Internet is actually the most democratic of all the mass media. With a very low investment, anyone can have a web page in Internet. This way, almost any business can reach a very large market, directly, fast and economically, no matter the size or location of the business. With a very low investment, almost anybody that can read and write can have access to the World Wide Web.

Advantages of Electronic Commerce:

The greatest and the most important advantage of e-commerce, is that it enables a business concern or individual to reach the global market. It caters to the demands of both the national and the international market, as your business activities are no longer restricted by geographical boundaries. With the help of electronic commerce, even small enterprises can access the global market for selling and purchasing products and services. Even time restrictions are nonexistent while conducting businesses, as e-commerce empowers one to execute business transactions 24 hours a day and even on holidays and weekends.

Disadvantages of Electronic Commerce:

Electronic commerce is also characterized by some technological and inherent limitations which has restricted the number of people using this revolutionary system. One important disadvantage of e-commerce is that the Internet has still not touched the lives of a great number of people, either due to the lack of knowledge or trust. A large number of people do not use the Internet for any kind of financial transaction. Some people simply refuse to trust the authenticity of completely impersonal business transactions, as in the case of e-commerce.

The Mozilla Firefox project was created by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project. Firefox 1.0 was released on November 9, 2004. Firefox 1.5 was released on November 29, 2005. Version 2.0 was released on October 24, 2006 and Firefox 3.0 was released on June 17, 2008. Version 3.5 was released on June 30, 2009 and version 3.6 was released on January 21, 2010.

[edit] Early history

Hyatt and Ross’s browser was created to combat the perceived software bloat of the Mozilla Suite (codenamed, internally referred to, and continued by the community as SeaMonkey), which integrated features such as IRC, mail and news, and WYSIWYG HTML editing into one software suite.

Firefox retains the cross-platform nature of the original Mozilla browser, using the XUL user interface markup language. The use of XUL makes it possible to extend the browser’s capabilities through the use of extensions and themes. The development and installation processes of these add-ons raised security concerns, and with the release of Firefox 0.9, the Mozilla Foundation opened a Mozilla Update website containing “approved” themes and extensions. The use of XUL sets Firefox apart from other browsers, including other projects based on Mozilla’s Gecko layout engine and most other browsers, which use interfaces native to their respective platforms (Galeon and Epiphany use GTK+; K-Meleon uses MFC; and Camino uses Cocoa). Many of these projects were started before Firefox, and probably served as inspiration.

Although the Mozilla Foundation had intended to make the Mozilla Suite obsolete and to replace it with Firefox, the Foundation continued to maintain the suite until April 12, 2006^[1] because it had many corporate users, as well as being bundled with other software. The Mozilla community (as opposed to the Foundation) continues to release new versions of the suite using the product name SeaMonkey to avoid any possible confusion with the original Mozilla Suite.

On February 5, 2004 the business and IT consulting company AMS categorized Mozilla Firefox (then Firebird) as a “Tier 1″ (meaning “Best of Breed”) open source product.^[2] This meant that AMS considered Firebird (as it was called at the time) to be virtually risk-free and technically strong.

[edit] Naming

The project which became Firefox started as an experimental branch of the Mozilla Suite called m/b (or mozilla/browser). When sufficiently developed, binaries for public testing appeared in September 2002 under the name Phoenix.

The Phoenix name was retained until April 14, 2003 when it was changed (after a short stint as Phoenix Browser) due to trademark issues with the BIOS manufacturer, Phoenix Technologies (who produce a BIOS-based browser called Phoenix FirstWare Connect). The new name, Firebird, was met with mixed reactions, particularly as the Firebird database server already carried the name. In late April, following an apparent name change to Firebird browser for a few hours, the Mozilla Foundation issued an official statement which stated that the browser should be referred to as Mozilla Firebird (as opposed to just Firebird). Continuing pressure from the Firebird community forced another change, and on February 9, 2004 the project was renamed Mozilla Firefox (or Firefox for short).

The name, “Firefox“, was chosen for its similarity to “Firebird”, but also for its uniqueness in the computing industry. To ensure that no further name changes would be necessary, the Mozilla Foundation began the process of registering Firefox^[3] as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in December 2003. This trademark process led to a delay of several months in the release of Firefox 0.8 when the foundation discovered that in the UK Firefox had already been registered^{[4][dead link]} as a trademark for software by The Charlton Company.^[5] The situation was resolved when the foundation was given a license to use Charlton’s European trademark.

