Close up view of cake sent by Microsoft’s IE Team to Mozilla for Firefox 3 launch.
The Internet Explorer Team at Microsoft sent Mozilla a cake to mark the release of Mozilla Firefox 3. This isn’t the first cake Mozilla has received from Redmond. In 2006, the IE team sent another cake to congratulate Mozilla for the release of Firefox 2.
Close up view of first cake given by Microsoft to Mozilla for Firefox 2 launch.
According to John Slater, Mozilla Creative Director, a portion of this first cake has been sitting in a Mozilla freezer for the last twenty months.
Relations between Microsoft and rival browser manufacturers haven’t always been so cordial. In 1997 when Internet Explorer 4.0 was released, Microsoft dumped a giant metal IE logo on Netscape’s front lawn.
Netscape employees responded by tipping over the logo and spray-painting “Netscape Now!” (a slogan used by the browser maker to encourage users to download) on its side. They then placed a statue of Netscape’s green Mozilla mascot —described in contemporary reports as being either seven feet or twelve feet tall—on top of it and adorned it with a placard reading “Netscape 72, Microsoft 18″, a reference to the market shares of the two leading browser vendors at the time.
As the saying goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Good Day!
