SAN FRANCISCO ? If you need more proof that the PC world is switching from Microsoft?s Internet Explorer web browser to the much less security vulnerable Mozilla Firefox, look no further than Tuesday?s announcement that IBM has updated its Workplace desktop software to support Firefox.
IBM?s Workplace software handles word processing, document storage and calendars. The processing actually takes place on a central server that people access with a web browser.
Previously, IBM supported only Mozilla and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Firefox is the default Web browser in Red Hat and Suse Linux, though it’s also widely used on Windows, and has been gaining market share. The annoucement was made at a Linux conference in San Francisco.
What?s this move mean? IBM helped catalyze the Linux business with its vocal support of the open-source operating system. It competes in the Linux server market against Dell and Hewlett-Packard and in the Linux software market against BEA Systems and Oracle.
