Ben Goodger, Lead Engineer for the popular browser Firefox has announced that he is no longer paid by Mozilla, and has joined Google.
In a posting on his blog, Ben noted his role will remain unchanged at Mozilla. "I will continue doing much the same work ...with the new goal of successful 1.1, 1.5 and 2.0 releases". Ben, 24, has been working on Firefox since Summer 2003 after the demise of Netscape browser development. Before working on the Firefox project he spent time with America Online/Netscape contributing to a range of their Netscape products (6, 6.1, 6.2, 7.0, 7.1).
Mozilla and Google have been working closely in 2004 behind the scenes. A recent Mozilla Developer Day 2004 was held at the Google campus allowing those interested in developing applications for Firefox to learn more. Google have invested heavily in JavaScript powered web apps like Gmail and Google Suggest. Some have speculated that if Ben Goodger and Chris Wetherell teamed up, there could be potential for Gecko based programs. Google is currently featured as the default homepage and have a customized search engine for the Firefox browser.
Speculations in 2004 pointed towards a "Google Browser" as people found references to "Gbrowser" in various Google applications. At first the rumours were dismissed by the Mozilla Foundation, noting that there would not be a tie up between the two companies. However, Goodger's "know-how" in the browser world is another sure indicator of the companies interests in this area; time, as with so many Google projects, will tell.
View: Ben's Announcement
View: Google Inc.
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Neowin
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