Whats so good about Firefox?

[Gray]

Whats so good about Firefox?


I am curious, and I think many others are too; as to why one would think Firefox is better then Internet Explorer.

With the advent of windows Explorer 7.0 now upon us I would like to hear what you users of Firefox have to say.

I have used both but a lot of people have not and probably don’t know of a reason to.

[werty316]

One main reason I use it is because of the tabs. Its better than having alot of mutiple windows open and loads and runs webpages faster in my view. Plus it like all the kids say: everyone is doing it.

[liqnit]

for me the best part of FF is the many extensions that are out there

https://addons.mozilla.org/?application=firefox

and the ability to write yourself if you want to.

[pc_man_iac]

Why Use Firefox?

Popup Blocking
Stop annoying popup ads in their tracks with Firefox's built in popup blocker.

Tabbed Browsing
View more than one web page in a single window with this time saving feature. Open links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them.

Privacy and Security
Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.

Smarter Search
Google Search is built right into the toolbar, and there are a plethora of other search tools including Smart Keywords (type "dict <word>" in the Location bar), and the new Find bar (which finds text as you type without covering up anything).

Live Bookmarks
RSS integration lets you read the latest news headlines and read updates to your favorite sites that are syndicated.

Hassle-Free Downloading
Files you download are automatically saved to your Desktop so they're easy to find. Fewer prompts mean files download quicker.

Fits Like a Glove
Simple and intuitive, yet fully featured, Firefox has all the functions you're used to - Bookmarks, History, Full Screen, Text Zooming to make pages with small text easier to read, etc.

S, M, L or XL—It's Your Choice
Firefox is the most customizable browser on the planet. Customize your toolbars to add additional buttons, install new Extensions that add new features, add new Themes to browse with style, and use the adaptive search system to allow you to search an infinite number of engines. Firefox is as big or small as you want.

Setup's a Snap
At only 4.5MB (Windows), Firefox takes just a few minutes to download over a slow connection and seconds over a fast connection. The installer gets you set up quickly, and the new Easy Transition system imports all of your settings - Favorites, passwords and other data from Internet Explorer and other browsers - so you can start surfing right away.
A Developer's Best Friend

Firefox comes with a standard set of developer tools including a powerful JavaScript and CSS error/warning console, and an optional Document Inspector that gives detailed insight about your pages.

Download from: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/all.html
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nonsence



Joined: 22 Jun 2004
Posts: 60
Location: Waterloo

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2004 8:02 am Post subject: love firefox too Reply with quote
firefox is great, but it's kinda weird when it comes to upgrades or network wide installs.

i hope by the time version 2.0 comes out there will be alot more update management options and templates for creating a locked down gui for public computers. also firefox seems to use the same kinda security policies ie6 uses for web sites. as in the internet, trusted, restricted and intranet policies, however lacks a native gui to manage these settings. there is a downloadable extension but it would be nice to have it built in.

but yeah, all i can say is, i rate firefox at 8.5/10 and ie6 at 5/10

ie6 only passes cus it COULD be secured and made more manageable using 3rd party apps and gui alternatives like Maxthon (aka myie2) - http://www.myie2.com/html_en/home.htm

i used to use that browser. but by the time firefox hit 0.7 i was all over the instead Very Happy

also CHECK THIS OUT - http://www.moox.ws/tech/mozilla/

unofficial "optimized" builds of firefox for amd and intel cpus. makes it load and run about 30% faster. no joke. but it doesn't come with an installer.

[Gray]

Popup Blocking ) so does Internet Explorer. do this.

Tabbed Browsing) IE 7.0 will do this.

Privacy and Security) IE does not always let then be loaded either.

Smarter Search) Hmmm google.

Live Bookmarks) Snore... If I wanted to read a book I would not be infront of my PC.---- RSS Will be in 7.0

Fits Like a Glove) Ok no comment.

S, M, L or XL—It's Your Choice) File Size?

Setup's a Snap) Whats easyer then installing internet Explorer?

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nonsence

What? lol.




Can anyone please tell us why THEY use Firefox? Instead of copying a list.

Thanks for trying gimp but I was hoping for personal experience.

[ghidora]

Extensions and themes. I can add new functionality through the extensions, which, I believe, are scripts as opposed to compiled code, which is inherently unsafe. With themes I can skin FireFox the way I want, with a little digging into the skinning scripts.

IE has the largest user base, so it is a prime target for hackers, therefore FireFox and the other slip by. Although, since FireFox is becoming more popular, it will soon become a target.

