Firefox Friday: getting down and dirty with the Firefox Creative Lead, Aza Raskin

Filed under: Internet, Mozilla, web 2.0, Browsers

Today we have something different for you. You're not getting add-ons, beta releases or titbits from Mozilla Labs this week -- oh no, instead you're going to be treated to an interview with the Creative Lead of Firefox, Aza Raskin.

It's not the frankest interview I've ever conducted -- there's definitely a little coyness; a couple of crinkled, twinkled corneas -- but it's still very interesting. If you read between the lines, Aza (or Mozilla) is definitely holding something back. I suppose, when you have an open-sourced codebase, it's wise to keep a few secrets.

Anyway, it's customary to tell you a little about the interviewee before we start. Aza Raskin is the same age as me -- 26 -- and has led what many would consider an unconventional life. Like his father Jef Raskin (who created the Macintosh project at Apple), Aza is first and foremost a human-computer interaction guru. His primary role as Firefox Creative Lead is to conjure up new and interesting ways for us to interact with his browser, and thus the Web. Aza, I think, is desperately trying to dream up the next paradigm shift -- and you know what, he'll probably succeed.

Now, let's get stuck into the interview. We're going to discuss all of the usual suspects -- Firefox, Fennec, Mozilla Labs -- and spend a little time discussing the future of the Web.

Download Squad -- A lot of your past work has been with interface design. With you moving from Mozilla Labs to Firefox proper, is the browser interface about to get funky?

Aza -- Mozilla set out to take the stagnant field of web browsing, owned by a single company, and revitalize it by crafting the browser to work the way people actually used the web. Fast forward to now. Firefox has accomplished that. The web browser is the place to be and there's a healthy ecosystem of competition.

The web continues to evolve in the search and social domains. The way we use the web has changed; we are a new breed of infovore meets Webapp-ian. The average web user spends more time with their browser than with their family.

Firefox has become faster, cleaner, and more powerful (streamable fonts, multi-touch support, HTML5, open video, hardware accelerated canvas), but has yet to have the user experience paradigm shift that gives users the tools they need to accommodate the new web's work flows. Managing your tabs and browsing session is an area particularly in need of innovation and it is something I've been thinking a lot about.

For the browser to not become commoditized, it must become more than just a window onto the web. It must become your smart personal agent. When we added spell-check in Firefox 2, we upgraded the entire web overnight. Our work with the Account Manager (a sexy feature with an unsexy name) will do the same.

Expect Firefox to lead the way in creating radically new and radically better user experiences.

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Firefox Friday: getting down and dirty with the Firefox Creative Lead, Aza Raskin originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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