Should I Switch to FireFox?

[jbbrown211]

Are there any drawbacks to having firefox? My firned downloaded it and is having no issues, I am still running IE. Any reason not to make the switch?

[rjfvillarosa]

I dont know of any reason not to make the switch, for me it is all about browsing habits. I am still using IE and I practice safe browsing habits, there are fewer security issues with FireFox but unfortunately as the browser becomes more popular I am sure this will change.

[peekaboo]

why not run the portable version first?
it doesn't need installing and can run off your usb stick too.
get it here.

[jayb1234]

One thing would be that there are a lot of sites that don't work right in firefox.

Another is that you will still need IE in order to get updates from Windows Update.

However having both of them on your machine won't cause any problems.

A lot of people run both of them and some have other browsers installed along with them with no issues.

If you like Firefox go ahead and install it.

But you do need to keep the IE for at least updates.

[als814]

If you don't like it, you can always uninstall it is the way I look at it. Tabs (before IE 7 came out) and Adblock made sure I could never go back.

[jimmyrules712]

theres no real reason to not use it. You will still have IE on your PC, so you can use both.

There is a firefox extension that allows you to open an IE page in a firefox tab, so sites that need to be opened in IE can..while still running firefox. It's pretty nice, it even works for windows updates.

[(51)]

Yes. You will enjoy the themes, extensions and customizing.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by jbbrown211 Are there any drawbacks to having firefox? My friend downloaded it and is having no issues, I am still running IE. Any reason not to make the switch?

No real reason not to. Besides, you won't know how you feel about it until you try it.

If you do get FireFox, remember to install FasterFox to speed your browsing up a bit.

Opera is another nice alternate browser to consider.

Cricket

[kev7555]

Firefox is great, but keep in mind the previous warning that you must use IE to receive Windows updates.

I usually run both Firefox and IE on customer machines. At home I have gone back to using Internet Explorer for most browsing. Good security practices keep it running as well as any other browser.

-Kev

[cadlewv]

How about the main reason being that it's a relatively small program. Probably a lot less useless code lying around in it. And I have been using FF for almost a year now, exclusively (w/exception of windows updates), and I have only run into one or two sites that it can't load. And if a site can't be loaded using FF, it's already way behind the times, or its creator doesn't care about 15-20% of the market. It gets patched a lot faster than IE also.

[rjfvillarosa]

To everyone who thinks FireFox is the answer to all the internet browsing problems, you should have a read of the page linked to in this post from another thread:

Originally Posted by cmillar6 here is an interesting link comparing firefox to explorer..... http://mywebpages.comcast.net/Suppor...efoxMyths.html

It certainly opend my eyes.

[cadlewv]

I would say that the page was created by a pretty biased person (on the MS side). In the security section it lists all of FF security holes. Where are the IE security holes to compare it to? I'm sure that FF maybe isn't as perfect as some of us like to think it is, but it still wins my vote of confidence. And IE is still bigger, and there are way more MS haters than Mozilla haters, which will mean it will always carry a larger target on its back.

And as I stated on another thread, I am by no means a MS hater. I thoroughly enjoy most of their products and have been beta testing several pieces of their software (pre-public beta). Hell, I even think very highly of Gates and what he personally stands for. Still doesn't mean I like IE better than FF. I am keeping my eye on IE7 though, and like what I see so far.

As far as acid2's test... look at IE7s result of the acid 2 test. Looks worse than FF 1.5.0.5's.

[Cricket]

Nice link rjfvillarosa. I found the reference to "FireFox fanboys" to be pretty amusing...I didn't realize that even internet browsers have fanboys. Funny.

Cricket

[rjfvillarosa]

I wish I could take credit for the link Cricket but I actually read it in someone else's post.

[mb26]

Originally Posted by rjfvillarosa To everyone who thinks FireFox is the answer to all the internet browsing problems, you should have a read of the page linked to in this post from another thread: It certainly opend my eyes.

that site is more biased than fox news. its worse than those PSU calculators which calculate 30% more than the theoretical maximum of all components' theoretical maximum power draw. and pays no attention to rails, quality etc. oh yea, on a site selling PSUs too.. :gasp:
example.

Myth - "Firefox is Bug Free"

never heard anyone claim that. if u can't tell they know nothing, then you only have yourself to blame.. many of the 'myths' are simply over-exaggerated trash that one n00b has said once on the internet.
definition 'A myth, in popular use, is something that is widely believed but false.' ..most on that site aren't widely believed atall.

Myth - "Firefox supports Extensions and Internet Explorer does not" - Example Reality - Internet Explorer has supported Extensions since 1999 in Internet Explorer 5 known as Add-Ons.

..and if u actually look at the link, the intenet explorer 'extensions' are actually separate programs. At best, programs which install toolbars (yay). nothing like FF extensions.
And then there are a whole bunch that go on saying how opera does XYZ better, ignoring the fact that it does XYZ better than IE. and if FF doesn't do something 'perfectly' then the fact that it may do far better than IE is totally ignored.. yes, browser fanboyism definately exists. when theres a clear choice in computing, there are fanboys.
sites like this are just silly. if they don't like IE, fine. but the clear aim of people like this is to stop people even *trying* FF, stifling choice.

I have no problem with IE security (now!!), and IE7 will fix the tabs issue and RSS, but extensions mean that u can fix virtually anything u don't like about FF out of the box. and i won't ever use a browser full-time without an ad-blocker again. and i'm not going to use a bunch of poor 3rd party apps (or god-forbid, toolbars) alongside it either.. opera9 is better out of the box (and has the zoom), but a bit buggy atm, and doesn't have the extensions advantage. i use opera/FF about 40-60 atm.
and who needs to use windows update anyway? auto updates?

