Firefox is known for its open-source software that allows programmers to toy with features and help with bug fixes. Now, there is a media player to rival Windows Media Player, Winamp and other like players.

Songbird is at version 0.2 so take that into consideration as you hear about the pros and cons. This software will continue to be improved and changed but right now, it features the ability to play MPEG Audio (mpga), MPEG Layer 3 (mp3), MP4 Audio (mp4a), Ogg Vorbis, Speex, AAC, WMA, FLAC; and lesser known, LPCM, ADPCM, and AMR.

The creators of the program don’t claim to have a “better” product or a bug-free version just yet, but it’s certainly got features you can utilize. While installing the software you are asked if you want to include extensions, for iTunes import, Shoutcast, audioscrobbler (last.fm), or Wikipedia. It offers to scan your system for media files and then continues with the basic installation of the software. You can also set the program up for iPod sync. which many will look for.

There are mini-modes, skins (they have renamed this to “feathers”) and most of the basic options you would expect from a media player. All in all it seems to be a great addition to the media player family. Keep in mind it is open-source and will bear many improvements over time…probably much faster than Microsoft-based software.

Now it speaks volumes about the open source nature of Firefox that this is even happening. I mean don’t think Microsoft’s IE team will be holding roundtables anytime soon. Can you imagine what would happen if they took enhancement ideas and requests? This makes reason number 1o million and one why I love Firefox and only use IE as a last resort short of suicide.

What’s even more startling is that you can comment on other peoples comments. You can criticize the enhancement requests of others making for an even more balanced, open, and honest exchange of ideas and thoughts. Rather than a boring and static “gimme gimme” list you have to duke it out on the merits of the ideas you proffer.

The Mozilla team writes:

If you have ideas about features listed here please create a new wiki page off of your user page that outlines your ideas (mockupswelcome!)and add a link to that page in the “References” column, or linkto existing pages with examples, design thoughts, interesting articles, etc.
If you have ideas for features not listed here please add them to the most appropriate group below. Include any references to more detailed implementation ideas.
If you would like to comment on features listed here please do so on the discussion page rather than in the list itself.
Please include a summary comment that describes your change so that it shows up in the page history view.
Please make a User page for yourself with contact information so that if we need clarification of your idea, we can get in touch with you.

So what are people already asking for you wonder? Well, one guy has asked for a floating toolbar, writing “Allow the user to pull all toolbars off the top of the window and create a floating toolbar. These floating bars could be overlapped, tiled, etc to save screen real-estate.”

I like this idea a lot. Firefox has so many dam cool plugins and extensions that I’m already 4 toolbar boxes deep right now and looking to save space any way I can. From Stumble!, a very extension by the way that takes you to sites you otherwise would never check out, to the trusty Google search query box, a floating toolbar would be a must have on my Christmas wish list.

The menu “wish list” also has a request for allowing the user to “…specify the font (and especially the font size) used in menus and toolbars. This is especially useful for those of us with failing eye sight or those with high resolution screens (that cause the fonts to be too small).” Now my eyesight’s just fine, but it would nice to choose the font type and size irregardless of the theme that you may currently be using. Some guys have a done a great with the color and design aspect of their themes but, in some cases the font selection has taken a backseat to aesthetics.

Another great idea is to allow users to “Capture all pages in the window (including links up to user selectable depth) directly to PDF file.” This would make for better archiving of static material instead of the default “cut and paste” option.

Download control, like in IE where you have the option to “open” and run a download file instead of saving it is also a nice one.

For you MAC guys and gals looking for OS X style widgets, one guy writes:

Use OS X’s provided widget set, especially for text area, button, radio, checkbox and select elements. Native widgets feature spell check among other niceties. This would go a long way towards making Firefox feel more like a “real” OS X application. The current UI does not follow many of the common idioms on the Mac which causes confusion when switching between it and other Apple apps. This could greatly impact adoption on OS X, particularly among less savvy users who don’t understand why it’s different.

Now the MAC OS and I practically speak in broken english to on another but, this idea sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Lastly, I like some of the virus and malware protection suggestions. A reader requests:

*Integrate a sandboxing feature automatically. (Like Sandboxie -http://www.sandboxie.com/)
*Integrate virus scanning and malware protection for retrieved content/files
*Integrated support for 3rd party Anti-virus scanners
*Firefox to run in a “Protected mode” like IE7/Vista (see the Sandboxing above)

I like the notion of the sandbox feature but am skeptical about more program integration ideas. Simple is oftentimes better.

In any event, I hope all you out there take the opportunity to check out the Mozilla Wiki page and help to make Firefox 3.0 a thing of beauty.

Snyder, who was responsible for security sign-off for Microsoft’s
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003, will spearhead Mozilla’s security strategy, eWEEK has learned.

The hiring of Snyder is a coup for Mozilla Corp., the for-profit subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation, based in Mountain View, Calif.

The group has seen its flagship Firefox Web browser chip away at the market dominance of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, largely because of high-profile security flaws in and attacks on IE, and the addition of Snyder is sure to help beef up Mozilla’s security process and improve its communications with bug finders.

Part of the Firefox Flicks marketing campaign, the ads can be viewed online or downloaded for sharing with others. Links are also provided for embedding in Web pages or blogs.

The campaign includes a contest in which a panel of judges will choose the best of more than 100 videos submitted to Mozilla, the for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation. The for-profit company plans to release a new set of videos each day until all the 30-second spots have been released.

The contest closes on Friday, and the winner will be announced this month at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The winning video will be incorporated in Mozilla’s international marketing campaign for Firefox.

Mozilla is not the first company to tap its customers’ creativity for marketing purposes. Sony, Mastercard, General Motors, and Converse are among other companies that have asked customers to create amateur ads for products.