Apple's Tussle with Mozilla Explored

by , 2:15 PM EDT, March 25th, 2008

Apple's decision to offer the Safari Web browser to Windows users, via the iTunes Updater, could hit Mozilla's Firefox hard, according to one solution provider.

Apple's controversial decision to offer Safari within the iTunes updater has a lot of people talking, including the Mozilla Group. Mozilla CEO John Lilly recently said in his blog that Apple's tactics are wrong. Subseqently he explained that there's nothing wrong with competition; rather it's about clarity when it comes to presenting users with update options that turn out to be new software.

One solution provider, according to ChannelWeb, has weighed in on the Apple move. "This could be a fairly substantial blow to Mozilla's Firefox," said Tyler Dikman, CEO of Cooltronics in Tampa, Florida. "Even if Safari gets 10 percent share on PC browsers that's pretty significant. I don't think it will put anyone out of business, but it sends a serious wake up call that Firefox isn't the only browser that's different. It shows that there is another player in the game and a lot of money to be made in the browser business."

With Firefox growing in polularity on the Windows platform, Apple may have surmised that this is a good time to get in on the trend away from Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Mr. Dikman went on to explore Apple's prospects. "Apple is winning a lot of small battles and these small battles add up," he said. "If people use an Apple browser for music they may dive in and buy a Mac computer. I think that Apple is realizing that by diversifying into so many areas they will eventually be able to take over the standard PC computing world. I don't think it will happen tomorrow or next year, but a lot of my clients are starting to ask for Macs."

Some writers have said that because Safari is a superior browser, there's nothing wrong with what Apple is doing, but that's not the issue according to others. How this all plays out with Windows customers themselves is still being explored.