Brinkschulte argues that solutions based on proprietary protocols that require users to download additional client software onto their handsets are set to fail in the consumer market. “In our view the only viable option is to use open standards to int…

I think that you have a very good point here, and lowering the bar to entry is something we are always trying to do. I think that the small applications are actually our Add-Ons and the medium applications are things like Songbird, Sunbird, Lightning, Komodo, and Miro to name a few. But, the barrier to entry is still high, and we’re always trying to make getting started with Mozilla easier and easier.

About your point w.r.t. SVG, check out Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/). I believe it does exactly what you’re looking for.

@ Mitchell:
This is a very interesting post, and it is very informative to see how and to what degree these goals have been achieved. I think having these high-level direction oriented goals are very important, and I’m wondering what set of goals are we going to focus on for the next few years in the Mozilla project as a whole.

I’m no programmer, but I do work in technology. Here’s one of the things that helped me to take those first couple steps into such things.

In high school, we learned QBasic. It was ok, and, well, basic, but it was when I started working with Visual Basic that I could start to see the potential. My imagination could more easily see the possibilities as I was able to make my own program (as well as easily step through it to see where I’d made my errors). I could easily make my own executable and so could others.
The internet seemed awash with little programs that people had made - a few with actual value. One could easily click and drag a window and a few widgets together and have a program. Entry level was low.
This I believe became and entry point for many to more advanced programs.

We wonder where are all the little and medium mozilla apps at. I think if we can get the entry barrier way low they will come. It’s just too hard right now.
Perhaps, as you (and others) have implied, “If we build the tools, they will come.”

Oh, also, same goes for having a Flash editor - except not for flash - for svg and related graphical technologies.

Aaand they need to be free and easy to use.

Not too much to ask for right?