Time to Find an IE Alternative?

[mikmik]

Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the de facto Web browser on Windows PCs. As such, it is a prominent target for attackers relying on documented vulnerabilities in how IE renders both HTML and DHTML, runs both JavaScript and ActiveX, validates references to cached objects, and applies security settings to MIME types (see www.cert.org for myriad advisories).

But security concerns aren't the only reason to seek an alternative. IE's slow rendering engine and dearth of privacy features may plant the thought in some iconoclastic minds that it may not be the best browser for everyone. Here we evaluate the newest offerings (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1622153,00.asp) from Opera Software, Opera 7.52; and from Mozilla Foundation, Firefox 0.9.1

[Linda Buquet]

I hated to give up IE and all my cookies that remember all my passwords but I finally switched to Firefox and am SOOOOOOOO glad I did!

I no longer have to worry about all the IE threats that are out there including drive-by parasite installs. The "open in tabs" feature is an awesome and time saving tool. The bookmark organization is much better and overall Firefox is faster and cleaner.

[lspence]

Microsoft needs to work on a new version of IE. It's been many years since they've made any changes to it, other than the multiple patches to fix security issues. Microsoft may have won the browser war a few years back, but I think things are about to change. Security is on the minds of everyone, and it's clear that IE is not the answer. I wonder if Microsoft will wake up before it's too late, or even if they have the desire for round 2 of the Browser Wars.

[pedstersplanet]

Mozilla gets my 100% approval.......

[Kenai Alaska]

I have to admit, I am suffering from Mozilla Madness. This is the first upgrade I add to every new PC. Fast, sleek and user friendly but most of all, secure. If you haven't tried Mozilla as of yet, do yourself a favor, download a copy today. http://www.mozilla.org/

http://www.oilersbaseball.com

[cosmicperl]

I have to agree FireBird is the best browser around. I hate having to open Internet Explorer when I come across a badly coded site.

Everyone I know who's tried FireBird (Now called FireFox) has never gone back to IE. Try for yourself:-
http://texturizer.net/firefox/download.html

You won't have to put up with pop's, crashing, security holes, or anything like that ever again!

Of course FireFox is great for tracking affiliate commissions accurately


Lyle Hopkins
AllAffiliatePro - Market Leading Affiliate Software
http://www.allaffiliatepro.com

[httpman]

I also mostly use Opera and FireBird (Mozilla) as long as I'm just browsing on the web. So cool, so secure !..

Halas my Windows (sic) personal computer works with IE as a default, and I didn't take the time to change that default assignment. As long as I can compare I have to say that IE is synonymous of unwanted popups, javascript alerts and anything else that would make one hate the web.

Opera sounds to me like the most friendly browser - but not the most CSS compliant. And its window tabs are so cute, so easy to manage !

I had some bugs reports from my clients using the latest "safari" on the Mac. Rendering issues mainly, coming from <table> alignments. The world is still pluralist, and we web designers still have to be aware of it !!

JP

[vivekkedia]

I too am much like catalyst in case of shifting from IE to firefox , its cooool , tabs / bookmarks save a lot of my time these days

vivek kedia
http://www.grmtech.com


I hated to give up IE and all my cookies that remember all my passwords but I finally switched to Firefox and am SOOOOOOOO glad I did!

I no longer have to worry about all the IE threats that are out there including drive-by parasite installs. The "open in tabs" feature is an awesome and time saving tool. The bookmark organization is much better and overall Firefox is faster and cleaner.

[www.ROMELO.com]

I'm basically an Opera user but I do have Firefox, Mozilla, IE and even the old Netscape 4.75 installed for checking and QA purposes... :)

[pedstersplanet]

Mozilla gets my 100% approval.......
On saying that, some sites are not optimised (looks ugly/messy/out of place) enough for browsers other than IE.... :/

[danno]

How Firefox does it, let's see if Microsoft is savvy and if they pay attention.

If you use Firefox with the "Luna" theme, you would not be able to tell
on the surface which browser you were using, IE 6 or Firefox .9

http://www.websitepromotion.ws/firefox/firefox.html

That said, let's say you want to send a link by email.
Right click, woops! It's not there...
Click File, ... woops! It's not there either!

