OK, I hate to admit it but if you have read this column for a while you already realize it…I am a Microsoft addict. I like Microsoft products like Word, Excel, Media Player, etc. I rarely go over to the dark side of other major providers of software. I did go over to the dark side of Apple last Christmas when I opted for the iPod over the Zune but that’s another story.
Well, I have a confession and since I write about computers I guess I have to go public with it. Are you ready? I am now totally pro-Firefox for my browser. Yes, I have gone over to the dark side once again.
Firefox (free at mozilla.com) was created by a company named, Mozilla. Mozilla came on the scene in 1998 and started promoting something that has been gaining support ever since and that is open source software. Mozilla originally started as the Netscape Navigator. The name is derived from “Mosaic” (the dominant browser at the time) combined with “Godzilla” the monster.
Open source is software whose code is open for alteration by the public for free. If I were a programmer and thought of a new idea to incorporate into Firefox I could write the code and implement use it with Firefox.
June 17, 2008, Firefox 3 was released to the public and I have been pounding on it ever since. I have to say that I went in with a lot of prejudice and I have never been too impressed with the previous versions. However, this one has now replaced Maxthon (my favorite for the past 6-7 years, maxthon.com) and MSIE (microsoft.com/ie) as my browser on all of my computers. In my opinion this version is really well done.
The basic internet browser looks clean and is fairly similar to all the others. The real power comes from features called “add-ons“. Add-ons allow you to add on (duh) other features designed by people from all over the world; remember open source? There are many of them that perform useful and sometimes just silly functions. We will look at a few of my favorites next time.
There is one comment in their advertising that makes me wonder how good Firefox really was in the past. They state, “With more than 15,000 improvements, Firefox 3 is faster, safer and smarter than ever before.” WOW, that is a lot of improvements - I didn’t realize they could even have that many things to work on.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 5:34 am and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.