Firefox Hits the Ground Running

Originally Published: November 2004

Mozilla’s new stand-alone web browser, Firefox 1.0, has quickly stormed the web browser market. The open source browser is now posing a stiff challenge to Microsoft’s market leading Internet Explorer (IE). Since its release, Firefox has been downloaded over six million times, and according to OneStat.com, a Web traffic measurement service, Firefox now corners 7.4% of the browser market. While, this seems like a blip on the screen, many believe Firefox is posing a major challenge to Microsoft.

Firefox’s most important feature is its more stringent security features. The browser does not load ActiveX controls, so threatening spyware cannot get to your computer, and there are additional tools that help maintain privacy. Because Firefox is a stand-alone browser and not closely integrated with your computer’s operating system, it is naturally more secure than IE. In addition to greater security, many believe Firefox renders code and CSS much better than IE.

There are also many other features that make Firefox an attractive option, including:

Extensions
Firefox’s built in extensions menu allows you to quickly and easily customize your browser. You can add and remove extensions at will, opening up features that IE users only dream about.

Web Developer Extension
The easily downloadable Web Developer Extension puts many important tools at your fingertips, including the ability to instantly change screen resolution; the ability to turn images, image animations, CSS, Java and JavaScript on and off; the ability to add style sheets; and the ability to change GET to POST and vice-versa. All of these tools lead to more efficient web development.

Mouse Gestures Extension
The Mouse Gestures Extension allows you to control web surfing with a stroke of your mouse. With this extension, you can go back a page by simply right clicking the mouse and moving the mouse to the left. Other features include moving forward a page, minimizing the browser window and even closing the browser by right clicking and moving the mouse down and then to the right in one movement. Once you get the hang of using this extension, you will wish it were available in the Office Suite.

Tabbed Browsing
One of the most convenient features of Firefox is tabbed browsing. For those of us that constantly surf the web, this feature saves valuable time. As you click on a link, hold down the control key and instead of going directly to the page you clicked on, a tab appears at the top of the browser when the page opens. By simply clicking on any of the tabs across the top of the page, you can surf back and forth between multiple pages. You no longer have to click back and forth between multiple browser windows.

Bookmark Transfer and Live Bookmarks
If you have been using IE for years, you may be hesitant to start using a new browser. One reason for hesitation is set up. Firefox eliminates the time consuming problem of transferring bookmarks by automatically transferring them for you, including folders and bookmark names. Don’t worry; they will still be in IE when you want to use that browser. Along with bookmark transfer comes live bookmarks, which allow you to view the latest news headlines without surfing to the actual site. Simply click the headline of any story you want to read, and you will be taken to the text of the story.

The Firefox web browser has made a quick splash due to its many features, most notably the fact that it is open source, which allows the code to be a living document, being constantly updated and improved upon. The stability, security and code rending ability are making it a huge hit with developers and common users alike. Microsoft will surely challenge Firefox, and rumors are already floating around about IE incorporating many of Firefox’s features in its next version. However, the next version is still quite a way from being released, and Firefox will have time to capture quite a bit more than its current 7.4% market share. There is nothing to lose by downloading Firefox; it will make you a much happier – and safer – web surfer. Six million users can’t be wrong.