At 17, Blake Ross created "Microsoft's worst nightmare", a free web browser called Firefox that is set to challenge Bill Gates' software empire. Below, he answers your questions on philanthropy, being an entrepreneur and the dreaded "next big thing"

What exactly was your involvement in developing the Firefox web browser and how long did it take?
Carol Pitt, Cambridge

I undertook the original fork of the older code base along with an old Netscape co-worker of mine, and actively developed this project, which became Firefox, for about six months. Then I had to go to university, so my involvement diminished, and since then it's come and gone in spurts depending on when I can find the time. I don't and have never worked on one specific area. I've generally had a hand in most of the product's areas. This past summer I also helped launch our SpreadFirefox.com marketing initiative.

Thankfully, Firefox has a broad and energetic community of volunteers that are in large part responsible for the browser's continued success today, not to mention the tireless efforts of the Mozilla Foundation staff.

As far as the length of time, it's been a little over two years since we created the experimental project that became Firefox. But some of the technology that Firefox uses was in development for years prior to that, so all in all it's been quite a long journey. It's rewarding to have finally arrived.

Do you think that you are capable of recreating the achievements of Bill Gates? Would you be willing to donate your entire profit back into good causes?
Thelma Nixon, Winchester, Massachusetts, USA

Bill Gates has achieved in many regards, but it sounds like you're asking if I feel capable of mimicking his monetary achievements. It's a moot point. Firefox was born of a passion to create quality software that improved the lives of everyone and my motivations have not wavered in light of its success. I am interested in money only to the extent that our society requires some amount of it to survive, and if I should be so fortunate to find myself with more than that, I would certainly seek to share it with the people and organizations who improve our world. It should be noted that Firefox is lead by an entirely non-profit organization, and is not a moneymaking venture for me, which hopefully lends some credence to my words. I have heard that while Firefox more than secure against spyware and viruses. Is there any truth in this?
Daniel Hardy, London

Firefox was built with security in mind from day one, and I think our track record - especially relative to that of other browsers - speaks for itself. When analysts speak of a browser being insecure, they generally mean that it is poorly coded in such a way that it can be exploited to install viruses, worms or spyware on a user's machine and as you say, Firefox is well regarded for its superiority in this area.

Where would you like to be in five years time? Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur as well as a computer scientist?
Richard Barker, Brentwood, Essex

Good question, and it's one I'm still trying to answer myself. I definitely regard myself more as an entrepreneur than a computer scientist. I enjoy creating things that people enjoy using, whether such things fall in the domain of computer science or pertain to one of my other passions of writing and film. Whether I'll be writing code, novels or movies in five years is uncertain, but I'll certainly be creating something of some kind. At the moment, I'm in the middle of launching a new software company.

There are a number of open-source applications that are technically superior to the commercial market leader but are unable to market themselves. How was Firefox able to overcome this and gain so much media attention?
Sok Yee Yim, London

There are many explanations for Firefox's marketing success, so I'll offer up the most salient here.

While I agree with your assertion that there are plenty of “technically” superior open-source applications, I can think of no open-source application that is easier to use or even as easy to use as its commercial counterpart, with the exception of Firefox. One of the longstanding myths of the open-source community that I consistently try to dismantle is that it is sufficient to outdo your competitor on paper. It's not. To have any chance of succeeding in the consumer market, you have to cater to your users' needs better than your competitors.