These are why I use it. I'm sure Microsoft will "invent" these eventually, but until then, I'm sticking with FireFox.

[Gray]

So Gidora,

Security & Security; both are sound reasons for me.
But hey...

IE 7.0 will "invent" (lol) all kinds of ****, are you ready and willing to play with it?

Do you care? or are you happy with F-fox? and could care less then when 1.6 comes out as opposed to IE 7.0??

[werty316]

On the topic of Firefox there is a new version out now
v1.5.0.1

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Get it while its hot.

[BlackStar]

I use both, IE at work, because some of the stuff I do will only work with IE (lazy programmers...) But I have Firefox installed at home.

I have to admit my first reason for using FF: It's not Microsoft.

That said, my preference for FF is purely subjective. It just seems to work faster.

I've noticed that you're comparing a future version of IE to what's available in Firefox right now. We should really stick to comparing currently available products. Yes, IE 7 will have tabs, but IE 6 does not.

I don't know if you can really compile a whole list of reasons to use one over the other. Firefox sticks closer to the html standard as opposed to IE (that's why you can have IE only sites - again, lazy programmers) but they both do the exact same thing: access web content.

So yeah, the biggest reason is still the first: It's not Microsoft.

[Gray]

Ya it's funny, it looks like Microsoft is playing a bit of a catchup game with there new browser.

[PUTALE]

FF's tab browsing is probably one of the best reason to use it. In additon, the security feature that you get from using the browser as well as it's less prone to attacks.

[Chad]

Here's my take. I also like what a few others have said - the tabbed browsing, built-in features and personalization (from easy re-configuring of the interface to adding extensions and themes), etc.

But when turned me to Firefox was that it was something different and potentially something better than what I had been using for a long time. Actually, I used Netscape a lot and dabbled with Opera in the past, and I always liked them better than IE. So I expected Firefox to be better, and I definitely think it is.

Compared to IE7? Who knows? But by the time it's out, FF will only be better, have more features, be more stable, etc. than it is today, which means it will be that much harder for IE7 to win me over just because MS copied some of FF most popular features. IE7 will have to have a more compelling reason.

I do use IE when I need to, though, so I'm sure I'll use IE7 just as much when it's released and I've upgraded. But I'd be very surprised if I switch to IE7 as my default browser.

[pc_man_iac]

Also if you are doing illegal things it is much harder to track down what and where you have been with FF as apposed to IE i read an article somewhere about ppl who bring down hackers *****ing about IE lol

[ghidora]

So Gidora,

Security & Security; both are sound reasons for me.
But hey...

IE 7.0 will "invent" (lol) all kinds of ****, are you ready and willing to play with it?

Do you care? or are you happy with F-fox? and could care less then when 1.6 comes out as opposed to IE 7.0??

I'm happy with FireFox. It does the job and looks good doing it. :wink:

I will most likely download IE 7 once it's out of beta, because there are still sites out there that believe Microsoft builds the only browser, and some of the tech. in it makes my software coding easier.

[coldgin]

has anyone tried Opera???
I think it's great, features built in that you need extensions for FF and Thunderbird.

[XJnine]

No one seems to have brought up the downside to tabbed browsing. If you happen to have a glitch or visit a badly coded website that causes your browser to crash you lose all of your browser 'windows' that are open instead of just the one misbehaving window.

I know a ton of people out there are using alternative browsers for various reasons. I just know personally I've never had any issues with IE that's made me want to install another piece of software on my system. Some of my friends that use FF still end up having to use IE on occasion to go to websites that don't show up properly on FF. I would hate having to switch back and forth between browsers like that.

My $ 0.02

[Frank Marino]

No one seems to have brought up the downside to tabbed browsing. If you happen to have a glitch or visit a badly coded website that causes your browser to crash you lose all of your browser 'windows' that are open instead of just the one misbehaving window.

I know a ton of people out there are using alternative browsers for various reasons. I just know personally I've never had any issues with IE that's made me want to install another piece of software on my system. Some of my friends that use FF still end up having to use IE on occasion to go to websites that don't show up properly on FF. I would hate having to switch back and forth between browsers like that.

My $ 0.02

I've found that if IE crashes, all IE windows crash. Firefox is the same, but I've had firefox crash less often.

[alx737]

Now i'm gonna say only three words why Firefox is so good and many people like it.
Tabs, extensions, security - three main reasons, but there are also many more great features of ff.

[coldgin]

I have FF, IE7, Opera 8 and Opera 9 beta 2, which is sweet, built in widgets now.