[edit] Branding and visual identity

Early Firebird and Phoenix releases of Firefox were considered to have had reasonable visual designs, but were not up to the same standard as many professionally released software packages. In October 2003, professional interface designer, Steven Garrity, wrote an article covering everything he considered to be wrong with Mozilla’s visual identity.^[6] The page received a great deal of attention. The majority of the criticisms levelled at the article were along the lines of “where’s the patch?”[citation needed]

Shortly afterwards, Garrity was invited by the Mozilla Foundation to head up the new visual identity team. The release of Firefox 0.8 in February 2004 saw the introduction of the new branding efforts, including new icons designed by silverorange, a group of web developers with a long-standing relationship with Mozilla, with final renderings by Jon Hicks, who had previously worked on Camino.^[8][9] The logo was revised and updated later, fixing some flaws found when the logo was enlarged.^[10]

The animal shown in the logo is a stylized fox, although “firefox” is considered to be a common name for the Red Panda. The panda, according to Hicks, “didn’t really conjure up the right imagery”, besides not being widely known.^[9] The logo was chosen for the purpose of making an impression, while not shouting out with overdone artwork. The logo had to stand out in the user’s mind, be easy for others to remember and stand out while not causing too much distraction when among other icons. It was expected to be the final logo for the product.

The Firefox icon is a trademark used to designate the official Mozilla build of the Firefox software, and builds of official distribution partners.^[11] Although the core software is open source, the artwork, the Crash Reporter until Firefox 3, and parts of the installer, are not freely licensed without official permission from the developers. For this reason, Debian and other software distributors who distribute patched or modified versions of Firefox do not use the icon. The crash reporting service switched with version three, going from a program called Talkback, to the open source BreakPad & Socorro.

[edit] “Delicious delicacies”

Early Firefox releases featured a preferences panel that described cookies by stating “Cookies are delicious delicacies”.

The phrase was representative of the programmers’ quirky sense of humor and a general reflection of the free software movement‘s unconventional approach. The phrase became something of a cult legend and was even featured in an O’Reilly computer book.

The original text was inserted by Blake Ross, one of the lead developers of Firefox, because, he says, “describing something so complicated in such a small space was quite frankly the last thing I wanted to worry about after rewriting the cookie manager”.

However, in reflection of the growing acceptance and use of the Firefox browser in the Internet mainstream, the text was later changed. It was considered^[12] a bug and was “fixed” by Mike Connor to read “Cookies are pieces of information stored by web pages on your computer. They are used to remember login information and other data”. The revision was regarded as more likely to be helpful for the less technically oriented computer users who were now using Firefox—representing Mozilla’s desire to appeal to mainstream users.

Comment:

-Mozilla Firefox is the best web browser for me,compared to others.It is safer to use and you can easily search what you want.

The Mozilla Firefox project was created by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project. Firefox 1.0 was released on November 9, 2004. Firefox 1.5 was released on November 29, 2005. Version 2.0 was released on October 24, 2006 and Firefox 3.0 was released on June 17, 2008. Version 3.5 was released on June 30, 2009 and version 3.6 was released on January 21, 2010.

Early history

Hyatt and Ross’s browser was created to combat the perceived software bloat of the Mozilla Suite (codenamed, internally referred to, and continued by the community as SeaMonkey), which integrated features such as IRC, mail and news, and WYSIWYG HTML editing into one software suite.

Firefox retains the cross-platform nature of the original Mozilla browser, using the XUL user interface markup language. The use of XUL makes it possible to extend the browser’s capabilities through the use of extensions and themes. The development and installation processes of these add-ons raised security concerns, and with the release of Firefox 0.9, the Mozilla Foundation opened a Mozilla Update website containing “approved” themes and extensions. The use of XUL sets Firefox apart from other browsers, including other projects based on Mozilla’s Gecko layout engine and most other browsers, which use interfaces native to their respective platforms (Galeon and Epiphany use GTK+; K-Meleon uses MFC; and Camino uses Cocoa). Many of these projects were started before Firefox, and probably served as inspiration.

Although the Mozilla Foundation had intended to make the Mozilla Suite obsolete and to replace it with Firefox, the Foundation continued to maintain the suite until April 12, 2006^[1] because it had many corporate users, as well as being bundled with other software. The Mozilla community (as opposed to the Foundation) continues to release new versions of the suite using the product name SeaMonkey to avoid any possible confusion with the original Mozilla Suite.

On February 5, 2004 the business and IT consulting company AMS categorized Mozilla Firefox (then Firebird) as a “Tier 1″ (meaning “Best of Breed”) open source product.^[2] This meant that AMS considered Firebird (as it was called at the time) to be virtually risk-free and technically strong.

