Firefox turns one!

HAPPENINGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Firefox turned one year old on November 9, marking yet another milestone for the popular open-source browser.

Within a year, it has grabbed 8.65 per cent of the market and put a dent in Internet Explorer's dominance, according to NetApplications' October results.

"At the launch, we had a million downloads on the first day and have not seen any let up in demand," said Chris Beard, head of marketing and product management for Mozilla Corp.

In the past year, Firefox helped validate the concept of an open-source browser and encourage its use through viral word-by-mouth marketing, he added. And as Firefox enters its second year, several changes are in store.

The final version of Firefox 1.5 may be ready as early as a December, depending on the feedback received from the approximately 500,000 users, who are testing the browser, Beard said. Firefox, meanwhile, plans to kickoff next year with an aggressive product cycle, Beard said.

An Emmy for mobile videos!

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, best known for handing out the Daytime Emmy Awards is ready with a brand new award category to recognise original video content for computers, cell phones and other handheld devices, like the video iPod and PlayStation Portable.

The category is to have its debut at the academy's next Sports Emmys presentation, and ultimately be added as a category for other Emmy presentations as well, including those for news and documentary, business and financial reporting and daytime television. The category will not be included in the prime-time Emmy Awards.