Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

Browser wars began back in the dinosaur age of the Internet. I remember the mid-1990's when Microsoft duked it out with Netscape. Both companies released new software versions often, and they didn't always work well.

Netscape is still around, although the browser has seemingly taken a backseat to their new social news portal. And of course, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is still considered king by many Internet users.

However, recent years have brought new challenges in the form of competition to Internet Explorer. Alternative web browsers have popped up all over the Internet. The most popular of these is, without a doubt, Mozilla Firefox.

Although it appears on the surface that all of these companies are in cut-throat competition, there is an interesting dynamic at play. America Online was the parent company of Netscape. Mozilla Corporation and Foundation, the good people who make FireFox, grew out of Netscape - in part due to AOL scaling back interaction with the company. There's a definite Firefox - Netscape link. If that wasn't enough, in 2006, Microsoft offered Mozilla's software engineers space in their Redmond, WA facility for future open-source development. Firefox has a tangled history, indeed!

Firefox is an outstanding web browser. It has all of the "normal" features of any web browser - it surfs, bookmarks, and keeps track of where you've been. Users can select their preferences regarding cookies, passwords, and security. In these aspects, Firefox is both basic and excellent.

Users who want "more" from their browser can customize Firefox in any number of ways. There are themes, extensions, dictionaries, search engines, and plug ins. Additionally, since Firefox is open-source software, users may develop customizations of their own and upload them to the Fx add-on site.

Themes allow users to choose custom colors, fonts, buttons, and more with the click of a button. There are hundreds of themes to choose from. If you're the ultimate Red Sox fan - there's a theme for you. There's a theme for Christians, a theme for cat lovers, and even a theme called "Pimpzilla".

Extensions, dictionaries, search engines, and plug-ins all enhance what Firefox starts out with. Be sure to pick up the Adobe Acrobat reader, and if you're into games, you'll want Shockwave. If you write a lot, you'll want a dictionary extension, and if you like the convenience of multiple search engines, you can add the ones you like to the search bar. Firefox comes with Google Search as its "standard". The extensions offer you a way to make Firefox into whatever you need on the web - there are tools for bloggers, for Ebay addicts, for network geeks, and even games! Be sure to get a utility called NoScripts - it adds powerful security features to the browser.

The Firefox interface allows you to "tab" windows, or open an entirely new browser - very handy features if you like to go all over the Internet at once! The tabs allow for easy switching between websites. You can also add any number of tools to Fx if you're into RSS feeds or social bookmarks - many can simply be dragged and dropped to one of the Firefox toolbars. Firefox also has a handy (and customizable) update feature - if you'd like, it will routinely update itself and the extensions you have installed.

Internet Explorer, on the other hand, comes with nearly every PC sold these days. You don't have to go anywhere to get it. Microsoft will maintain it as part of Windows Update - you never have to think about it, unless an entirely new version is released. There are several versions of IE popular today. Many people still use version 6 (myself included), even though IE7 has been released for some months. In fact, there are still people who use IE5 and even 4! Although Microsoft will download updates, they won't install a new version of the software unless you specifically request it.

Internet Explorer offers many of the same features as Firefox. It browses, bookmarks, keeps history, deals with cookies... all of the "normal" broswer functions. Additionally, it allows plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat. However, since IE is proprietary and owned by Microsoft, extensions are not as widely available. Most Internet Explorer extensions focus on toolbar additions, text highlighting, and tools related to ActiveX.

In Internet Explorer version 6, new windows must be opened if you want to see more than one web page at a time. In IE7, tabs are integrated so that you can switch back and forth within one browser window.

Internet Explorer has a longstanding reputation for having "issues", and the latest releases are no exception. Both version 6 and version 7 have had major security flaws, causing Microsoft to scramble to fix them. Additionally, both versions of Internet Explorer have major problems with rendering CSS - the current standard for designing websites. Granted, Microsoft has fixed many problems and has become much more standards-compliant - but web designers must still plan and code around Internet Explorers little quirks.

Internet Explorer does have some very cool features in Version 7. For example, it sports an integrated feed reader. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a feed system commonly used by sites which are updated frequently, such as news, sports, and blogs. The site owner can create a feed of some or all of the site's content. By using a "feed reader", the end user can quickly scan all of the new content on the site. There are many feed readers available (Firefox offers several as extensions), but having one directly in the browser is quite nice.

Internet Explorer unfortunately doesn't do so well at keeping spyware off your computer. IE offers a "protected mode" and Microsoft recommends using their AntiSpyware program. I have found that Firefox does a much better job with the NoScripts extension. When I was using Internet Explorer, I would occasionally pick up spyware - even though I don't go to sites where that might be a problem. Since switching to Firefox with NoScripts, I've not had any trouble at all.

All things considered, there will be people who are dedicated Internet Explorer users for life. There are plenty of Firefox fanatics out there. Some use the other browsers - Netscape, Opera, Flock, Lynx, and more. The browser you choose these days can be as unique as you are! Customize and make it your own. I recommend that you try several browsers to see what works best for you!