Firefox 3 was downloaded 8,000,000 times in the first day. It's not unreasonable to believe it could break 12,000,000 next time.
With such explosive growth and popularity, it may take down Internet Explorer as the most popular browser.
What if in the next release, it practically replaced the operating system? Being able to run on any of the popular systems, but being able to replace all of its features. Already Web 2.0 has started to make the OS less important. Nearly everything can be done on the internet with just a browser. However, it is still not as easy to access Google Docs, as Microsoft Office.
One mockup for Mozilla Aurora seems to do just that. It integrates everything seamlessly in a futuristic interface that could be practical on modern hardware. If they pull it off, it could eliminate Windows too.
About a week ago this preview video made headlines. The scenario they use is a bit cheesy. Some of the interface features like the radial menu that doesn't have any sort of labeling does not make sense either. They also have some nonsensical hardware like a weird mouse and a white brick that is supposed to be a computer.
Just put all that aside because about 2 minutes it starts to be amazing. Go ahead and skip to it.
Aurora (Part 1) from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.
The history view reminds me of the "scale" feature in Compiz Fusion/Beryl. The effects would require hardware acceleration, which could be done with OpenGL on all Operating Systems. This also suggests that it could be its own Linux Distro.
Of course, all of this, even the video, is just theory. Mozilla may take it in a totally different direction, but I have a feeling that something big is on the way.
Here's a pretty interesting idea. Firefox 3 can set a Guinness World Record for most software downloaded in a day. The new Firefox 3 is set to be released sometime this month.
The link on the banner below is to a special page on SpreadFirefox designed specifically for the event. There you can see how many people have pledged to participate and get more information about Download Day.
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord