GNU IceCat

infobox software



developer = Gnuzilla team
latest_release_version = 3.0.1-g1 [cite web |url=http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnuzilla/2008-07/msg00083.html |title=GNU IceCat 3.0 |accessdate=2008-07-02]
operating system = GNU/Linux
genre = Web browser
license = MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license
website = http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/

GNU IceCat, formerly known as GNU IceWeasel,cite web |url=http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnuzilla/2007-09/msg00004.html |title=Re: ice weasel |accessdate=2007-12-21] is a web browser distributed by the GNU Project. IceCat, which is made entirely of free software, is a fork of Mozilla Firefox. It is compatible with the GNU/Linux operating system.

The GNU Project aims with IceCat to provide a version of the Mozilla Firefox browser which is kept in synchronization with upstream development of Firefox while removing the proprietary artwork and software plugin repositories used in the official release by the Mozilla Corporation, which are classified as non-free by certain free software advocates.cite web | url=http://gnuzilla.gnu.org/fulltree/icecat-2.0.0.12-g1/remove.nonfree | title=List of What's Removed in version 2.0.0.12-g1]

Differences from Firefox

In addition to the fact that it is fully free software, as it removed the non-free artwork and the proprietary Talkback crash reporting system due to its non-free "binary only distribution" licensing (TalkBack was dropped on Firefox 3 however, replaced with an open-source crash reporter, Breakpad). The plugin finder service also offers only free plugins. Icecat also includes additional security features, such as the option to block 3rd party zero-length image files resulting in 3rd party cookie, also known as web bugs [http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ Gnuzilla Homepage] ] (This feature is available in Firefox 1.0, 1.5, and 3.0, but the UI option was absent on 2.0). IceCat also provides warnings for URL redirection.

In version 3.0.2-g1, the certificate of CAcert.org, a certificate authority, has been added to the list of trusted root certificates. Concern about that decision has been raised in a discussion on savannah-hackers-public [“ [http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/savannah-hackers-public/2008-10/msg00006.html [Savannah-hackers-public] CAcert, IceCat, and savannah] ”, a discussion on savannah-hackers-public] .

History

Origins of the name

The Mozilla Corporation claims that trademark law requires it to enforce the Firefox trademark according to its stated policy, and therefore denies the use of the name "Firefox" to unofficial builds that fall outside certain guidelines.cite web | url=http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/trademarks/policy.html | title=Mozilla Trademark Policy] Unless distributions use the binaries supplied by Mozilla, fall within the guidelines, or else have special permission, they must compile the Firefox source with a compile-time option enabled that creates binaries without the official branding of Firefox and related artwork, using either the built-in free artwork, or artwork provided at compile time.cite web | url=http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/trademarks/policy.html | title=Mozilla Trademark Policy]

This policy led to a long debate within the Debian Project in 2004 and 2005. During this debate, the name "Iceweasel" was coined to refer to rebranded versions of Firefox. The first known use of the name in this context is by Nathanael Nerode,cite web | url=http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2004/02/msg00279.html | title=Nathanael Nerode 27 Feb 2004 email to debian-legal] in reply to Eric Dorland's suggestion of "Icerabbit".cite web | url=http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2004/02/msg01876.html | title=Eric Dorland 27 Feb 2004 email to debian-devel] It was intended as a parody of "Firefox." [http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ Gnuzilla Homepage] ] Iceweasel was subsequently used as the example name for a rebranded Firefox in the Mozilla Trademark Policy,cite web | url=http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/trademarks/policy.html | title=Mozilla Trademark Policy] and became the most commonly used name for a hypothetical rebranded version of Firefox. By January 1, 2005, rebranding was being referred to as the "Iceweasel route".cite web | url=http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/01/msg00010.html | title=Joel Aelwyn 01 Jan 2005 email to debian-legal] The term "ice weasel" appeared earlier in a line fictionally attributed by Matt Groening to Friedrich Nietzsche: "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." [cite book | last = Groening | first = Matt | authorlink = Matt Groening | title = Love Is Hell | publisher = Pantheon Books | date = 1986 | id = ISBN 0394744543 ]

