FIREFOX

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I was wondering, is Firefox really all that better than IE?
I downloaded it, it doesn't seem that way. I saw on these forums there was a update that let's u enhance download speed for Firefox? What is it? And is Opera better than Firefox?
It's a matter of preference between Firefox and Opera (I tend to use Opera more), but both are better than IE imho.

There's just something inherent in IE that bothers me - like all Microsoft products, something about the usuability pisses me off. Like the way useful or important features are buried deep in the app, or missing completely, or Microsoft's assumption that you're an idiot who doesn't know which end of the mouse to use.

I only touch IE when I absolutly have no other choice.
It certainly is a matter of preference between Firefox and Opera. Though, I do make my Firefox function surprisingly like Opera (such as having it so that I open the window after closing and it's my last browsing session). I use Firefox mainly because I'm a Gaiafagette, and the Gaia Toolbar only works on Firefox, so... Plus, something about the way Opera does downloads irks me a little.

The thing about IE is that it isn't up to the standards of the other two. WIP would be able to shed better light on the matter (and I believe he did in another topic), but it's all about how the browser interprets the information that a web page gives it. IE still is unstable about interpreting that data, most particularly in terms of CSS (which is the code that tells the browser the design of the page, such as color, width, height, and other such things).

I'll use them interchangeably, but if I can use Firefox, I usually will.
IE is slow, clumsy, and ignores web standards, thus setting back the development of the web and web standards for years. Not to mention, as the browser being used by most of the population, it is the one that is most often targetted by writers of malicious code, so any security issues it has is going to be a much bigger deal than a security issue in Firefox, or even moreso, Opera.

Most of this doesn't mean much to the end user, though. The interface is really the only difference to users, and most users are so used to IE's interface that they don't care to bother switching to Firefox or Opera. Those that do tend to be permenant--when I have to use a computer that doesn't have Opera installed, I practically forget how to navigate the web. I'm bloody dependent on my mouse gestures for moving back or forward, not to mention inline searching and custom, address-bar searches.

More importantly, though, switching tells Microsoft that they have to get on the ball and work more on meeting the needs of the modern internet. Internet Explorer 8 supposedly passes the Acid2 test and goes into standards mode by default. I guarantee you that neither of those things would be true if Firefox wasn't doing so well. Sticking with a mediocre browser because it's not worth the trouble of switching tells the browser's maker that it's okay to be mediocre.
I only switched to Firefox when I had to download IE7 (IE7 is ugly...), and I found an IE6 skin to put on Firefox and cloned the layout. Sadly, the skin doesn't work with Firefox 3, but eh I've adapted now.

There's really no difference in terms of actual browsing (it's not like Firefox is three times as fast or anything), but in my limited experience Firefox has a few advantages I've noticed:

  • Pretty much everything on the web will work in Firefox. If it doesn't work in Firefox, it's bad web design.
  • Bookmark organization is better (got a new computer? No problem, just export your bookmarks)
  • Firefox is free and open-source, which doesn't affect you at all but makes you feel good to support it.
  • Extensive plugins from the userbase that can do a LOT of random stuff.
  • Type "about:config" into the URL bar. Yeah, I don't know what any of that does, but it's good to have options.

I've never really looked into Opera because Firefox works swimmingly for me. Either should be better than IE, though. There's pretty much consensus on that. There's no really big single reason to switch off of IE, but there are so many small reasons, and that should be enough.
For the record, pages do load faster in Firefox and Opera than Internet Explorer, sometimes significantly so. But it's way more noticeable on low-end computers. At work I've showed some of the users how to install and use Firefox, and their performance increase is highly noticeable.
WIP
I'm not comfortable with any idea that can't be expressed in the form of men's jewelry
11363
Typically, IE works faster on a Windows machine than Firefox, but that has more to do with the fact IE is integrated into Windows now. Startup time is faster than everything else.

As far as benchmarking and such go, Firefox 3 is quite fast.

Also, Firefox is the preferred browser of this site. RMN3 is going to be more thoroughly tested with Opera and IE7 minimum. IE8 is also pretty neat.
Fireshot for Firefox is slick (one of the plugins) - it can take screenshots of entire pages in a single click. Great for web development.
I remember a topic about Firefox not so long ago about a plugin that can make Firefox even faster, anyone know what it is?
NoblemanNick
I'm bringing this world back for you and for me.
1390
Your thinking of Down Them All! its a download accelerator for FireFox it was discussed about on the site not to long ago.
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