I’m looking forward to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) about as much as a kid looks forward to a vaccination needle. They know it’s coming, but there’s no godly way of avoiding it. The analogy sadly ends there, since IE7 can only make a computer more sick in the future.
The real cure is Mozilla Firefox. Version 2 is just a few weeks away from being ready, but version 1.5 is fantastic. If you haven’t switched yet, or tried it years ago and didn’t like it then, it’s time to try again. You can do everything you could do with IE, and more. And more securely, and often faster too. IETab is an extension that lets you run pages within Firefox using Internet Explorer, for those broken websites that don’t conform to webpage standards. IE7 continues Microsoft’s tradition of ignoring worldwide standards, in an attempt to lock people and businesses into their own version of the web which they can control.
I’ve used Firefox since it was at version 0.5 and had a different name. It’s made remarkable progress, and surpassed IE6 in usefullness starting in about 2004. It’s also the easiest program to install that I’ve ever seen. It’s just a short download, and about 5 clicks of the Next Button to finish improving your computer immensely. It imports your stored IE passwords and Favourites even!
This Firefox endorsement is brought to you by my desire to make the web a better place, the number 2, and the letter F.
@hotmail.com
![[EFC Blue Ribbon - Free Speech Online]](http://www.efc.ca/images/efcfreet.gif)
Stephen Glauser | 15-Oct-06 at 2:27 pm | Permalink
Forgo IE7, use Firefox 2…
With the new design of my site I feel even more obliged to ask my readers to use Firefox over Internet Explorer. Saskboy gave me a reason to write this little plea. While the arrival of IE7 is imminent, it……
Miss Cellania | 16-Oct-06 at 9:45 am | Permalink
I tried Firefox 2.0 and had one glitch that made blogging really difficult. So I’m back to FF 1.5 for now. No way would I go back to Safari, and forget IE!
Saskboy | 16-Oct-06 at 11:06 am | Permalink
What was the glitch if you don’t mind me asking? I like the spell checker, it’s rather nifty.
Amanda | 17-Oct-06 at 8:32 am | Permalink
Eternal skeptic here:
I tried Mozilla a wh ile ago… about three years now… and really didn’t see it as all that great. I hate that I am, once again, a slave to the Microsoft regime. I could be convinced to switch, but, can anyone give me some concrete examples of HOW Mozilla is superior? What can it do that IE cannot?
Saskboy | 17-Oct-06 at 9:05 am | Permalink
Amanda,
3 years ago Mozilla Suite was a different browser. Mozilla Firefox wasn’t out of beta version then, and has a new name now [previously callled Pheonix, and Firebird].
It is superior in that it has a master password, for all of your stored passwords - if you want to set one. Unlike IE, you have only one bookmark file to back up, instead of dozens or hundreds of favourites shortcuts. Mozilla is faster at releasing security patches, and an update is checked for automatically each time you run Firefox. You can install peer-reviewed spyware free Extensions or Add-Ons, which make the small-to-download Firefox do even more. With the click of the middle scroll wheel on a link, the link opens into a new tab [window within your Firefox Window] letting you finish reading the page you are on, while the other page loads in the background before you switch over to it.
You can install the Adblock extension, and cut most advertisements out of your websurfing experience. IETab shows a website that isn’t Standards compliant [needs IE] in a Firefox tab. Only the cool kids know about Firefox still, so you’re part of an elite, yet not really snobby club of <15% people.
There’s a google/dictionary/wikipedia/whatever search box in the corner of your window for fast searches. If you accidentally close a window/tab too soon, you can go back and open it from the menu. You’re less likely to infect your system with a worm by visiting a hostile webpage, because Firefox isn’t part of the Operating System.
And I just noticed that I’ve had my typos underlined as I wrote this, so I just have to right click the word to fix it, instead of proof reading my comment. [This is version 2.0 rc1 I'm running, the precursor to version 2 which is out in a few weeks, and has built in spell check. All other features I mentioned are in version 1.5 and upgrading is as simple as installing overtop of your old version, and takes just seconds on a new computer.]
JR | 19-Oct-06 at 10:33 am | Permalink
In my mind the chief advantage of Firefox has been both the quantity and the quality of the third party add-ons they’ve made available. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft will support the developer community.
I just found this cool application on their new IE7 AddOn site.
http://www.ieaddons.com/SearchResults.aspx?keywords=trailfire
I did not see it on the Mozilla site.
Saskboy | 20-Oct-06 at 8:26 pm | Permalink
JR, I don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s right here:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3524/