Microsoft has brokered an arrangement with the Mozilla Foundation to use the orange RSS icon seen on Firefox browsers.
Although the icon is tiny, the humble deal could have major repercussions down the line if it leads to greater cooperation between Internet Explorer developers and Firefox designers.
The arrangement is an informal one, without any money involved, noted Sean Lyndersay, lead program manager on Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, according to news reports.
Talk Soup
Talks between Microsoft and Firefox began a few months ago when Microsoft decided to add support for RSS feeds into the forthcoming Internet Explorer 7.
Microsoft's program manager, Jane Kim, noted on the company's RSS blog that there were several icon options being evaluated. Microsoft gravitated toward using an existing icon, and feedback to the blog indicated that users thought Firefox was a good choice.
In November, Internet Explorer developers met with executives at Mozilla and proposed the arrangement, noting that use of the icon would establish a degree of consistency. It is possible that, with this theory in place, other icons could also show up in Internet Explorer 7 that were first included in other browsers.
Those in the industry tend to think of Microsoft and Firefox as being at war, Lyndersay noted, but that is not the case. He points to the agreement to use the Firefox icon as illustrating how cooperation is possible.
Keeping Watch
Although the news about the Firefox icon might be minor, it is possible that Microsoft has more plans that involve Mozilla Foundation browsers or simply that the Redmond behemoth will acknowledge Mozilla's efforts more in the future.
"Firefox's phenomenal adoption rate has definitely been noticed by Microsoft," said Gartner analyst Ray Valdes. "It wouldn't be surprising if they were also looking at what features in that browser seem most popular with users."
It is possible that Microsoft will come out with a score of features for Internet Explorer when it launches its major releases next year, Valdes noted, but continue to make minor tweaks like the inclusion of the Firefox RSS icon along the way.
Although the icon is tiny, the humble deal could have major repercussions down the line if it leads to greater cooperation between Internet Explorer developers and Firefox designers.
The arrangement is an informal one, without any money involved, noted Sean Lyndersay, lead program manager on Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, according to news reports.
Talk Soup
Talks between Microsoft and Firefox began a few months ago when Microsoft decided to add support for RSS feeds into the forthcoming Internet Explorer 7.
Microsoft's program manager, Jane Kim, noted on the company's RSS blog that there were several icon options being evaluated. Microsoft gravitated toward using an existing icon, and feedback to the blog indicated that users thought Firefox was a good choice.
In November, Internet Explorer developers met with executives at Mozilla and proposed the arrangement, noting that use of the icon would establish a degree of consistency. It is possible that, with this theory in place, other icons could also show up in Internet Explorer 7 that were first included in other browsers.
Those in the industry tend to think of Microsoft and Firefox as being at war, Lyndersay noted, but that is not the case. He points to the agreement to use the Firefox icon as illustrating how cooperation is possible.
Keeping Watch
Although the news about the Firefox icon might be minor, it is possible that Microsoft has more plans that involve Mozilla Foundation browsers or simply that the Redmond behemoth will acknowledge Mozilla's efforts more in the future.
"Firefox's phenomenal adoption rate has definitely been noticed by Microsoft," said Gartner analyst Ray Valdes. "It wouldn't be surprising if they were also looking at what features in that browser seem most popular with users."
It is possible that Microsoft will come out with a score of features for Internet Explorer when it launches its major releases next year, Valdes noted, but continue to make minor tweaks like the inclusion of the Firefox RSS icon along the way.