No problem. You must install what's called an "extension".

Want to view source with an external app like
Microsoft's notepad?

No problem, install an extension.

Are you with me Microsoft?

Users add the features they want/need. Instead of loading 10 million
features and rendering like molasses, Firefox has made the clever move
of loading no features and rendering at warp .9

The Microsoft advantage: Fit and Finish

Everyone knows the problems with a pre 1.0 version
of "any" software.

Appearances stop people from "keeping it installed".

I am impressed with Firefox at this stage of development,
but the optics are terrible.

A cheap looking theme and flaky things like
bookmark problems and disappearing favicons
really detract from all of the strengths of
the Firefox browser. They are not enough to
deter Firefox enthusiasts and die-hard IE haters
but the average user will miss the fact that,
at least on the surface, IE buttons work when
pushed, and cosmetically IE is stable.
See:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=94359&postdays=0&postorder=asc&postsperpage=15&start=15

As an aside, they keep closing the bug report on this one, even though the problem keeps coming up.
I think they are in denial.
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=173762

Here's where Microsoft can really do something.

1.Strip down IE to the essentials
2.Build "feature sets", similar to Firefox "extensions"
but available via checkboxes at install
time and accessible after installation
For example, features for developers in one set,
features for multimedia in another, features for
external apps, etc, etc.
2.Build in a simple firewall
3.Use a BHO (Browser Helper Object) blocker
so your home page doesn't change on you daily
without your permission
4.Put an auto-updating spyware database into
the autoupdate feature at windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Spybot Search and Destroy can immunize the browser, why not build it in?
5. Call it Microsoft Firestorm

I'd not only download it, I'd pay for it on CD.

[neonant]

Although IE has problems and is losing market share in the ever continuing browser wars, we must remember that it is still the dominant browser out there amongst our clients (according to NetCraft).

I did the same as Catalyst and switched to Firefox reluctantly at first but after discovering all of the excellent extensions available, now enjoy a friendly tabbed browser that is fast and responsive.

There was an issue with Firefox 0.9 as far as SSL goes but if you update to 0.91 you will be fine.

I disagree with Danno about building in a firewall into the browser. I think this is where Microsoft go awry by trying to add everything but the kitchen sink into their programs. If I want a firewall I will install and run one of my choosing not be forced to use the limited and probably buggy one that comes with MS browser. This is an old Unix philosophy to make your programs simply do their job really well and leave other jobs to other programs. Maybe a firewall or different firewalls as extensions would be a better idea, as that way we could select a firewall that suits us if we want one.

[DrTandem1]

I like Mozilla, also. It reminds me of the old Netscape 4.7x, but with updated features. I have noticed that it takes a bit longer in handling some task over IE.

IE is still my main browser, although I must download patches religiously. I also do not access sensitive documentation via IE. For that I use FireFox. I really don't think that Mozilla is any safer, inherently. I think it's more that IE is a bigger target because of its success. If IE was to be finally torpedoed by some hacker, Mozilla would simply become their next challenge.

IE is mostly vulnerable because they want to make it user-friendly and work with other Microsoft products. This opens some extra holes for our social engineers. In any event, you must acknowledge the fact that your client's visitors are likely using IE. So, don't forget to stay compatible with it while designing, no matter your personal preference.

[AITechnology]

I hated to give up IE and all my cookies that remember all my passwords but I finally switched to Firefox and am SOOOOOOOO glad I did!

I no longer have to worry about all the IE threats that are out there including drive-by parasite installs. The "open in tabs" feature is an awesome and time saving tool. The bookmark organization is much better and overall Firefox is faster and cleaner.

I was able to recover quite a few of my old pw in memory by going to file / import. Also, when I installed FF the first time, it asked me if I wanted to copy IE cookies and stuff.