[SwedBear]

As a webdeveloper I love extensions in Firefox. I have a bunch installed which allows me to turn css on/off, check colour directly in the page, do measurements, validate code and so on.

I don't think tabbed browsing is anything special. I actually prefer having my pages open and visible in the taskbar at the bottom of my page since I quickly can maximize the webpage I need when working in another program isntead of having to first mazimize FF and then select the correct tab.

FF is far from perfect though. I run the latest version and have had issues with it crashing after prolonged use (could be a extension messing things up to but it's hard to figure out) and even more irritating from a webdevelopers point of view - the latest version seems to have a nasty bug which prevents it from printing more than 1 page on sites that use lots of css-floats. Earlier version doesn't have that bug so right now I have to write some special print-css just to get around the bug.

In the end I use both and tend to run IE more mostly by habit. I've so far neer been bitten by a security issue in IE and feel it is a bit faster on my machines. FF is a great browser though, well worth testing.

/B

[Bio-Hazard]

I was just reading that there is a Mozilla Firefox 2 Alpha 1 Available For Download for all of you that use FireFox............... :wink:

"While browsing the Tinderbox Builds on the Mozilla FTP server I found that they placed Firefox 2 Alpha 1 on there. A Tinderbox Build means that it may not be what gets released, but often it is. This was just placed on there today which makes sense because the code lockdown was last night."


http://www.cybernetnews.com/?p=410

[alx737]

I tried out the newest firefox "Bon Echo" version 2.0a1, and it's even faster than FF 1.5, but many extensions don't work on the new version yet, but i'm sure it will be fixed soon.

[tomato]

I've found that if IE crashes, all IE windows crash. Firefox is the same, but I've had firefox crash less often.

Ditto for me here. It happens ALL THE TIME!!!! :evil: :evil: I HATE IT. I'm ready to make the change to FF I think :wink:

[Coolest-Tech]

Why Use Firefox?

Privacy and Security
Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.


Please read:

http://img.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windows/IE/images/community/columns/54253_120x160_sandi_F.jpg

Myth: Change to Browser X and you'll be safe

How I wish it were that simple. Many times I have seen people say that Browser X, Y, or Z is safe because it doesn't load Microsoft ActiveX, or because it's not 'embedded' in the operating system (whatever that means), or because it doesn't use the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine, or simply because it's not Internet Explorer.

Don't get me wrong; I've never been an Internet Explorer apologist—for years I have suggested Opera if a person wants a good download manager and Deepnet Explorer if they want integrated RSS and P2P support. I even have the Deepnet logo and a link to its home page on my Internet Explorer support site. What bothers me is when people are encouraged to swap to another browser because it is 'safer' with no attempt being made to teach the user about safe Internet behavior.

We will not be 'safe' when surfing the Internet unless and until we adopt safe browsing habits. In my personal experience, the average Web surfer does not want to turn off java applets, or ActiveX, or scripting, permanently. Too many sites are broken when such things are turned off.

So, what do we do? First, we do not assume that just because we are using Browser X we are guaranteed safety and can go to risky sites, nor can we assume that just because we are using Browser X, we can download freeware willy-nilly.

The owners of malware-pushing sites want to earn cash from your visit—the more cash the better—and unfortunately it is possible to earn a lot of money by pushing spyware and malware. If sellers can find a way to get their wares on to your PC, they will use it (no matter what browser you happen to be using).

For detailed information about how to stay safe when using Internet Explorer to surf the Internet, and how to avoid risky behavior that is not dependent on the Web browser you are using, please review the advice at this link: "Malware: Help Prevent the Infection."



Also, if you use the MSN toolbar, you can have tabbed browsing.

[Tank]

Ok here I go. When the first version came out everyone was saying its more secure and IE was getting patched all the time. That made me download it and then I saw: it was stable, my pages were opening faster and the futures like tabed browsing and integrated google search bar made me decide to keep it for a while. As the time past I read a lot of tips on how to change and customize it so I had it working the way I like it, I had skins that mached my Visual Styles, and the extensions that sort of grew on to me. Now using the Greasemonkey ext. and for example the scripts: that blocks ads, changes google in any imaginable way, Tab Mix Plus that alows me to make my tabs behave like I want to and that same ext. also has the session manager so when firefox crashes all my tabs and web pages get restored and so on.. If I had to answer in one word as to "Why use Firefox?" or "Whats so good about it?" I would say: CUSTOMIZATION! or even better CONTROL! I'm a control freak. :lol: