Firefox/Win64

Agenda

• Background and Objectives
• Go to market
• Work outline
• Risks
• Discussion

Background Summary

• Firefox has been doing 64 bit builds for Windows for years. We once even had a 64 bit distro.
• Development is mostly complete. Releng work is small.
• The outstanding engineering work to complete 64 bit on Windows is: finish test coverage, plugin compat work, and installer work. The last two are significant obstacles.

Market Landscape

Internet Explorer has 64 bit. Chrome is launching 6 in v37.

• Chrome for Windows: http://blog.chromium.org/2014/08/64-bits-of-awesome-64-bit-windows_26.html
• Chrome for Mac: http://blog.chromium.org/2014/08/mac-chrome-when-im-sixty-four-bits.html
• Goodbye, NPAPI: http://blog.chromium.org/2013/09/saying-goodbye-to-our-old-friend-npapi.html
• Chrome is doing us a huge favor by setting NPAPI expectations in the market. There isn't a huge "first-mover" advantage with 64 bit. While it offers huge tech. advantages, itt's not a consumer feature for most users. We have a great opportunity to get things right and learn from their rollout.
• The timing is finally right for Firefox 64. 50% of Fx users on Windows run 64 bit OS. We've reached a threshold where the effort makes sense.

Objectives: Why launch Win64?

• Take advantage of a limited window of opportunity in gaming and performance browser apps. Signal to game devs that our browser will accommodate them

Offer our users a better experience with improvements in stability, performance, and security.

• Remain competitive with the rest of the browser landscape.

Industry Speculation: Get ahead of Windows 9, in case they retire 32 bit OS: http://www.networkworld.com/article/2220221/microsoft-subnet/windows-9-details-are-already-emerging.html and http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/new-product/windows/3496959/windows-9-release-date-price-features-beta-uk-30-september-event/

Users and Their Problem

For 64 bit, users are broadly in two buckets: The 1%-ish of users who know exactly what 64 bit is and why they need it. Everyone else. They don’t know, don’t care, what 64 bit is. Unless we break something, then they’re mad at us.

(When we look at rollout, “everyone else” breaks down into two groups: 1. folks who have plugins/add-ons that will break in 64, and 2. those who don’t and won't notice, won't care if plugins/certain add ons don't work.

   Who are the early-adopter folks in that 1%:

   Power users who use a lot of memory, want performance, stability, etc.

   Gamers

   Security-minded users

   Browser/PC fanatics, tech geeks, who want the new shiny thing

   Developers. Specifically game developers and the companies they work for.

   (Generally, those folks in the games industry)...