[danno]

I disagree with Danno about building in a firewall into the browser. I think this is where Microsoft go awry by trying to add everything but the kitchen sink into their programs. If I want a firewall I will install and run one of my choosing not be forced to use the limited and probably buggy one that comes with MS browser. This is an old Unix philosophy to make your programs simply do their job really well and leave other jobs to other programs. Maybe a firewall or different firewalls as extensions would be a better idea, as that way we could select a firewall that suits us if we want one.[/quote]

Hmmm, firewalls as extensions, great idea!
I mentioned firewalls as part of my rant because
as a technician, I work on many pc's (residential
users) that don't have a firewall installed.
We all know how many problems that causes :)
I also agree it should be easy to disable for
those who don't want it. An uninstallable
extension would definitely do the trick.
For the vast majority of average non-technical users
out there I think it should be on by default.
This would stop a lot of the "proliferation" we see
now in the BHO, Spyware, Spamware, Web Bug world.

If Johnny is innoculated, he is not likely going to
get the flu and pass it on to his school mates.

Extensions are awesome!

BTW: I added a link to my original post referring
to the bug I mentioned. (have to be thorough)
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=173762

[blueskies]

I just want to say thanks to all of you for posting about Mozilla Firefox.

It is wonderful.

I just wish I had done this a long time ago.
I especially like being able to customize the cookies. I am so tired of deleting cookies, that feature alone will save me quite a bit of time over the course of a year.

Thank you all,

Blueskies

[mikmik]

DrTandem1, that is the most concise and common sense explanation of the situation today thast I have heard. Thanks.

I like Opera but I am trying to get used to Firefox, I LOVE using it.

There is also an extention available, for people using Firefox on Windows, that lets you view a page in IE with one click. It is very handy and is designed to be used at sites that only work in IE (not as many as I thought there was!)

[a_snowden]

FireFox is great and certainly shows up websites which don't have tight html or CSS.

I have a problem with ( some ) Java Scripts on sites I use not working in Firefox. Anyone know of a cure for that?

[MarcThai]

Good to see MikMik leading off with a very pertinent topic.

I changed to Mandrake Linux more than 2 years ago and love it, but the browsers bundled with it, Mozilla, Konquerer, and Galeon are all 'challenged' in some way. A friend suggested I use Firefox a few weeks ago and I am IMPRESSED! Excellent rendering, secure, it allows Java and lots more.

If you are still struggling with M$, move to Firefox.

If you are tired of all the problems encountered using M$ move to Linux. You won't regret it.

[mushroom]

I changed to Mandrake Linux more than 2 years ago and love it, but the browsers bundled with it, Mozilla, Konquerer, and Galeon are all 'challenged' in some way. A friend suggested I use Firefox a few weeks ago and I am IMPRESSED! Excellent rendering, secure, it allows Java and lots more.

Firefox evolved from those challenged browsers all of which have improved themselfs.

[Artyom]

I hated to give up IE and all my cookies that remember all my passwords but I finally switched to Firefox and am SOOOOOOOO glad I did!

I no longer have to worry about all the IE threats that are out there including drive-by parasite installs. The "open in tabs" feature is an awesome and time saving tool. The bookmark organization is much better and overall Firefox is faster and cleaner.

Just please, make sure you read this warning and do what that said
http://www.mozilla.org/security/shell.html

I've switched to FF 0.9.2 by simple deinstall of FF 0.9.1 (don't delete the entire folder where the browser is located)
and then install FF 0.9.2.

[yeshua14]

Downloaded Firefox, works great.

Prints out order a little differently, and will
stick to IE for that.

But by putting 1/2 the work stuff on Firefox
and leaveing half on IE,

I can streamline both modules to be easier to use.

At the very least, competition should be good to
stimulate IE.

[xmx]

I am with Linux & Mozilla since a lot of time.

The recent tabs function alone is worth the switching
of browser in my opinion.
I am totally addicted to it.

And I am glad I don't have to care too much each time
a new security alert is released.

[Canadian101]

FireFox is great and certainly shows up websites which don't have tight html or CSS.

I have a problem with ( some ) Java Scripts on sites I use not working in Firefox. Anyone know of a cure for that?

I have also seen this problem with Javascript and Firefox.... Anybody else, does anyone know what to do?

