"Three things are striking about the recent launch of Firefox 3.
First, the unanimity about the quality of the code: practically
everyone thinks it's better in practically every respect. Secondly,
the way in which the mainstream media covered its launch: it was
treated as a normal, important tech story--gone are the days of
supercilious anecdotes about those wacky, sandal-wearing free
software anoraks. And finally--and perhaps most importantly--the
scale and intensity of participation by the millions of people who
have downloaded the software in the last week.
"But the question has to be: what now? How can we harness that
amazing spirit, to make the Firefox Effect permanent, not just a
media event that comes around once every few years...?"