Ben Goodger, Lead Engineer for the popular browser Firefox has announced that he is no longer paid by Mozilla, and has joined Google.
In a posting on his blog, Ben noted his role will remain unchanged at Mozilla. "I will continue doing much the same work ...with the new goal of successful 1.1, 1.5 and 2.0 releases". Ben, 24, has been working on Firefox since Summer 2003 after the demise of Netscape browser development. Before working on the Firefox project he spent time with America Online/Netscape contributing to a range of their Netscape products (6, 6.1, 6.2, 7.0, 7.1).
Mozilla and Google have been working closely in 2004 behind the scenes. A recent Mozilla Developer Day 2004 was held at the Google campus allowing those interested in developing applications for Firefox to learn more. Google have invested heavily in JavaScript powered web apps like Gmail and Google Suggest. Some have speculated on Ben Goodger and Chris Wetherell teaming up to make new Gecko based programs. Google is currently featured as the default homepage and the company have a "customized" search engine for the Firefox browser.
Speculation in 2004 pointed towards a "Google Browser" as people found references to "Gbrowser" in various Google applications. At first the rumours were dismissed by the Mozilla Foundation, noting that there would not be a tie up between the two companies. It"s likely that the company will put Goodger"s intimate knowledge of the browser to good use and improve the support for Firefox in the Google Desktop Search tool and the Google Search Toolbar.
Goodger"s "know-how" in the browser world is another sure indicator of the Google"s interest in this area; time, as with so many Google projects, will tell what comes out of it.