[minstrel]

I no longer have to worry about all the IE threats that are out there including drive-by parasite installs.
No... now you have to worry about the Firefox threats instead: see this article (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1093&e=1&u=/pcworld/20040709/tc_pcworld/116834) and this one (http://www.bandofgonzos.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=963).

And if any of the alternate browsers ever manage to climb above 1-5% of the market, expect to see increased attention paid to as yet undiscovered vulnerabilities in those browsers by net pirates and looters.


overall Firefox is faster and cleaner.
I keep hearing this... it hasn't been my experience, though.

[Dell]

Modzilla Firefox has been the one, it even blocks those pop ups. There is much I still need to learn about firefox but for now it will be my default browser.

[myclassy67]

I would like to switch from ie, but I have a toolbar I use regularly with ie, and I've noticed with the toolbars they usually say "for use with ie" - can any of the toolbars be used with any of these alternative browsers?
Thanks
Sue

[pedstersplanet]

I would like to switch from ie, but I have a toolbar I use regularly with ie, and I've noticed with the toolbars they usually say "for use with ie" - can any of the toolbars be used with any of these alternative browsers?
Try this thread (http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=24810), if you mean the google toolbar.......

[myclassy67]

Peter,
Thank you. I do have the google toolbar on ie, but the one I use the most is the yahoo campanion with my bookmarks.
Sue

[pedstersplanet]

Peter,
Thank you. I do have the google toolbar on ie, but the one I use the most is the yahoo campanion with my bookmarks.
Yahpoo.....ooppss, Yahoo... Lets all hope they all start to offer multi-browser toolbars, seeing as IE is currently getting a battering in the security department.

Sorry for misunderstanding :)

[myclassy67]

thanks again Peter
I agree about yahoo, it just makes it easier to get to my bookmarks no matter where I am
Sue

[eCommn]

I just switched to Firefox too to get away of all the spyware. But my experience so far is that Firefox is not all that fast. Ever try replying to a message from your hotmail account on Firefox. Try it out and experience it for yourself. I still find myself going back and forth between Firefox & IE.

[danno]

Hi, Well the Firefox team has defeated an issue that is common to the Mozilla family of browsers, the dreaded URI translation. This issue "used to" cause problems.

Googlebar has matured considerably and looks great!
PRGooglebar, to add pagerank to the googlebar, has become a slickly rendered version of the popular Googlebar for Internet Explorer.

It doesn't sound revolutionary, but what you have is a product that is getting more chiseled, cut, polished and cosmetically "finished" than any other browser contender has ever been.

With the Gmail composer extension and the Gmail alerter, you can see it easily replacing the IE/Outlook combo. Click a mailto link and the compose screen appears right in the browser, click another and you are back where you were. Slick.

I couldn't believe how easily the flash player installed.

I have to tell you, I never thought I'd see a true Internet Explorer replacement, maybe just another Netscape Navigator.

But Firefox will be different. It will rock the browser world's socks off. It is fast, cool and will soon have the "mass appeal" finishing touches done.

I don't think Microsoft can stop this one from happening, it's too much faster than IE and cleaner.
The benefits really outweigh any remaining issues
this browser may have.

http://www.websitepromotion.ws/firefox/firefox.html

Amazing

[AITechnology]

I do not use google bar on firefox. Instead I use web development toolbar

get extension at http://update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=60&vid=63


Quick Q. Is firefox really secure? Or is it just secure because the number of hackers working on firefox pales in comparison to IE?

[danno]

I have web developer install too, but mostly use it only via right-click :)

Here is some security info.
Security is actually better with open-source.
"If you can find the door, you can lock it."
With other browsers the door is inside a closed box.

There are now a couple of security spoofs out there for firefox.
Unlike IE there is an easy way to catch them that is not often mentioned.

Simply type in about:config into the address bar.

