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Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

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Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#551

Post by mmooss »

miki_oomiri wrote: post #39

If I were the CEO, I would: - focus 100% on Firefox Desktop & Mobile - just a fast solid minimalist browser (no AI, no BS) - other features should be addons - privacy centric - builtin, first-class, adblocker - run on donations - partner with Kagi - layoff 80% of the non-tech employees I worked for them for many years, I guarantee you that Mozilla will be fine without all the non-sense people, just put engineers in c…

> Mozilla will be fine without all the non-sense people, just put engineers in charge.

That's always said by the engineers and never seems more than the obvious egocentric bias: What I do is important, everyone and everythying else is pointless.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#552

Post by Yoric »

gkoberger wrote: post #275

Having worked at Mozilla a while ago, the CEO role is one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Success is oddly defined: it's a non-profit (well, a for-profit owned by a non-profit) that needs to make a big profit in a short amount of time. And anything done to make that profit will annoy the community. I hope Anthony leans into what makes Mozilla special. The past few years, Mozilla's business model has been to just m…

FWIW, I remember when Mozilla started experimenting with AI, and that was way ahead of the curve (around 2015, iirc?)

But yeah, I agree that buying a great email provider would be a very interesting step. And perhaps partnering with Matrix.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#553

Post by Seattle3503 »

nottorp wrote: post #393
rdm_blackhole wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The moment Mozilla failed to stop being dependent on Google's money whilst being true to their own mission in being a 'privacy first browser' it already was the end and the damage in trust was done. I understand your position but what is the alternative funding source that could keep a company making a free browser running? Apple funds Safari's development but it's basically a side project for them, Google funds Ch…

> donations which to be honest does not work It would work if I knew my donations go towards the fucking browser and not towards "AI" or whatever the craze was before it. Since they refuse to do that, I don't donate.

How man large software projects do that? Blender and...?

Mozilla would have to become like Wikipedia, with a large fundraising focus. Its not like Wikipedia evades criticism for that approach.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#554

Post by flerchin »

the_biot wrote: post #360
gkoberger wrote: post #275

Having worked at Mozilla a while ago, the CEO role is one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Success is oddly defined: it's a non-profit (well, a for-profit owned by a non-profit) that needs to make a big profit in a short amount of time. And anything done to make that profit will annoy the community. I hope Anthony leans into what makes Mozilla special. The past few years, Mozilla's business model has been to just m…

You're assuming Mozilla would be successful at a privacy play because they are a trusted organization. I can't stress this enough: they are not.

A privacy play would be more successful from Mozilla if I were paying them for it. The incentives would be aligned. I cannot pay google for privacy, because they are incentivized against that.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#555

Post by mmooss »

alberth wrote: post #25

Dumb question: who’s Firefox target user? Chrome is able to capture the mass consumer market, due to Google’s dark pattern to nag you to install Chrome anytime you’re on a Google property. Edge target enterprise Fortune 500 user, who is required to use Microsoft/Office 365 at work (and its deep security permission ties to SharePoint). Safari has Mac/iOS audience via being the default on those platform (and deep platf…

It's an island of trust in an ocean of predatory capitalism.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#556

Post by Seattle3503 »

glenstein wrote: post #266
rdm_blackhole wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The moment Mozilla failed to stop being dependent on Google's money whilst being true to their own mission in being a 'privacy first browser' it already was the end and the damage in trust was done. I understand your position but what is the alternative funding source that could keep a company making a free browser running? Apple funds Safari's development but it's basically a side project for them, Google funds Ch…

I was going to say a similar thing. I'm still not sure I have seen an example of a browser at the scale of Firefox (hundreds of millions of users, 30 million lines of code) being successfully monetized, basically ever, unless it was entirely subsidized by a trillion dollar company that was turning its users into the product. Or alternatively, succeeding by selling off its users for telemetry or coasting off of Chromi…

> Hank Green has used the term hedonic skepticism for the psychology of seeking to criticize for its entertainment value, which I think is a large part of what this is.

I'm fascinated by this concept. Us it expanded anywhere?

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#557

Post by mixmastamyk »

glenstein wrote: post #504
mixmastamyk wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The job was always very easy, fire all of the pure managers and sock the google money into an endowment before it runs out. Then focus on privacy as you mentioned. They’ve taken in several billion dollars by now. Let that sink in. They're supposedly a non-profit, so this plan is the well-trodden playbook. But of course no Manager instance could imagine such a thing. Cue Upton Sinclair quote.

>sock the google money into an endowment before it runs out. They did that! Why are people proposing that like it's a new idea?

If they were on a sustainable trajectory they wouldn't be selling their soul for advertising money and other ill-advised revenue projects that contradict their stated mission.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#558

Post by MerrimanInd »

keeda wrote: post #482

Everyone is reacting negatively to the focus on AI, but does Mozilla really have a choice? This is going to be a rehash of the same dynamic that has happened in all the browser wars: Leading browser introduces new feature, websites and extensions start using that feature, runner-up browsers have no choice but to introduce that feature or further lose marketshare. Chrome and Edge have already integrated LLM capabiliti…

I think you're right but there's also an opportunity to sell picks when everyone is digging for gold. Like AI-driven VS Code forks, you have AI companies releasing their own browsers left and right. I wonder if Mozilla could offer a sort of white-labeling and contracting service where they offer the engine and some customization services to whatever AI companies want their own in-house browsers. But continue to offer Firefox itself as the "dumb" (from an AI perspective) reference version. I'm not sure exactly what they could offer over just forking Chromium/Firefox without support but it would be a great way to have their cake and eat it too.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#559

Post by MerrimanInd »

IMO Zen Browser fixed a lot of the Firefox UI painpoints while keeping what I like about it. It would be a smart move to make the Zen UI the canonical version of Firefox. Especially since features like vertical tabs, folders, pins, split screen, and new tab previews are more in the power user use case and Chrome has entirely dominated the casual user demographic.

Re: Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo

#560

Post by stephen_g »

avazhi wrote: post #270
high_na_euv wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Translation? Image search? Live captions? Dubbing? Summary? Rewrite text better?

Translate sure. Image search? I have a search engine for that. Live captions? Didn’t ask for that, wouldn’t use it. Dubbing? Ditto. Summary? Wouldn’t trust an AI for that, plus it’s just more tik-tokification. No fucking thanks. I don’t need to experience life as short blips of everything. Rewrite text better? Might as well kill myself once I’m ready to let a predictive text bot write shit in my place. So… no thanks.

Yes, Translate is the only one I want - and we already have that!

The worst is anything that tries to suggest stuff in text fields or puts buttons etc. to try and get you to "rewrite with AI" or any nonsense like that - makes me just want to burn anything like that to the ground.

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