Mozilla Revives Tasty Tradition, Sends Microsoft a Cake for Releasing IE10

Posted 10/29/2012 at 8:52am | by Paul Lilly

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The launch of Windows 8 last week also marked the official release of Internet Explorer 10, which ships with the new OS (Windows 7 users can download a release preview, or hang tight until November for a finished build). Microsoft thinks IE10 is the best browser on the planet, and while Mozilla might disagree with such a claim, animosity doesn't run high between the two companies. Just the opposite, actually. In fact, Mozilla sent Microsoft a cake for shipping IE10.

That might seem like a snarky, back-handed gift, but it's actually a long-standing tradition that Microsoft started years ago. According to Matt Brubeck, a programmer and Mozilla employee, the Internet Explorer team sent Mozilla a congratulatory cake for the release of Firefox 2 in 2006.

"This continued for Firefox 3 and Firefox 4," Brubeck explains. "After Firefox switched from major releases once or twice a year to incremental updates every six weeks, they sent us a cupcake for the next few updates instead."

It's a friendly tradition of mutual respect, and one in which Mozilla may have just revived by sending Microsoft a cake for shipping IE10.

"Thanks to Firefox for helping celebrate IE10 launch w/ cake! We look forward to Firefox for Windows 8 soon!," the Internet Explorer team posted to Twitter.

Perhaps Microsoft will return the favor when Firefox for Windows 8 ships. In the meantime, you can take the Firefox Metro Preview for Windows 8 out for a test drive.

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