Then search for and change these settings to TRUE

recommended:
disable_window_open_feature.location
disable_window_open_feature.status
disable_window_open_feature.titlebar
disable_window_status_change

optional:
disable_window_move_resize
disable_window_open_feature.close
disable_window_open_feature.directories
disable_window_open_feature.menubar
disable_window_open_feature.minimizable
disable_window_open_feature.personalbar
disable_window_open_feature.resizable
disable_window_open_feature.scrollbars
disable_window_open_feature.toolbar

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum21/8412-1-10.htm

[danno]

Minstrel, I suggest you start fresh.
Not everyone will like "everything" about Firefox,
or any other browser for that matter.
It's true that Firefox out of the box doesn't have
the finishing touches that we are used to in a browser.
Many people complain about the wasted space by the
padding in the toolbars, etc.
It's true, that you used to have to be able to
patch it up and find pieces here and there to get
some of the functionality of IE, such as the
pagerank indicator on the Google toolbar.
However, there is a new option. To get a nicely
assembled browser, that is a good replacement for
IE, simply go to http://www.firefoxIE.net
The one stop shop to build your IE replacement, FirefoxIE.
Watch for the CNN feature: FirefoxIE - The Internet Is Fun Again.

Note: If you had a problem with Google Notifier
The Google notifier extension 3.3 is available
at the author's site and at www.firefoxie.net
It will log in normally again.

[netman4ttm]

I love Firebird.
Just curious - which version of Java do you use.
I'm using the SDK but I actually use Java for other stuff too.

[GiftsForYouBiz]

Okay, I'm curious, if tabs are such a big deal, where was everyone when NetScape 7 came out?

I'm also curious, if the browser has to be reinstalled (for whatever reason), do all your extensions have to be reinstalled too?

Will major upgrades continue to allow backward compatibility with previous extensions? Is there, or will there be an extension-to-version matrix?

When it becomes widespread enough to gain the attention of the hacker department, will the security of FireFox be able to withstand any more than any other software that has ever been in the spotlight? I believe the only browser that you may not have to worry about (as much) will be one that isn't in a spotlight.

FireFox will have its fair share of patches; you can't avoid it if you have continuous development.

Who are extensions written by? Any developer that can develop one? That has a development kit? Or just the FireFox development team? If it's open source, and any developer that can add one can, there's a door there for hackers to step through.

IMO, the best way to prevent being hacked is knowledge; and having a good secure browser is only a part of it. Most casual end users just want to surf (I could name a few within my family); they don't want to learn about security or upgrades or patches. Unfortunately, just driving without learning to drive first can be a bit dangerous.

[danno]

Somewhere along the line, Netscape bloated out.
Firefox is only 4MB. Netscape outshone IE for
quite a while before Microsoft realized what
the Internet was.

The history of the two browsers is well documented.

Firefox is not Netscape.

Imagine if you could go back in time and correct
all of the problems with the early browsers
and keep their footprint small and their
performance stellar. That is what Firefox is.
It is the browser that would have been built
had developers known what they know today.

I recently upgraded from 0.9.2 to 0.9.3
without incident.

It depends what extensions you have installed.

Here is a support answer I gave at www.firefoxie.net
Keep in mind that if you start fresh with an
install at www.firefoxie.net, you will likely
not encounter any upgrade issues, or need to
reinstall any extensions.

Therefore this info is primarily for people who
put their Firefox together in an adhoc configuration.

Should you encounter a problem with an extension,
information is provided to help you uninstall the
problem extension without having to delete everything.

Older versions of Firefox stored data in
C:\Program Files\Mozilla\Firefox

Now data is stored in two places:
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
and
C:\Documents and Settings\yourcomputername\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox

What's the difference?
The second location is where add on extensions are installed
C:\Documents and Settings\yourcomputername\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default.z5t\extensio ns

You can view/delete them individually.
If you are upgrading from an old version of an
extension you may find that you have two versions
of the same extension installed.

If you are upgrading or uninstalling Firefox it is
recommended that you check out this website:
Installing Firefox 0.9.x (WinXP)
http://momentum.insertdisc.com/archives/2004/06/30/installing_firefox_09x_winxp.html

I suggest that you start with a fresh install
at www.firefoxie.net

Everything at firefoxie.net will work flawlessly.

