Mozilla - What's the big draw?
 

I have noticed that there are alot of users out there that prefer to use Mozilla's Firefox over MS IE. What are the big differences? Why is one better than another? Thanks.

;)

usually experiance is best but I'll list a couple features.

Built in Pop-up Blocker default=on
Tabbed browsing...never need to open a new window again (unless you want to) and links open in the backround.
google search toolbar to your right...(also can be used for several other search engines)

Live bookmarks (RSS+bookmarks=awesome)
Many Many Many extensions that add power if you want.
windows binary only 4.7 megabytes
not integrated with your operating system + good design = less security problems

spyware begone
loads text before images (makes it somwhat faster)


So in general alot of us find it "better" then IE....I personally have not used IE in years so I would not know (linux user)


edit: oh and don't forget pornzilla says it's the best browser for porn!

Besides what was already mentioned, the other big draw for me are the extensions that are available.

Stuff like bugmenot(http://extensions.roachfiend.com/index.php) being just a right click away to get into the sites that need registration, and also forecastfox (http://forecastfox.mozdev.org/ ) which puts weather.com in the corner of my browser are very convenient and nice to have.

There a couple of main reasons.
1) Extensions
I.E. WeatherFox (displays weather.co, weather in the status bar), Adblock (block images from websites by right clicking on an image, by blocking several ad sites you can have websites completely free of ads forever as they keep that one adserver).
2) tabbed browsing - enough said, very nice feature
3) Security, no spyware/adware installed without you knowing. Prevents websites from installing software without warning you first.
4) It isn't Microsoft
5) Optimized builds - I am using the M3 Moox build of Firefox which is faster than Firefox and really nice.

basically the awesome functionality needed for an internet savvy individual mixed with the userfriendlyness needed for the average user. security is a major bonus, also i just dont trust MS.


the only thing that you should really note is the improved security and ant-spyware

All the above features are great, But the #1 reason to use firefox is NO SPYWARE. Using firefox i no longer have any need to even have adaware or spybot installed anymore.

You don't need to worry about having your browser hijacked by some Microsoft virus. It's tabbed, has a very configurable interface.

Just give it a shot for a few days. You'll probably like it.

Thanks for the first hand information.

Now...what do I do next? I install Firefox (for free...great) and do I then just leave the Explorer Icon on my screen and only use it when sites on Firefox don't open or what? Do I uninstall IE??? Is that possible or should I just unistall the icon and not worry about it?

I apologize for the stupid questions but I am curious what I should do about my IE.
Thanks in advance.

Unfortunatly you cannot uninstall IE (well technically you can but it involves way more than its worth) But I would just remove the icon and forget it exists, i havent come across a page yet that firefox doesnt work with.

Only use IE for sites that are only IE-compatible (WindowsUpdate).
Just delete the icon or forget about it.

What about Netscape? they're the ones who came up with tabbed browsing to begin with, so why is firefox better? (Besides better scripting support)

I keep IE for sites that firefox wont work with....and yes there are some...several of the sites I pay bills on wont work with firefox.

that said....in the time since I've switched I have not had one single spyware detected on either pc I use it on

I have just started using firefox, looking forward to the tabbed browsing, but somethign is wrong. When ever I click on a link it opens it in a complete new window, anyone able to tell me how to get it to open in a new tab without having to rightclick and open it that way? In the box under tab browsing its set on the middle one, a new tab in the most recent window but it still opens another window outside the browers.


Thanks

Shadowalker::: To open a link in a new tab I use my middle mouse button (wheel) to click it. I like it as that way I can decide whether to use a new window (for flash pages etc) or a new tab.

Is that what you mean?

Netscape, since the 6.x days, has been based on the Mozilla browser. AOL basically takes the Mozilla browser and rebrands it, and adds in things like mandatory AIM installation, and removes things like ad blocking.

So basically, Firefox is more free than Netscape currently. You don't get encumbered with the AOL add-ons and you get to keep your ad-free browsing.

Which for me, at least, is the biggest draw - I can't even stand to browse sites with IE, big blinking banners everywhere, things popping up or skating across the article I'm trying to read... Using FireFox and the AdBlocker extension makes the Internet a livable place once more.

