Mozilla Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

chillibreeze writer — Ambreen G

From the advent of the internet to the time we logged on online Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) has always been the de-facto standard for the public. However for the first time in years IE is facing competition from a browser that was released last November and has already settled into the download bracket of 200,000 to 300,000 downloads a day.

Mozilla’s Firefox has certainly grabbed Microsoft’s attention. Of course alternate browsers have existed like Netscape but the features of Firefox are what make it a browser that not only consumers but also developers consider as a platform to browse and build websites.

All of us log on to the web daily. Here is why Firefox is a sound alternative that can make life easier. A lot of the features are being introduced by version 7 of IE but Firefox is capturing the first mover advantage on the following enhancements:

Tabbed Browsing: Ever had the problem of organizing content when opening multiple explorer windows while browsing and researching. Or perhaps finding an interesting link and clicking on it, then clicking further and eventually loosing the trail leading to the original source? Firefox provides the option of tabbed browsing. This means you can just right click on a link and open a new tab in the existing window. You can continue reading/working and view the new page whenever it has loaded. IE 7 has jumped on this bandwagon by introducing tabbed browsing as well.

Blocking: Consider Firefox as your friend in not only blocking popups but also animated GIF images which have always been very annoying. Now you can have a completely “ad -free” page by just right clicking the advertisement to block it, and then just simply refreshing the page. The new page will have a small void with “advertisement” written on where it existed before. Since IE has bundled a Flash player in its browser another feature is Flashblocking (various advertisements and YouTube videos are in Flash Format). The flash block extension enables users to bypass this hindrance while browsing.

Customizing Firefox: For a personalized web experience one can the Firefox by adding more features by using the add-ons option. There are various themes and plugins within this option. Some of the add-ons included are ChatZilla, Foxmarks’ Bookmark Synchronizer, JaJah web-activated Telephony and many more.

Search Bar Menu: Instead of typing in a new search engine, Firefox provides a drop down button on the top right of the browser to select from different search engines. Popular search engines included are Yahoo, Google, Amazon and many more.

Good news for Web Designers and Coders: Life is made much easier for coders since the JavaScript Debugger comes built into Firefox. One can also view the source code for the page in a new window just by enabling the HTML editor, using color coded tags, indents etc.

Easy Switching: Switching from IE (or other browsers) is made easy with Firefox as it enables you to import your cookies, options, favorites, passwords etc. using the Import Wizard. The Import Wizard will run as soon as you install Firefox. However there are some terminology differences between the two that are listed below in the table.

Firefox	Internet Explorer
Options	Internet Options
Cache	Temporary Internet Files
Bookmarks	Favorites
Location Bar	Address Bar
Reload	Refresh
Bookmark Toolbar	Links Bar
Side Bar	Explorer Bar
Copy Link Location	Copy Shortcut
Save Target As	Save Target As

Help Yourself: Many users would be worried about installing this new web browser and understanding how to go about it. The good news is that Firefox comes with full help support. It has the Help Menu on its home page. Guides and tutorials are also available online.

There are various other features of the browser that many users recommend Firefox for, such as better downloading speed and a superior user interface.

Mozilla has already had users talking. IE is launching new versions to battle this rising competition. According to users, Mozilla is the most customizable, fast and secure alternative that allows users to control it rather than letting it control the users.

Mozilla Firefox can be easily downloaded from the web. However there are certain system requirements that users need to consider before doing so. They are:

Operating System: Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, 2003 Server and Vista
Download File Size: 5.69MB

Firefox can be downloaded from
http://www.download.com/Mozilla-Firefox/3004-2356_4 10620330.html?tag=tab_scrFtp-mozilla.netscape.com and other similar sites.

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Ambreen writes for chillibreeze.

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