If we follow statistics, 126 of this forum's members use it. The web browser market, after having been dominated for years by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, is changing. The company based in Redmond, WA. is quickly losing its dominance in a key branch of the software market, thanks to a new, strong contender to the once impossible to contend Internet Explorer. Its name is Mozilla Firefox. Firefox has quickly gained market share at the expense of Microsoft. As of March 2007, over 15 percent of all Internet users use Firefox as their default browser. However, what makes it so special? It is known that computer users tend to stick to the programs they're used to. So, what made millions of users switch from Internet Explorer, the browser they had been using for years, to this new product? Yes, Internet Explorer works. I won't deny that. But experience taught me (and millions of users as well) that Internet Explorer has a number of design flaws. Some have been addressed in the last release, Version 7, which can be downloaded for free for Windows XP and is included in Windows Vista. Most of them haven't. The main concern I have about Internet Explorer is safety. Like other Microsoft products (most notably Windows), Internet Explorer is known to be very vulnerable to be attacked by viruses, spyware, adware and other forms of malicious code. Then I'll mention stability (Version 7 is even more unstable than Version 6), memory footprint, visual clutter (in version 7), among others. Cross-platform, easy to use, expansible and sporting a simple yet powerful user interface, Firefox addresses all of those perceived bugs of Internet Explorer and adds some features of its own. It can be easily customized through extensions. Its look and feel can be changed. It isn't as vulnerable to malicious code. Its last version (2.0.0.3 as of April 22, 2007) is definitely faster than Internet Explorer 7, including startup speed. It isn't that Firefox has improved that heavily criticized aspect - being cross-platform, it uses its own system to draw its user interface, which is slower than the native Windows/Linux/Mac OS functions to do so - : Internet Explorer has become slower instead. Personally, I love its integrated download manager, something that Internet Explorer still lacks as of version 7. It's very useful if you have to download large files (they would fail to download under IE). I give Firefox five gold stars. For a more comprehensive set of features check the Wikipedia article on Firefox here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox
I like it, but I don't think I would marry Firefox... see, I don't think I'm going to get married, ever...
I use Firefox, and have done since version 1.0. I think it's a vast improvement on IE. It's not perfect though - it still crashes or freezes occasionally, though that is normally due to 3rd party things like Sun Java or Adobe Acrobat rather than Firefox itself. I also use the Thunderbird email client, which handles IMAP mail accounts a lot better than Outlook. I would like to use OpenOffice but it feels slower and more sluggish than MS Office 2003.
This is the cycle of things. Many years ago Netscape was the popular browser, then internet Exploder, not it's back to the Netscape derivative, Firefox. I use Firefox. One of the main reasons it's better than IE from a security point of view is the lack of market penetration. If you're looking for an exploit would you do something that affects 85% of users, or 15? I also use Thunderbird, since I can centralize my half a dozen email accounts, it makes checking my email a lot easier. I also use the RSS feature in Thunderbird, unfortunately it doesn't work as well on this site as I'd hope. Also, for an Acrobat clone, look up "foxit reader". It also comes with a free markup tool, which is handy if you want to fill out a PDF form and print it out. It's a lot let bulky than Adobe Acrobat. For Adobe I only have version 5 installed because the newer ones are so bulky. Dave: Firefox is open source software, feel free porting it over to human form.
Dear DrPhil, I am an adement viewer but have become recently frustrated over my internet browser. You see Bill Gates and the Devil had a love child named Microsoft Internet Explorer. It's slow, seizes up often and make me send pointless error reports that seemingly aren't read because the newer version is even more pathetic. Please help. Sincerely, Proud ---------------------------------------- Dear Viewer, GET MOZILLA FOOOL!! Sincerely, DrPhil
I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE INTERNET EXPLORER. It is the bane of my existence. I use Firefox and could NEVER go back to IE. I love that Firefox spellchecks and that the tabbed browsing works. This is something we don't often encounter with IE. Tabs freeze and get all confused...firefox is also easier to hide history on. It's got better security, more user friendly. I also love ONE download box for everything- AND THE ABILITY TO TURN IT OFF. Thank you Mozilla, for making me feel there was hope for a bright and easy use of a Windows OS. =] *kiss*