You should keep IE around for hardline sites that either don't support standards or deliberately break themselves (I can't stand sites that check my browser ID and then decide I can't visit them... Let me decide for myself! Luckily, there's an extension to spoof the ID). Get the extension that lets you open links in IE, so that when you find a site like that you can deal with it painlessly without interrupting your browsing.

Happy FireFoxing!

Bingle

ya that will work, thanks marq

I used to use Opera but its just too bloated now. The joy with Firefox is that YOU control what extensions are loaded. Only put on the one's you need. My fave is the Gmail Notifier .

The Adblock extension is great for blocking unwanted ads. Just apply one of the ready made filters and add on individual filters on a one by one basis. Easy and effective. The level of customization with Firefox is awesome.

just wanted to add that after reading this thread i installed the browser and love it, the gmail extension is nice, although it took me awhile to find it and log in. thanks again all.

One final reason to use Firefox is that it adheres to web design standards, as define by W3C. Now, if you don't create webpages, that probably doesn't matter to you, but for those of us who do, it means a lot. Basically, it just means that Firefox displays webpage elements the way they were intended to be displayed. This is something IE does not do. Even if Firefox never seriously threatens IE's dominance of the browser market, if the attention it is getting forces Microsoft to make IE compliant to W3C standards, then it has performed a great service.

Actually Opera came up with tabbed browsing, not Netscape. And as stated earlier in this thread, Netscape is basically Mozilla with a bunch of commercial addons no one cares about. Just go for Firefox/Mozilla and you'll be happy

I just converted to Firefox. Holy crap. Baby, where have you been all my life?

I did replace their google search with the google toolbar extension though. And downTHEMall totally rocks.

<---- Happy camper.

I've used Firefox and really liked it... the only drawback that I've found a little annoying is some of the default plugins that already come with IE aren't with Firefox. There is a way to download third-party plugins for Firefox, but even then some aren't available...

Uh, hi all. Hope you won't mind a "rookie" question.

What's the difference between Mozilla and Firefox? I'm seriously thinking about making to the switch after reading this thread for sure. I'm just not sure which ine and all that.

Thanks.

<a href="http://lachy.id.au/dev/mozilla/firefox/campaign/5minute/challenge">Take the Firefox 5 Minute Challenge</a> Add onto the features shown there, the adblock extension which blocks ads on websites (Firefox already blocks popups by default) and the fact it is a gazillion more times secure than IE and you've got a winner.

Tabbed browsing came from either Opera or the Mozilla Project (I forget which had it first). Netscape, by that point, was already just a crappy ad-encumbered version of Mozilla.

Mozilla is a suite of components. It contains a browser, an e-mail client, an IRC client, and an HTML editor. Firefox is a standalone browser and Thunderbird is a standalone e-mail client. The Mozilla Browser and Firefox are very similar but not quite the same, and the same goes for Thunderbird and the Mozilla suite's e-mail client. Generally speaking, it's a matter of preference. In my experience, Firefox and Thunderbird are slightly more lightweight than the Mozilla Suite.

An additional note about the adblock extension: A great place to get filters for adblock is <a href="http://www.geocities.com/pierceive/adblock/">this site</a>. Just scroll down, download the .txt file at the bottom (the one with the most recent date/lowest letter) and import it into adblock while in the adblock preferences. Works like a charm.

SecretMethod70,

Thanks for the clarification. I am interested in this program. I would like the browser, ad-pop up blocker and maybe HTML editor (so I can learn). Can I customeize my components like that?

By the way, your avatar is waaaaaaaaaay too distracting (I love it), (one ass man to another). *whew* need air....

well both Mozilla the suite and Firefox have pop-up blocking and both can use the adblock extension. The HTML editor only comes with the suite. When you install the suite, you can choose which components to install (I think the browser part is required though). So, yes, you can choose to only install the browser and the editor.

As for which browser is better, Firefox or Mozilla, it's hard to say. It's one of those things where the answer can only really be found by trying both. Different people like different things in each.

I would say that Firefox is a better browser, and Mozilla is for those looking for an entire suite of web apps in one download (web,email,composer,etc).