Why Firefox Matters

Forbes: Why Firefox Matters

If you use the Web for a living you're probably enjoying your shiny new toy already: the official release of Firefox 3. The team at Mozilla, the group behind the free Firefox Web browser, is gunning to set a record for most downloads in a 24-hour period.

Mozilla's definitely on track with its bigger goal: taking a big bite out of Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT – news – people ) browser monopoly. Firefox grabbed 18.41% of the market in May, up from just 11% during the year-ago period, according to Web tracker NetApplications. Microsoft, by contrast, has fallen to 73.75% from 84% over the same period.

Of course, it's easy to dismiss the importance of the Web browser. The software is free, and Microsoft crushed its only serious commercial competition, Netscape, almost a decade ago. As recently as 2005, Microsoft owned 95% of the market.

But don't be fooled. Firefox has become one of the most important pieces of software around today as consumers shift from using their PCs to run applications living on their hard drives to a communications device able to connect with applications living on distant servers. As Saul Hansell at The New York Times pointed out, the browser is poised to unlock a slate of new applications in the years to come.

And, thanks to Google (nasdaq: GOOG – news – people ), Mozilla has plenty of money. Google funnels tens of millions dollars to Mozilla in exchange getting for a valuable spot on the default home page of the browser preferred by the most avid Web surfers and developers. …