Taking a walk with Firefox II
It's been almost three weeks now. Time flies! So how has my time away from Microsoft's Internet Explorer been? Firefox is indeed a good browser and the greatly touted tabbed browsing functionality is very useful. The navigation toolbar is streamlined and has a search field, which by default can be used to query Google. It also queries other sites including eBay and saves one installing extra toolbars. There's a useful download manager and RSS support is fairly snazzy. Extensions kick some serious butt and can add some amazingly good functionality to the browser.
Now I've covered the good aspects, we'll move onto what bugged me:
* The bookmarks toolbar appeared useless and made for clutter. I'm sure there's a great purpose behind it but it doesn't suit my style of browsing - it's on by default so I turned it off.
* The tab bar is hidden by default. Problem is that to make a new tab when it's off, you have to go to the File menu which equals hassle. With it on, however, you simply double click the tab bar to create a new tab. So I set it to display all the time.
* Some websites either don't work or fail to display correctly. For example, FilePlanet's download manager won't work and I use that site for downloading game demos, patches and modifications quite often. My personal website is an example of a page that fails to display correctly. There's some weird thing going on at the sides of tables...
* It's not possible to run executable files in the way you can with IE. Firefox forces you do save them to disk. I'm not a n00b, I know what I'm doing...
* SWF files can't be independently played in Firefox. They have to either be embedded into a page or downloaded to your computer and played in FlashPlayer.
Those issues are fairly minor. But then we get to:
* Performance. Firefox is claimed, by the fanbois, to be faster than Internet Explorer. This is not true until you manually configure the browser which means creating your own configuration file. The information on how to do this is not available from the official website. For the average user, this isn't very helpful at all because they'll never know it is possible to do this. I was lucky to have read about it on iDarkSide and had folks telling me to read the information available at this other site.
* Ad-blocking. Unlike the recent versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox does not have built in facilities to block pop-ups. At least if it does, it certainly does not work as well as Microsoft's offering. The fanbois will tell you Firefox protects you from such rubbish but first you must install an extension/plug-in to deal with the issue.
* Settings. Following on from the performance issue really, Firefox has a huge array of adjustable settings, however it's difficult to get at those advanced settings if you don't know how. Internet Explorer presents most of it's settings to the user in a friendly manner. Firefox is in this respect, aimed at the advanced user.
* Updates. This astounded me. The guys behind Firefox decided that when critical updates are available, you'd be notified via a tiny little red dot in the top right of the window. Nothing pops up to tell you oh by the way, I'm not the secure browser the fanbois think I am...so I'd suggest installing these critical updates. It's left to the user to notice the little red dot. Once you've discovered it and realised what it is then you're okay. They say IE is bad but at least Microsoft download the updates for you, then pester you to install them if you've not set it to do so automatically - which is the default option.
The verdict? I've been using Firefox for nearly three weeks. During that time I've had to open up Internet Explorer to do certain things. Tabbed browsing is fantastic but is probably one of the only beneficial features Internet Explorer doesn't have.
Towards the end of this year we'll have Internet Explorer 7 and from last years builds of Longhorn, the next generation of Windows operating system, we know IE is getting a download manager. Firefox is growing in use but all the time the fanbois have spent proudly stating it is the fastest, most secure browser out there, has been wasted.
Hackers and virus coders aren't stupid. They've already seen the increased market share Firefox is boasting and are already blasting holes through the Mozilla product line. Some people are having their eyes opened to the reality of things. It's not just about hating Microsoft for having a tight grip on global market shares. To the hackers it's about what the people are using and how best to target them and their systems. If more people use Firefox, they simply have to code things to affect Firefox as well as Internet Explorer. Firefox is getting a rude awakening, a small taste of what's to come. Welcome to Microsoft's world.
And here we have to give huge credit to Microsoft. In recent months they've done so much to secure their operating systems there's little cause for concern. Service Pack 2 and Microsoft's AntiSpyware have made windows extremely secure. Other than installing NortonAV 2005, there's little else to do. In fact, using an alternative browser like Firefox may very well be compromising your systems. I guess you just have to remember to surf safe.
