Written by unimatrix the 30 May 08 at 13:00.
Category: Others.
Related project:
Nothing/Others.
Status: Won't implement
Rationale
When Firefox 3 is released, make sure it is available to Ubuntu on the same day, so the updates from the Ubuntu repository can be counted for the *Guinness world record* in most downloads in 24 hours.
And most importantly, talk to Mozilla about relaying your Firefox 3 repository download data to them.
More info here: http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord
Let's help open source achieve another great victory!
RE to developer: You would have counted downloads, not users...
Tags:
(none)
Developer comments
This wasn't doable, there's no real accurate way to count Ubuntu users.
But apt-get downloads the whole Firefox 3, and then replaces the older one with it. It is essentially the same as a download.
And besides, most Ubuntu users won't download Firefox from a website and install it themselves, because it's not a deb package but a 32bit tar.gz. Not to mention 64bit users who would need to compile it.
I agree with this - since pretty much all Ubuntu users use Firefox (an assumption, I know), it seems like this could add some serious capital to Mozilla's attempt. We just need to figure out how to make this both fair for the record attempt and possible for the average Ubuntu user. Or maybe under-average, since we all know that the average Ubuntu user is smarter than most ;)
@yztlyrn
Yes we could do that. But Windows and Mac users can also install it with a few clicks. It's kind of sad that Linux users can't do the same. :(
@unimatrix:
Yes, it apt-gets it from Ubuntu's repos, not mozilla's page. And I'm not saying I think they shouldn't be counted (actually, I think they should), I'm saying they won't be.
I expect they have their servers set up in a very specific way that is compatible with Guinness' rules. And then they'll have people watching the Mozilla people to ensure there's no tampering. So while this is a good idea, it's not going to happen.
If you want to participate in the world record attempt, download Firefox yourself (from as many different IP addresses as you can).