To say that IE comes with the OS is only true when the OS is Windows. Granted Windows has the largest installed base and if that is the only target audience for a product, then I guess that’s fine. But as a user who prefers alternate platforms, like Linux and Mac, it is a turnoff when I find a web-based product that runs only on a single OS. If it were a desktop application, that would be one thing, because clearly it is much more involved to write a desktop application for multiple OS (though it does happen a lot), but a web-based application that is OS-specific? That is another story.

When we bought Tridion we knew it only supported IE for the content manager, but as Ryan pointed out, we expressed interest in cross-platform support (we mentioned Firefox since it is available for just about every OS) and we were told that it would be forthcoming. So if cross-platform support for the Tridion content manager is indeed forthcoming, that is excellent. If it is not, that is a shame. Not only because a web-based application shouldn’t be tied to a single OS, but also because we were told it was something that would be forthcoming.

While I think Tridion gets a lot right in the conceptual arena of content management, I think the choice of an IE-only implementation (and a very convoluted configuration of IE at that) should be seriously reconsidered. In light of even Microsoft’s embrace of web standards in IE8, I think Tridion’s Content Manager interface is due for a major overhaul.

On the broader topic, I think the appeal of Firefox is its respect and responsiveness to its users and the developer community.

That Mozilla would make Firefox easily extensible is but one way this respect is shown. This is also illustrated in how, as an open-source product, flaws are rapidly identified and corrected; web standards are held in high regard; and cross-platform availability is embraced.

Firefox is neither king nor holy grail, but if you were asked, “Between Microsoft and Mozilla, which organization is more open to accommodating the needs and desires of its customers?”, I think that most in-the-know users would agree Mozilla has the better track record in this regard.

Don’t get me wrong. Microsoft obviously has its share of contributions in technology, but as a corporate entity, profit and the preservation of competitive advantage is paramount. I think Firefox’s gain in browser market share demonstrates that the idea of providing real value to your customer is sometimes enough to challenge even an entrenched technological monopoly.

In the past I moved away from IE because it was clunky resource hungry, slow as …well, something that is very slow and at the time had more security vulnerabilities than other browsers. Now I do all on FF and Chrome and have not had a need for IE.