I'll be sticking with Firefox for now but I'm hopeful that IE7 will come along, hand outstretched, ready to take me back.
Now I've covered the good aspects, we'll move onto what bugged me:
* The bookmarks toolbar appeared useless and made for clutter. I'm sure there's a great purpose behind it but it doesn't suit my style of browsing - it's on by default so I turned it off.
* The tab bar is hidden by default. Problem is that to make a new tab when it's off, you have to go to the File menu which equals hassle. With it on, however, you simply double click the tab bar to create a new tab. So I set it to display all the time.
* Some websites either don't work or fail to display correctly. For example, FilePlanet's download manager won't work and I use that site for downloading game demos, patches and modifications quite often. My personal website is an example of a page that fails to display correctly. There's some weird thing going on at the sides of tables...
* It's not possible to run executable files in the way you can with IE. Firefox forces you do save them to disk. I'm not a n00b, I know what I'm doing...
* SWF files can't be independently played in Firefox. They have to either be embedded into a page or downloaded to your computer and played in FlashPlayer.
Those issues are fairly minor. But then we get to:
* Performance. Firefox is claimed, by the fanbois, to be faster than Internet Explorer. This is not true until you manually configure the browser which means creating your own configuration file. The information on how to do this is not available from the official website. For the average user, this isn't very helpful at all because they'll never know it is possible to do this. I was lucky to have read about it on iDarkSide and had folks telling me to read the information available at this other site.
* Ad-blocking. Unlike the recent versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox does not have built in facilities to block pop-ups. At least if it does, it certainly does not work as well as Microsoft's offering. The fanbois will tell you Firefox protects you from such rubbish but first you must install an extension/plug-in to deal with the issue.
* Settings. Following on from the performance issue really, Firefox has a huge array of adjustable settings, however it's difficult to get at those advanced settings if you don't know how. Internet Explorer presents most of it's settings to the user in a friendly manner. Firefox is in this respect, aimed at the advanced user.
* Updates. This astounded me. The guys behind Firefox decided that when critical updates are available, you'd be notified via a tiny little red dot in the top right of the window. Nothing pops up to tell you oh by the way, I'm not the secure browser the fanbois think I am...so I'd suggest installing these critical updates. It's left to the user to notice the little red dot. Once you've discovered it and realised what it is then you're okay. They say IE is bad but at least Microsoft download the updates for you, then pester you to install them if you've not set it to do so automatically - which is the default option.
The verdict? I've been using Firefox for nearly three weeks. During that time I've had to open up Internet Explorer to do certain things. Tabbed browsing is fantastic but is probably one of the only beneficial features Internet Explorer doesn't have.
Towards the end of this year we'll have Internet Explorer 7 and from last years builds of Longhorn, the next generation of Windows operating system, we know IE is getting a download manager. Firefox is growing in use but all the time the fanbois have spent proudly stating it is the fastest, most secure browser out there, has been wasted.
Hackers and virus coders aren't stupid. They've already seen the increased market share Firefox is boasting and are already blasting holes through the Mozilla product line. Some people are having their eyes opened to the reality of things. It's not just about hating Microsoft for having a tight grip on global market shares. To the hackers it's about what the people are using and how best to target them and their systems. If more people use Firefox, they simply have to code things to affect Firefox as well as Internet Explorer. Firefox is getting a rude awakening, a small taste of what's to come. Welcome to Microsoft's world.
And here we have to give huge credit to Microsoft. In recent months they've done so much to secure their operating systems there's little cause for concern. Service Pack 2 and Microsoft's AntiSpyware have made windows extremely secure. Other than installing NortonAV 2005, there's little else to do. In fact, using an alternative browser like Firefox may very well be compromising your systems. I guess you just have to remember to surf safe.
I'll be sticking with Firefox for now but I'm hopeful that IE7 will come along, hand outstretched, ready to take me back.
posted by Matthew E Cornish at
15:30
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