6 ms·

Maybe it hit trademark issues, but the reason I remember from slashdot was that phoenix was already a semi-popular open source project in the debian repository,

Maybe it hit trademark issues, but the reason I remember from slashdot was that phoenix was already a semi-popular open source project in the debian repository, so firefox had to be named from phoenix to mozilla-phoenix. But firefox at the time still named phoenix just ran so much better on windows than linux, it was funny.

simcop2387 2y ago
Both Phoenix and Firebird were over the naming and trademark clashes: For firebird, https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/mozilla-holds-fire-in-naming-fight/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/mozilla-holds-fire-i... and https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/mozillas-firebird-gets-wings-clipped/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/mozillas-fir... in this case it was AOL Time Warner that owned the Firebird trademark for the database. 2) For Phoenix, https://web.archive.org/web/20070914035447/http://www.ibphoenix.com/main.nfs?a=ibphoenix&page=ibp_Mozilla0 https://web.archive.org/web/20070914035447/http://www.ibphoe... the main reporting on it seems to be lost but wikipedia still backs it up
- asadotzler 2y ago
  Phoenix was because of a challenge from Phoenix Technologies, the BIOS maker. Firefox was because of concerns about stomping on a small OSS project, the Firebird Database. I was responsible for all of this at Mozilla. Happy to answer any questions.
  - jordibc 2y ago
    Thanks for clarifying! FWIW, I wasn't there, but that matches exactly what I remember from that time (I did follow all the different renamings in detail).
asadotzler 2y ago
No. Phoenix Technologies, the BIOS maker sent me an email telling us they made a BIOS web browser and our name would confuse things. Under advice from our legal support, we agreed to change the name. We changed to Firebird and the OSS database project bombed my inbox (and Mitchell's too) for a week with hundreds of nastygrams and though we were in the clear on TM, we didn't want to stomp on the little OSS project so we changed again. I was at the whiteboard when Jason Kersey of mozBin, mozillaZine, and later Chrome fame came up with Firefox. We had two columns of names, forces of nature and animals and were pairing them up.
- dataf3l 2y ago
  was waterduck considered?
  - blackenedgem 2y ago
    Stormcow
    - Bluestein 2y ago
      Tornadocalf
  - grishka 2y ago
    Technically, all real-life ducks are waterducks. Except when they're temporarily airducks.
- RexM 2y ago
  Did you also come up with Sharknado in this whiteboarding exercise?
- amandasystems 2y ago
  You had me at “BIOS web browser”
  - 9point6 2y ago
    I'm assuming some kind of instant-on OS feature which if you're interested—Cathode Ray Dude on youtube has several episode series all about that weird and wonderful point of computer history
  - shrikant 2y ago
    I thought Phoenix may have just made that up because they were miffed about someone in tech using their name, but no, they actually did have a "BIOS web browser"! https://web.archive.org/web/20020618092004/https://www.xbitlabs.com/news/story.html?id=1023929818 https://web.archive.org/web/20020618092004/https://www.xbitl...

simcop2387 2y ago

Both Phoenix and Firebird were over the naming and trademark clashes: For firebird, https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/mozilla-holds-fire-in-naming-fight/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/mozilla-holds-fire-i... and https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/mozillas-firebird-gets-wings-clipped/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/mozillas-fir... in this case it was AOL Time Warner that owned the Firebird trademark for the database. 2) For Phoenix, https://web.archive.org/web/20070914035447/http://www.ibphoenix.com/main.nfs?a=ibphoenix&page=ibp_Mozilla0 https://web.archive.org/web/20070914035447/http://www.ibphoe... the main reporting on it seems to be lost but wikipedia still backs it up

asadotzler 2y ago
Phoenix was because of a challenge from Phoenix Technologies, the BIOS maker. Firefox was because of concerns about stomping on a small OSS project, the Firebird Database. I was responsible for all of this at Mozilla. Happy to answer any questions.
- jordibc 2y ago
  Thanks for clarifying! FWIW, I wasn't there, but that matches exactly what I remember from that time (I did follow all the different renamings in detail).

asadotzler 2y ago

No. Phoenix Technologies, the BIOS maker sent me an email telling us they made a BIOS web browser and our name would confuse things. Under advice from our legal support, we agreed to change the name. We changed to Firebird and the OSS database project bombed my inbox (and Mitchell's too) for a week with hundreds of nastygrams and though we were in the clear on TM, we didn't want to stomp on the little OSS project so we changed again. I was at the whiteboard when Jason Kersey of mozBin, mozillaZine, and later Chrome fame came up with Firefox. We had two columns of names, forces of nature and animals and were pairing them up.

dataf3l 2y ago
was waterduck considered?
- blackenedgem 2y ago
  Stormcow
  - Bluestein 2y ago
    Tornadocalf
- grishka 2y ago
  Technically, all real-life ducks are waterducks. Except when they're temporarily airducks.
RexM 2y ago
Did you also come up with Sharknado in this whiteboarding exercise?
amandasystems 2y ago
You had me at “BIOS web browser”
- 9point6 2y ago
  I'm assuming some kind of instant-on OS feature which if you're interested—Cathode Ray Dude on youtube has several episode series all about that weird and wonderful point of computer history
- shrikant 2y ago
  I thought Phoenix may have just made that up because they were miffed about someone in tech using their name, but no, they actually did have a "BIOS web browser"! https://web.archive.org/web/20020618092004/https://www.xbitlabs.com/news/story.html?id=1023929818 https://web.archive.org/web/20020618092004/https://www.xbitl...