So I finally downloaded Firefox....

[TyraBanksIsFierce]

I don't get why people say its better than IE, I can't really tell the difference =/

So why is it supposedly?

[Brandon]

It has ad-blocker and a lot of other add ons that Internet Explorer doesn't have.

[TriBi]

...and you don't need about three updates a week to fix all the problems and vulnerabilities.

[Bryan90]

And you get to completely delete your history and cookies a lot easier... :icon_wink and we all know that that's very important to some of us..

[Poring]

Yay for you! Welcome to the Firefox revolution :D

well, I just know that firefox is a lot safer than IE, because it has a built in firewall, a lot of securities thingy-ma-bobs, and its just so cool to use.

[Kenko]

Firefox doesn't have a built in firewall. . .

Big attractions for me when I switched to firefox was tabbed browsing, integrated search bar, and better in-page searching (search as you type, search dialog doesn't block text, highlight all results). Then I started using plugins that can add functionality not available in Internet Exploder: Adblock plus (blocks ads), flash block (keeps flash websites from running unless you explicitly click an object), mouse gestures for easier navigation, plugins that download Flash videos. Other people also seem keen on skins, so you can make Firefox match MS Office, OS X, Vista, your favorite shoes, etc. Then Firefox 2 came out that includes spellcheck in web forms.

Stability wise I find Firefox better than IE 6, though it isn't 100% stable and has memory problems. IE 7 is a lot better than IE 6 was.

Security wise Firefox isn't perfect, it still has it's fair share of vulnerabilities, but it isn't targeted as much because of lower market share.

Then there's Opera. It's had a lot of these features for years, is very fast and well coded, unfortunately it's missing some of these plug ins I couldn't do without.

[Cam]

and as M$ have 80% of the web browsing market its nice to see a better alternative. It def makes my life easier with 20 odd extensions helping while im on the net.:thumbsup:

Also i was just sent this, firefox are trying to break a world record have a look:
http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39236680,00.htm

[Andrew]

and as M$ have 80% of the web browsing market its nice to see a better alternative. It def makes my life easier with 20 odd extensions helping while im on the net.:thumbsup:

Also i was just sent this, firefox are trying to break a world record have a look:
http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39236680,00.htm

thats pretty cool, that they are setting on a record.


on topic: I just think its easier overall. LIke many people have said, tab browsing is a + and many more features.

[LOVEjames]

Three things about Firefox that I love:
1) Tabbed browsing.
2) Only having to press tab on a new screen to search Google. 'tis amazing.
3) Built in dictionary.

I've honestly only used IE back in Elementary school... ever since I've owned a computer I've always used Firefox.

[LostAddict]

I recently switched to Firefox too. My Internet Explorer got so glitched up that it froze my computer if I ever made a new tab, as most things opened up in a new tab, I got sick of it.

Plus the built in dictionary is helpful, I make a lot of typos.

[Paul_UK]

As a web developer I HATE Internet Explorer. There are standards laid down for how browsers should handle things like CSS (style sheets). Firefox, Opera, Safari and the others all follow the standards closely. Internet Explorer does things its own way, which sort of follows the standards but not fully or exactly. Internet Explorer 7 is better than Internet Explorer 6, but it still causes a lot or problems.

The worst thing is people who design their websites to look on OK Internet Explorer and never test on anything else. Then they wonder why people using Firefox, Opera etc say the site is broken or looks a mess. The best thing is to design it to look OK on any other browser (I use Firefox) and follow the standards using a compliance checker. Then add Internet Explorer specific tweak to make that work correctly too. As we still have to allow for Internet Explorer 6, there are quite a few fudges needed for that. :(

I have used Firefox since it first came out. Compared to Internet Explorer at the time it was a vast improvement. The Adblock Plus extension is wonderful, and it is worth using for that alone. I am sticking with Firefox, and with Thunderbird (from the same people) for email.

[joshhunt]

Firefox doesn't have a built in firewall. . .

Big attractions for me when I switched to firefox was tabbed browsing, integrated search bar, and better in-page searching (search as you type, search dialog doesn't block text, highlight all results). Then I started using plugins that can add functionality not available in Internet Exploder: Adblock plus (blocks ads), flash block (keeps flash websites from running unless you explicitly click an object), mouse gestures for easier navigation, plugins that download Flash videos. Other people also seem keen on skins, so you can make Firefox match MS Office, OS X, Vista, your favorite shoes, etc. Then Firefox 2 came out that includes spellcheck in web forms.

Im pretty sure IE doesn't have a built in firewall, its built into the OS. I think. Besides, firefox has the whole anti-phishing filter and virus/malware filter for all those people that tend to fall for that sort of stuff.

Stability wise I find Firefox better than IE 6, though it isn't 100% stable and has memory problems. IE 7 is a lot better than IE 6 was.

Yeah, i do agree FF2 has major issues with memory, but it is fixed alot in FF3. Im running FF3 RC2 and its only using 80mb of ram.

Then there's Opera. It's had a lot of these features for years, is very fast and well coded, unfortunately it's missing some of these plug ins I couldn't do without.

I LOVE Opera. But i just cant use it as my default browser because it dosnt have stumbleupon. Stumbleupon is the make or break factor for me with web browsers.

[bleep]

Stability wise I find Firefox better than IE 6, though it isn't 100% stable and has memory problems. IE 7 is a lot better than IE 6 was.

Yeah, i do agree FF2 has major issues with memory, but it is fixed alot in FF3. Im running FF3 RC2 and its only using 80mb of ram.

Precisely what I was going to say. FF3 -- which should come out within a month, I believe -- reduces the memory leakage, has far better integration with your OS's theme and improved bookmarking.

Also, FF3 passes the Acid2 Test (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid2), which is a huge advantage over IE. It means that, as Paul was saying, it's compliant with web standards, something that IE isn't.

Finally, some of us don't use Windows, so we -can't- use IE. xP