Debian was originally given permission to use the trademarks, and adopted the Firefox name.cite web | url=http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2005/06/msg01182.html | title=Gervase Markham 14 Jun 2005 email to debian-devel] However, because the artwork in Firefox has a proprietary copyright license which is not compatible with the Debian Free Software Guidelines, the substituted logo had to remain.cite web | url=http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/01/msg00757.html | title=Gervase Markham 19 Jun 2005 email to debian-devel] In 2006, Mozilla withdrew their permission for Debian to use the Firefox name due to significant changes to the browser that Mozilla deemed outside the boundaries of its policy, changes which Debian felt were important enough to keep, and Iceweasel was revived in its place.

Releases

In August 2005,cite web | url=http://savannah.gnu.org/task/?func=detailitem&item_id=4529 | title=Gnuzilla/IceWeasel Project Application] the Gnuzilla project adopted the IceWeasel name for a Firefox distributioncite web | url=http://savannah.gnu.org/task/?func=detailitem&item_id=4529 | title=Gnuzilla/IceWeasel Project Application] using free artwork.

The first Gnuzilla IceWeasel release was based on the 1.5.0.4cite web | url=ftp://aeneas.mit.edu/pub/gnu/gnuzilla/ | title=IceWeasel 1.5.0.4 Download location] version of Firefox. There was no release based on Firefox 1.5.0.5 or 1.5.0.6. The previous version was 2.0.0.13-g1, released in April 2008 (as GNU IceCat), and the current one is version 3, which was originally uploaded to the GNU website and announced through a mailing list on Tuesday, July 1, 2008. [cite web |url=http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnuzilla/2008-07/msg00000.html |title=GNU IceCat 3.0 |accessdate=2008-07-02] Releases usually keep up with the Mozilla Firefox source code. On July 27th, 2008, an updated version (3.0.1-g1) was announced to correspond with the Mozilla Firefox update which included some security fixes.

Change of name

On 23 September 2007, one of the developers announced on the official mailing list for Gnuzilla that the next release would be branded IceCat. The reason cited was that Debian was already using the name Iceweasel for its rebranded Firefox fork (since November 13, 2006), and to avoid confusion because both forks are independent of each other. The name change took place as planned and IceCat is the current name.

Distribution

IceCat is available as a free download for the 32-bit, i386 architecture. Both binaries and source are available, though the current build is available only for GNU/Linux.

Licensing

Gnuzilla is available under the MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license that Mozilla uses for source code. Unlike Mozilla, IceCat's default icons are under the same tri-license.

Google Summer of Code 2008

There have been some suggestions made for the Google Summer of Code for 2008 to improve IceCat. [ cite web | url = http://www.gnu.org/software/soc-projects/ideas.html#icecat | title = Summer of Code project suggestions for GNU | accessdate = 2008-04-13 ] These include:
* Porting IceCat to the Firefox 3 codebase
* More support for free plugins such as Gnash
* Privacy features changes

The proposal to port IceCat to the Firefox 3 codebase was accepted and completed by Giuseppe Scrivano. [ cite web | url = http://code.google.com/soc/2008/gnu/appinfo.html?csaid=4DA69A85DB948064 | title = Google Code - Summer of Code - Application Information | accessdate = 2008-08-07 ]

See also

* GNUzilla
* IceDove
* IceApe
* Mozilla Firefox
* History of Mozilla Firefox
* Comparison of web browsers
* Mozilla Corporation software rebranded in Debian

References

External links

* [http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/ Homepage of Gnuzilla and IceCat]
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* [http://gnuzilla-watcher.blogspot.com/ GNUzilla Watcher - GNUzilla and IceCat blog]