Naming

The project which became Firefox started as an experimental branch of the Mozilla Suite called m/b (or mozilla/browser). When sufficiently developed, binaries for public testing appeared in September 2002 under the name Phoenix.

The Phoenix name was retained until April 14, 2003 when it was changed (after a short stint as Phoenix Browser) due to trademark issues with the BIOS manufacturer, Phoenix Technologies (who produce a BIOS-based browser called Phoenix FirstWare Connect). The new name, Firebird, was met with mixed reactions, particularly as the Firebird database server already carried the name. In late April, following an apparent name change to Firebird browser for a few hours, the Mozilla Foundation issued an official statement which stated that the browser should be referred to as Mozilla Firebird (as opposed to just Firebird). Continuing pressure from the Firebird community forced another change, and on February 9, 2004 the project was renamed Mozilla Firefox (or Firefox for short).

The name, “Firefox“, was chosen for its similarity to “Firebird”, but also for its uniqueness in the computing industry. To ensure that no further name changes would be necessary, the Mozilla Foundation began the process of registering Firefox^[3] as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in December 2003. This trademark process led to a delay of several months in the release of Firefox 0.8 when the foundation discovered that in the UK Firefox had already been registered^{[4][dead link]} as a trademark for software by The Charlton Company.^[5] The situation was resolved when the foundation was given a license to use Charlton’s European trademark.

Branding and visual identity

Early Firebird and Phoenix releases of Firefox were considered to have had reasonable visual designs, but were not up to the same standard as many professionally released software packages. In October 2003, professional interface designer, Steven Garrity, wrote an article covering everything he considered to be wrong with Mozilla’s visual identity.^[6] The page received a great deal of attention. The majority of the criticisms levelled at the article were along the lines of “where’s the patch?”[citation needed]

Shortly afterwards, Garrity was invited by the Mozilla Foundation to head up the new visual identity team. The release of Firefox 0.8 in February 2004 saw the introduction of the new branding efforts, including new icons designed by silverorange, a group of web developers with a long-standing relationship with Mozilla, with final renderings by Jon Hicks, who had previously worked on Camino.^[8][9] The logo was revised and updated later, fixing some flaws found when the logo was enlarged.^[10]

The animal shown in the logo is a stylized fox, although “firefox” is considered to be a common name for the Red Panda. The panda, according to Hicks, “didn’t really conjure up the right imagery”, besides not being widely known.^[9] The logo was chosen for the purpose of making an impression, while not shouting out with overdone artwork. The logo had to stand out in the user’s mind, be easy for others to remember and stand out while not causing too much distraction when among other icons. It was expected to be the final logo for the product.

The Firefox icon is a trademark used to designate the official Mozilla build of the Firefox software, and builds of official distribution partners.^[11] Although the core software is open source, the artwork, the Crash Reporter until Firefox 3, and parts of the installer, are not freely licensed without official permission from the developers. For this reason, Debian and other software distributors who distribute patched or modified versions of Firefox do not use the icon. The crash reporting service switched with version three, going from a program called Talkback, to the open source BreakPad & Socorro.

“Delicious delicacies”

Early Firefox releases featured a preferences panel that described cookies by stating “Cookies are delicious delicacies”.

The phrase was representative of the programmers’ quirky sense of humor and a general reflection of the free software movement‘s unconventional approach. The phrase became something of a cult legend and was even featured in an O’Reilly computer book.

The original text was inserted by Blake Ross, one of the lead developers of Firefox, because, he says, “describing something so complicated in such a small space was quite frankly the last thing I wanted to worry about after rewriting the cookie manager”.

However, in reflection of the growing acceptance and use of the Firefox browser in the Internet mainstream, the text was later changed. It was considered^[12] a bug and was “fixed” by Mike Connor to read “Cookies are pieces of information stored by web pages on your computer. They are used to remember login information and other data”. The revision was regarded as more likely to be helpful for the less technically oriented computer users who were now using Firefox—representing Mozilla’s desire to appeal to mainstream users.

After this happened, the following remarks were made by Blake Ross over IRC to Mike Connor:

   <blake2> congratulations mconnor
   <blake2> you just destroyed a legend!

The text became a popular in-joke and on August 2004, the Delicious Delicacies extension, which is no longer maintained and updated, was released by Jesse Ruderman. This extension restored the old description of cookies, available in several languages.

As of Firefox 2.0, cookies no longer have a description in the preferences window.

