>> If IE6 were holding it back for so long, why did it
  >> miraculously stop, even though nothing changed? The
  >> answer, of course, is that it wasn't IE6. It was the lack
  >> of a business model, which was inadvertently solved by
  >> Google.

I think one reason was that Netscape had got so big and unwieldy that users didn't see a compelling case to switch from IE once MS forced them into using it. Firefox changed all that with innovative features, and a quick easy browsing experience - credit where credit's due.

I don't think the business model really matters TBH. Firefox would have happened without google.

Maybe you have a point though, maybe people could have tried harder, and "Done a firefox" earlier, and still been able to gain market share. I don't know when all the legal stuff against Microsofts anti-competitive business practices started to get stamped out, but it seemed to be around the same time of phoenix/firefox.