[ztx]

For updates, you could use a 3rd party site like, Windiz: http://windowsupdate.62nds.com/

I'm sure there was this one place that gave you updates in a whole pack, can't seem to remember what it was called at the top of my head...

I think it boils down to what the user wants. I use FF 98% of the time and IE the other 2%, I just think FF is more user friendly but thats me. In todays world I don't think we will ever see a 100% secure browser, there will always be someone trying to hack away at them all. Bottom line is keep your equipment and software updated and surf safely.

[rjfvillarosa]

mb26 I did not write that article I just posted a link to a page I found interesting considering all the FireFox versus IE wars that are out there.

[mina27]

I have switched to Firefox recently because there was a problem with my IE. Jayb1234 was right, some web pages are not compatible with Firefox....There was once when I wanted to play my fav game from shockwave but it does not support Firefox...

[Kareeser]

Firefox supports shockwave I believe you have to reinstall it again from the flash website...

Although... if Firefox usage keeps rising, then we may soon see pages that don't load properly on IE, but do on Firefox

[mina27]

oh really? I will try that, thanks...

[colin]

Originally Posted by Kareeser Although... if Firefox usage keeps rising, then we may soon see pages that don't load properly on IE, but do on Firefox

won't happen unless firefox develops a new language. internet explorer requires less tags to work. and firefox requires all the ie tags and then some.

[jimmyrules712]

IE doesn't require good HTML, you can code a page incorrectly and IE still show it how you wanted it to. Firefox requires HTML coding more to HTML specifications. So when a page is coded and checked in IE and it works fine, it may not work in firefox.

In my html classes we always have to check our work using netscape or firefox because IE won't show your mistakes. Thats why there are pages out there that look great in IE, but terrible in Firefox, its not thr browsers fault, its the developer.

[cadlewv]

You must have not read my post above with the acid2 test results for IE7. Much worse than FF.

[glc]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=109&tag=nl.e539

[jimmyrules712]

Originally Posted by cadlewv You must have not read my post above with the acid2 test results for IE7. Much worse than FF.

I read it, but I don't agree with it. I don't know what acid2 tests look at but I do know, I have taken a webpage I made and purposely put errors in it, and IE showed it as if the errors weren't there while firefox read the errors and showed the page with the errors. And it's my University professors, not I, who make us check our work in FF and Netscape.

And that is all I was claiming with my statement.

Plus, that page does more to promote Opera than FF. Every place where IE is lacking compared to FF, instead of giving FF credit, they promoted Opera or a different browser to maximize FF criticism. Yeah they had facts on there, but that page was definitely made by an IE 'Fanboy' who took factual data and did his best to present it in a way that promoted his biased view. I think he exaggerated the importance or unimportance of firefox advantages and weaknesses, such as the extensions thing.

FF does have its issues, and it’s far from as perfect as some people claim it to be. But going by that webpage, FF should be the worst browser in existence, and I think that is going too far.

Another thing about that page is that we refuted a lot of IE weaknesses by saying "with this toolbar..Or this add-on, IE is just as good or better".
But normal users aren't prone to look for toolbars, add-ons, or enhancements. I think the only good comparison is one comparing built in features that come originally packaged with it.

So if you compare FF to IE straight up, with no add-ons or extensions installed, I would pick FF in a heartbeat. For an advanced user who has the technological ability to install add-ons and tweak IE to perfection, then IE could be better.

For now, I pick FF or Opera, especially when advising people I know are prone to security problems or bad browsing habits. When IE7 comes out, I may change.

[HAL9000]

Originally Posted by jimmyrules712 Another thing about that page is that we refuted a lot of IE weaknesses by saying "with this toolbar..Or this add-on, IE is just as good or better". But normal users aren't prone to look for toolbars, add-ons, or enhancements. I think the only good comparison is one comparing built in features that come originally packaged with it. So if you compare FF to IE straight up, with no add-ons or extensions installed, I would pick FF in a heartbeat. For an advanced user who has the technological ability to install add-ons and tweak IE to perfection, then IE could be better. .

I don't know about that... there are a lot of things that people say you have to do this and that with FF to be able to have the browsing that you want, while with IE it's pretty well click and view the page since pretty well every site will work with IE, and as mentioned, some have FF issues.

You're right, they both have their issues and FF will see theirs rise as more and more people use them.

I use IE exclusively with Adsubtract and it serves me well.... Yes, I do have FF on my flash drive for when I need a browser... and yes, I have the tabs turned OFF... most annoying feature ever LOL.

Originally Posted by cadlewv I would say that the page was created by a pretty biased person (on the MS side). In the security section it lists all of FF security holes. Where are the IE security holes to compare it to? I'm sure that FF maybe isn't as perfect as some of us like to think it is, but it still wins my vote of confidence. And IE is still bigger, and there are way more MS haters than Mozilla haters, which will mean it will always carry a larger target on its back.

Umm.. from a biased point of view then, why would Opera get mentioned several times as superior to either browser?

[Kareeser]

Because the author isn't pro-IE, he/she is anti-FF. Finding another browser, IE or not, would still make Firefox look bad

At any rate: I coded a page with CSS, and tuned it to how I wanted it to look in Firefox. Imagine my surprise when the page was slightly distorted in IE...

[HAL9000]

That sounds like too much effort to me

[cadlewv]

Well, good fun to see PCMech Supporters also not in total agreement on which one is better. Same type of argument as AMD vs. Intel. In the end, we'll all use the one that we like the best, and probably be happy with it.

Good conversation.