Also, please note that there is a bug in older versions
of Firefox that prevent you from installing multiple
extensions.
You have to install one extension, close Firefox, then
reopen Firefox. Because the problem is not universal
it can seem like a "mysterious" problem.
It is strongly suggested (do it) that you install
one extension, close Firefox, reopen Firefox,
then move on to the next one.
How's that for a diplomatic answer?

I have tried to use only proven extensions at
firefoxie.net However, for experimental installation
of extensions, I've also provided a link to an excellent
extension uninstaller that you can add to Firefox.

Even when the extension uninstaller in Firefox will not
work, this one will work. Your extension data is located
in the following folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\yourcomputername\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default.z5t\extensio ns

You can view/delete them individually.

As for security, if you type about:config in the browser
address bar you will see that the user can control features
of the browser that hackers might be interested in exploiting.
Hackers usually take advantage of things that are not generally
open to the end user, if everything is open to the end user,
and the end user can simply turn something on or off, there
isn't the attraction or challenge to hack it. Woop dee doo,
you hacked in to a feature. It's open source. The user turned it off.
Not as exciting as hacking into something the user has no
control over.

Dan

[GiftsForYouBiz]

Great info danno! It is now a great resource; and much appreciated.

Thank you.

BTW, due to a previous discussion on WPW, I also installed FireFox. But then, as a web developer, I also run IE, Opera, and old & new NS. So, that was great information. Thanks again.

I just don't see my dad changing anytime soon ;)

[danno]

Glad to be of help :)

BTW if anyone needs to run Firefox in Kiosk Mode
I found this information. I haven't done it myself.

Simply go in the Mozilla Firefox directory open the chrome folder locate the browser.jar file and extract the browser.xul file. Edit the browser.xul file with an editor of your choice. If you know how XML works just remark the tags for the GUI components you don't want.

Dan

[bloodwrath]

Well I have been using Firefox for few months
but now with Windows XP SP2
im back to IE
WOW

Pop-up Blocker

No Explanations here. and WOW its works good, beats the msn and google toolbrars
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/web/sp2_popupblocker.mspx

The Internet Explorer Information Bar

When you try to download potentially harmful files from the Internet, or when Web sites try to run software on your computer without your permission, you will see warning messages.
Shows active X installs/install attempts & popups and can give u more detailed info.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/web/sp2_infobar.mspx

Internet Explorer Add-ons with Add-on Manage

Manages Active X & Browser Helpers plugins
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/web/sp2_addonmanager.mspx

For a more reading and more detailed explanations
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/features.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx

Im back to IE

[hal]

Hi, all,

Well, I for one will not give up my IE. I need to keep it around for three big reasons...

1) Every now and then I need something to remind me of why I am so much happier now with Firefox.

2) I need something to remind me of "New Coke." Check your Marketing history books ... replace "Pepsi" with "Firefox" and watch the story play out the same!

3) I never kept a bottle of New Coke. Rabbifratz! I hear they sell well as collector's items. Maybe I can do the same thing with IE...

Hal

[synergytheory]

I switched to FireFox a little while ago, and I have successfully managed to get everyone in the office to switch aswell and they all love it :) and most have switched their home PCs to FF aswell.

I love FF tabs, I use the Tabbrowser Extension...only ONE browser window opens, everything else opens into new tabs, even if I click on the FF button in my quick launch it'll open a new tab, I LOVE THAT!. With IE I couldn't tell what was what in the taskbar, I have to have at least 8 windows open in the taskbar at all times, you can image the mess with all the IE windows and 8 apps open.

Microsoft won't be making any major updates to IE until Longhorn comes out [apparently], I really hope they come up with something sooner, not coz I would ever use IE again, but cause it might get the average users to update their browser, which would be great. I have my fingers crossed that the next IE will follow web standards.

[DrTandem1]

Yes, I have always liked Netscape (Mozilla) better than IE. However, I strongly recommend to keep your IE browsers and download the security patches. Why? Because over 90% of your clients' visitors use IE. So, you should make sure that it looks and performs the way you want on IE as well as other popular browsers.