Version 1.5

On June 23, 2005, the Mozilla Foundation announced that Firefox 1.1 (which became Firefox 1.5) and other new Mozilla products will no longer support Mac OS X v10.1. This is intended to improve the quality of Firefox releases on Mac OS X v10.2 and above. Users of 10.1 could still use Firefox versions from the 1.0.x branch (e.g. Firefox 1.0.7).

Firefox 1.5 was released on November 30, 2005. The original plan was for a Firefox 1.1 and later a Firefox 1.5. After the first two 1.1 alpha builds, the Mozilla Foundation abandoned the 1.1 release plan and merged it with the planned feature set of 1.5 instead, with 1.5 being released later than was planned for 1.1. The new version resynchronised the code-base of the release builds (as opposed to nightly builds) with the core “trunk” which contained additional features not available in 1.0, as it branched from the trunk around the 0.9 release. As such, there was a backlog of bug fixes between 0.9 and the release of 1.0, which were made available in 1.5. Version 1.5 implemented a new Mac-like options interface, which was the subject of much criticism from Windows and Linux users, with a “Sanitize” action to allow a person to clear their privacy related information without manually clicking the “Clear All” button. In Firefox 1.5, a user can clear all privacy-related settings simply by exiting the browser or using a keyboard shortcut, depending on their settings. Moreover, the software update system was improved (with binary patches now possible). There were also improvements in the extension management system, with a number of new developer features.

Also, Firefox 1.5 had preliminary SVG 1.1 support.^[13] This unplanned movement may have been due to the release of Opera 8.0 on April 19, 2005, which supported SVG Tiny.^{[speculation?]}

Alpha builds of Firefox 1.5 (1.1a1 and 1.1a2) did not contain Firefox branding. They were labeled “Deer Park” (which was Firefox 1.5′s internal codename) and contained a different program icon. This was done to dissuade end-users from downloading preview versions, which are intended for developers only.

Firefox 1.5.0.12 is the final version supported on Windows 95.

Version 2

On March 22, 2006, the first alpha version of Firefox 2 (Bon Echo Alpha 1) was released. It featured Gecko 1.8.1 for the first time.

Firefox 2 was released on October 24, 2006 and contained many new features not found in Firefox 1.5, including improved support for SVG and JavaScript 1.7, as well as UI changes.

Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.x is the final version supported on Windows NT 4.0, 98 and Me. Mozilla Corporation has announced that it will not develop new versions of Firefox 2 after the 2.0.0.20 release. They did however continue development of Firefox 2 as long as other programs, like the Thunderbird mail client, were depending on it. The final internal release was 2.0.0.22, released in late April 2009.

Firefox Live Chat

In December 2007, Firefox Live Chat was launched. It allows users to ask volunteers questions through a system powered by Jive Software, with guaranteed hours of operation and the possibility of help after hours. Because this service is kept running because of volunteers, if there are not enough volunteers to help, they may not open during the Official Hours.^[14]

Version 3.0

The Mozilla Foundation released Firefox 3 on June 17, 2008. The first Firefox 3 beta (under codename ‘Gran Paradiso’).^[15] had been released several months earlier on 19 November 2007,^[16] which was followed by several more beta releases in the Spring of 2008 culminating in the June release.^[17]

One of the major changes in Firefox 3 is the implementation of Gecko 1.9, an updated layout engine. The new version fixes many bugs and implements new web APIs.^[18]

Version 3.5

After several development releases, the final version was released on June 30, 2009. The current version is 3.5.7, released on 5 January, 2010. Also, as of mid-December 2009, Firefox 3.5 is the most popular browser (when counting individual browser versions) passing Internet Explorer 7.^[19] It is the first version to accomplish this feat.

Version 3.6

The release following Firefox 3.1 (since changed to Firefox 3.5) was originally referred to as 3.2. Since the change, Mozilla developer Mike Shaver has indicated that the release number will be referred to as 3.6 ad interim.^[20] The codename for this version has been set to Namoroka. The release date was originally planned for November 2009.^[21] Development started on 1 December 2008.^[22] This release uses the Gecko 1.9.2 engine and includes several interface improvements, such as “personas.”

Future releases

The precursory releases of upcoming Firefox releases are codenamed “Minefield“, as this is the name of the trunk builds. As of January 2010, development for Firefox 3.7 takes place on the Mozilla trunk, with pre-release builds coming nightly.

