So, have I posted enough about IE's demise yet? Maybe I have, but I feel I should write some more. Asa (from Mozilla.org) wrote a little summary of the blog attention this issue has been getting wherin he linked to some suggestions for a large browser marketing campaign.
This is a very good point. I think that the key to success of alternate web browsers is awareness. People have to know about their options before they can pick one. The question is, how will people find out about Mozilla or Firebird? In the past, Mozilla has not taken the role of an end user's browser, but it seems that this might be force upon it. More and more people are using Mozilla and its derivatives and abandoning the commercial versions such as Netscape, which were intended for public use. In a sense, Netscape's worst enemy is Mozilla.
It doesn't seem like there are any other vendors wanting to step up to the plate and brand Mozilla. So who's going to do this marketing? The is an even bigger issue if Netscape drops out of the Mozilla project, as is rumored. If I were at Mozilla.org and found out Netscape was dropping out, I would push for Mozilla.org to produce a browser for the end user. They have the Mozilla name, which is already semi-established and well known. Also, as is shown, people (read: nerds) don't want to use Netscape or any other branded version of Mozilla when they can get a newer, better version of the real thing.
But, the issue isn't just marketing Mozilla. It is marketing all superior alternatives to IE. What kind of shape would this kind of marketing take? More importantly, how would it be funded?
People are ignorant about waaaaaaaaay more than just browsers. But the point is the same wherever it is extended to: people don't know the alternatives, so take what the OS (basically always Windows) gives them, without a clue that there is an alternative. Ohwell
Obviously, people are ignorant about most things.
I don't think we can just say "oh well" though. Saying oh well is giving up.