On Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at noon, Blake Ross, the 20-year-old developer of the web browser Firefox, will be speaking at The City Club of Cleveland.

Ross, who has been called “Microsoft’s worst nightmare,” works on the Mozilla web browsers, alternative free web browsers that cut out pop-ups and elude viruses. Inspired by his mother’s inability to surf online, Ross started the Mozilla Firefox project with Dave Hyatt and the Spread Firefox project with Asa Dotzler while working as a contractor at the Mozilla Foundation, a software provider to the open source community. His goal was to create “a simple, fast browser designed for people who don’t like or understand computers.”

In 2005, Ross was nominated for "Wired" magazine's top Rave Award, Renegade of the Year, opposite Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Jon Stewart. He was also named to "Rolling Stone" magazine's 2005 hot list.

Tickets are $15 for members and students and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance. To make a reservation, call 216.621.0082 or visit www.cityclub.org.