Mozilla Derivatives: A Rose by Any Other Name

From the beginning of post-4.x Netscape browser development in 1998, Mozilla and its new rendering engine, Gecko, was developed as an open-source software project. As a consequence of both this and the versatility of the code, the Gecko engine has in subsequent years seen use by a number of different entities as a foundation for a dizzying array of browsers and even other software products, many of which carry specialized features or are optimized for a specific platform.

Here is a selection of some of the better- (and lesser-) known derivatives of Mozilla and its Gecko rendering engine. Some are quite similar to Mozilla 1.x or Netscape itself; others feature more dramatic changes. Almost all are available for free. By no means is this list absolutely definitive; rather, it is intended to provide a good sampling of the variety that exists. In spite of their differences, these web browsers display striking similarities "under their hoods" and can easily be equivalent in rendering capability.

	Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox is by most accounts the most popular Gecko-based browser of them all, first emerging from the existing Mozilla codebase under a codename in 2002 when concerns about ease of use and performance began to rise to prominence. No lengthy explanation is necessary; in all likelihood, you may be using Firefox now. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 2.0.0.14 Status: Actively developed Website
	Mozilla suite/SeaMonkey This product integrates a browser, e-mail client, and HTML composer, similar to the feature set established by Netscape Communicator 4.x, and forms the most direct continuation of the development work that began within Netscape back in 1998. It was originally intended as a way for developers to test out features for Netscape 6.x and 7.x, although with the passage of time, those implications rubbed away. The name recently changed from "Mozilla" to "SeaMonkey" due to a change in development strategy, but don't worry: It's really just a newer version of the same thing. Latest versions (as of the time I typed this): Mozilla 1.7.13; SeaMonkey 1.1.9 Status: Actively developed (as SeaMonkey) Website
	Netscape 6.x/7.x Netscape 6.x and 7.x were developed directly from the "ordinary" Mozilla suite codebase, with additional proprietary features occasionally added. It was by far the most popular of these browsers, at least until AOL axed the Netscape team in mid-2003 and Firefox emerged as a compelling option to end users a year or so later. Many a person's first taste of Gecko came with Netscape 6.0...my how things have changed. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 7.2 Status: Comatose since 2004 Website
	Beonex Communicator Yet another application suite, looking and performing essentially the same as Mozilla but being intended for end users at a time when Mozilla itself supposedly wasn't. Maybe that's why it isn't updated anymore... Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 0.8.2-Stable Status: Comatose since 2003 Website (Dead download links?)
	Camino A browser exclusively for Macintosh systems running OS X, distinguished by its use of fully OS-native interface elements and improved performance over most other browsers available for the platform. It can be traced back to a project originating as Chimera in late 2001, well before Firefox began to be ported to the Mac. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 1.6 Status: Actively developed Website Image "borrowed" from official site.
	CompuServe Yes, CompuServe, as in the online service that was so prevalent in the '80s through mid-'90s. Version 7.0 of the client software provided for subscribers implements a browser that is a Gecko-based Mozilla derivative; albeit a very outdated version technologically equivalent to Netscape 6.2 of 2001. (No, I don't know why anyone would want to use this, either.) Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 7.0 Status: Comatose since 2002 Website Image "borrowed" from ZDNet.
	DocZilla DocZilla is a browser capable of rendering SGML and XML files without precompiling. The user interface is very similar to that of Netscape or Mozilla/SeaMonkey itself, aside from the oversized toolbar buttons. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 2.7 pre1 Status: Comatose since 2005 Website
	Epiphany Like Galeon below, Epiphany is a browser designed for the GNOME desktop environment on UNIX and Linux systems. In fact, Epiphany "forked" from Galeon in 2002 for the intention of "build[ing] a more usable browser for non-technical users." Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 2.22 Status: Actively developed Website Image "borrowed" from official site.
	Flock A souped-up "social browser" derived from Mozilla Firefox with plenty of tie-ins to web services such as Flickr and Del.icio.us, and a PITA for me to get installed. Zipped builds are also available from some sources. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 1.1.2 Status: Actively developed Website
	Galeon A browser designed for the GNOME desktop environment on UNIX and Linux systems, and also designed to be fast...much like Epiphany above, which in fact "forked" from this project in 2002. Galeon has more or less fallen by the wayside since then, although an incremental update still comes out every now and then. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 2.0.5 Status: More or less comatose since 2005 Website Image "borrowed" from official site.
	K-Meleon A variation on the browser-only theme; K-Meleon is a piece of Windows software "optimized" for older, slower computers. It makes more intensive use of OS-native interface elements than, say, Mozilla Firefox, and is more than a bit faster to show for it. The menu bar of the newest versions inexplicably displays garbage in Windows 95. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 1.1.5 Status: Actively developed Website
	Minimo One of the more unique Mozilla derivatives, Minimo is a browser capable of being embedded in small devices such as handheld computers and the more elaborate cellular phones. Unfortunately it never got out of the testing stage, although a successor "Mobile Firefox" project should be around the corner. Latest version (as of the time I typed this): 0.2 Status: Comatose since 2007 Website Image "borrowed" from official site.

For a more complete list of vendors that have used Mozilla or its Gecko rendering engine in their own software products, see the Mozilla Hall of Fame.

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©2006-08 Andrew Turnbull.
Last update April 20, 2008.