Starting with a minor update to Firefox 3.6 code-named Lorentz, Mozilla plans to start releasing non-intrusive changes as minor updates that previously included only stability and security fixes.^[23] This new development approach means that Mozilla’s product road map will also be updated. Mike Beltzner, Mozilla’s director of Firefox, and Mike Shaver, Mozilla’s vice president of engineering, hope to release a new roadmap that reflects the changes.^[23]

On January 15, 2010 Mike Beltzner responded in a blog post to rumors that Mozilla had “dumped Firefox 3.7 from the release schedule”,^[24] stating that “The rumours of Firefox 3.7’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.”^[25]

Version 3.7

As of January 2010, Firefox 3.7 (Gecko 1.9.3) Alpha 1 is being developed on the trunk. Mike Beltzner says the version number 3.7 should not be considered final.^[26] Firefox 3.7′s release is proposed for June 2010.^[27]

The version’s main set of features will be changes to the user interface. Mockups of a UI overhaul for the Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions have been posted on the Mozilla Wiki.^[28] On the Windows and Linux versions, the items inside the menu bar will be either removed or transferred into two buttons named “Page” and “Tools” to minimize the amount of space that the UI takes up. The UI will use animations for manipulating tags and buttons.

The browser will be given a home tab. This will be similar to the new tab pages found in Internet Explorer 8 and Google Chrome. However, users are able to customise the button so that it takes the user to their homepage instead.

The installer on the Mac OS X will be redesigned to make installations easier. Also, the start up windows that appear when Firefox starts up will be eradicated to make the start up process quicker.

The preferences and add-ons manager windows will also be redesigned to better assist users.

The Gecko layout engine will be improved to support more HTML5 and CSS3 features.

Version 4.0

Nightly builds were marked as 4.0 alpha 1 pre between February and June of 2008,^[29][30] but were renamed to 3.1 alpha 1 pre afterward.

Firefox 4.0 will possibly be released in the fourth quarter of 2010.^[27]

Like version 3.7, one of the main focuses is to improve the user interface. Mockups for an expansion to the Firefox 3.7 have been posted in the Mozilla Wiki. They show plans for many changes, including optionally display the tabs bar at the top of the window, integrating the status bar into the navigation toolbar and integrating the search bar and the reload and stop buttons into the awesomebar.^[31]

As well as this, the Mozilla Weave project will be integrated into the browser to allow users to sync things such as bookmarks and history with the cloud.

A new type of tab, called an application tab, can be placed in the tab bar. It is based on the Mozilla Prism project, which allows web pages (such as Google Mail) to become applications.

COMMENT:

-Mozilla firefox for me,,  is the world’s best web browser.. compared to the others,.because it is safer to use and you can easily search what you want.

Yahoo! began as a student hobby and evolved into a global brand that has changed the way people communicate with each other, find and access information and purchase things. The two founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started their guide in a campus trailer in February 1994 as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Before long they were spending more time on their home-brewed lists of favorite links than on their doctoral dissertations. Eventually, Jerry and David’s lists became too long and unwieldy, and they broke them out into categories. When the categories became too full, they developed subcategories … and the core concept behind Yahoo! was born.

The Web site started out as “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web” but eventually received a new moniker with the help of a dictionary. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle,” but Filo and Yang insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: “rude, unsophisticated, uncouth.” Yahoo! itself first resided on Yang’s student workstation, “Akebono,” while the software was lodged on Filo’s computer, “Konishiki” – both named after legendary sumo wrestlers.

Jerry and David soon found they were not alone in wanting a single place to find useful Web sites. Before long, hundreds of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. Word spread from friends to what quickly became a significant, loyal audience throughout the closely-knit Internet community. Yahoo! celebrated its first million-hit day in the fall of 1994, translating to almost 100 thousand unique visitors.

Due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential business on their hands. In March 1995, the pair incorporated the business and met with dozens of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. They eventually came across Sequoia Capital, the well-regarded firm whose most successful investments included Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems. They agreed to fund Yahoo! in April 1995 with an initial investment of nearly $2 million.

Realizing their new company had the potential to grow quickly, Jerry and David began to shop for a management team. They hired Tim Koogle, a veteran of Motorola and an alumnus of the Stanford engineering department, as chief executive officer and Jeffrey Mallett, founder of Novell’s WordPerfect consumer division, as chief operating officer. They secured a second round of funding in Fall 1995 from investors Reuters Ltd. and Softbank. Yahoo! launched a highly-successful IPO in April 1996 with a total of 49 employees.

Today, Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 345 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!’s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company’s global Web network includes 25 World properties. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and the United States.

COMMENT:

-Yahoo.. is a leading global internet communications.It helps us communicate with other people much easier..,,not only in the philippines but all over the world.

A blog (a contraction of the term “web log“) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

For me, Blog is harmLess…if it is used in a wrong way…