Not only that, but most of your clients probably use IE. When they ask you about a feature or some other rendering question, you will be in a better position to answer their questions and walk them through tasks.

The good news is, IE will accept almost any HTML tossed at it. Missing tags, extra tags, etc. won't bother it much of the time. The same can't be said of Mozilla. This is good news, because, if it looks good using a Mozilla browser, it probably will look good on IE. However, you should still check.

[cooper]

...I finally switched to Firefox and am SOOOOOOOO glad I did!

I love this grass roots movement to switch to Mozilla, or at least something other than Microsoft Internet Exploder. It really opens the doors for developers that want to use all the great new technologies like CSS2, and the DOM. MSIE hasn't been improved in three years. It's still the same feature set from the first release of version 6. The only thing Microsoft keeps doing is plugging the security holes. The effect is like plugging the holes in a cheese grader with chewing gum, one hole at a time. Not very pretty.

I have been using Mozilla since it became a browser and I have been using it exclusively for the last ten months. It's the best browser around and I hope more and more people switch to it. The trend is positive from the stats I have found. Compare the numbers from January (http://www.thecounter.com/stats/2004/January/browser.php) of this year to July (http://www.thecounter.com/stats/2004/July/browser.php).
It shows a gain in market share for Mozilla browsers, especially if you add up the Netscape versions 6 and up, which are based on the Mozilla browser. Also encouraging is the increase in Safari browsers.

I love to see IE's deathgrip on the browser market slip as it just means a more level playing field and an overall better experience for developers and users alike.

GO MOZILLA!!!!

[clambam]

I too got scared about the security issues and installed Firefox too. Like everyone else here who uses it, I love it! I do have one beef with it though.

I burn CDs as marketing tools and mail them out. I've set it up so that a Flash file which has been converted to an executable autoruns when the CD is played. The executable contains links to various MPG animations. When you click a link your default media player should open and play the animation. That worked fine when I had IE as my default browser. Now, with Firefox installed, clicking a link causes Firefox to run and open a tab for the animation -- but it comes up with an error message and no animation! I know it works right on IE computers. Anybody hazard a clue as to what I should change?

[DrTandem1]

I think everyone should slow down before jumping on the bandwagon. Mozilla has security flaws, too. They just haven't been exploited. I wouldn't start getting that warm and fuzzy feeling just yet:

http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3389941

[Keimos]

I agree with most of the above but I do find the graphics rendering of Firefox slow. The tools and stuff are also great. I think it is better than Opera but have any of you tried AvantBrowser?

It is IE with bells and whistles and is currently still free. (You might be persuaded to download RoboForm)

Personally I use all of the above, especially when testing the look of my sites.

It was mentioned aboved that CSS did look different, but that is down tho the Web Designer, as all of the browsers support CSS and if you code right then you will get the same appearance in all of them.

[DrTandem1]

Clambam,

Firefox does not come with all the bells and whistles installed. You need to add the plug-ins you want, regardless of what you had/have working on IE.

[Keimos]

Firefox does not come with all the bells and whistles installed. You need to add the plug-ins you want, regardless of what you had/have working on IE.

I know that but that enables customisation. What we as individuals have to realise is that the majority of people are basically computer illiterate and they want whats most available and easiest to use.

"We are all lazy, some just more lazy than others"

[clambam]

Thanks Dr. T but that's not my problem. I don't want Firefox to run at all when you click one of the links. The demo isn't running in a browser; it's stand-alone. Media Player should run, not Firefox. I disassociated the file types under Firefox Options, but it still happens. Suggestions?

Marc

[DrTandem1]

Clambam, Which browser is the default?

[clambam]

I've set Firefox as the default. I suspect resetting to IE will solve my problem, but as I said, I prefer this browser.

Marc

[DrTandem1]

The plug-in is associated with the browser. Which ever browser you have set as the default will determine which plug-in is activated.

If you are sending these CDs out to prospective clients, it is possible that they are missing a plug-in that is required. Flash is fairly common, so it most likely won't be much of a problem.