowed an attacker to spoof the download and security dialog by covering them partially using popup windows. Also, an exploit existed where an image that was dragged and dropped allowed the creation of executable files.

Firefox 1.0.2

Firefox 1.0.2 is the last build before Firefox hits the 1.1 milestone. Available now, Firefox 1.0.2 pretty much was released for the same reasons that 1.0.1 was released: bug fixes and security fixes. The four security threats that Firefox 1.0.2 fixed were:
* Drag and drop loading of privileged XUL
* Arbitrary code execution from Firefox sidebar panel
* GIF heap overflow parsing Netscape extension 2
* SSL spoofing vulnerability: status bar disappears in small windows; popups can spoof the SSL lock.

Firefox 1.1

Though still in the development phase, Firefox 1.1 is planned to include a several bug and security fixes along with an MSI package. Firefox 1.1 will also see an enhancement to the extensions manager which will make it easier for third party applications to register and deregister extensions that live with their code. The current Firefox installer will also give the user the option on where to place the Firefox logo/icon; on the start-up, desktop or quick launch toolbar.

Conclusion

Since this article is not based on the future of Mozilla Firefox but rather the history of it, I will steer clear from adding any features that may be integrated in future Firefox releases. Just to make a note however, after the release of Firefox 1.1, the next mayor milestone will be Firefox 1.5. Following that release, and of course a few other releases in between, Firefox 2.0 will make its official appearance sometime this year according to the Mozilla Firefox road map.

Following the development of the Firefox project, it is astonishing to see the progress and work that this browser has accomplished. One can only wonder what other wonderful features future Firefox releases will contain. Personally, I joined the Firefox bandwagon within the Firefox 0.8 release. Before that, I did not find a reason to actually switch to Firefox from IE. If there is one question I would like to ask the reader of this article who has actually made the switch from IE (or any other browser) to Firefox, it would be: at which build stage did you make the switch? Were you an early bird, a devoted Firefox fan back in the Phoenix days? Or where you one of the other 25 Million users who just discovered this wonderful tool? No matter which part of the phase you joined the team of Firefox users; there is one thing I am sure of, once you go Firefox, you never go back.