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15 Nov. 2004: Few new-gen surfers
have heard of the browser wars -- how Netscape
brought the Internet home with its startup
browser, how Microsoft came up with its own
imitation, how Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer
with Windows and how Netscape lost the battle to
unstitch Explorer from Windows. Netscape lies
buried beneath the rubble of hopes and dreams. It
has been years.
Here comes light at the end of the tunnel;
hallelujah!! Bugles were blown for the Battle of
Browsers (Part-II) on Tuesday, November 9, with
the arrival of Mozilla Firefox 1.0. Firefox took
the browser-watchers by storm. It's not too late
to be part of the Next Revolution. Go ahead,
Download it here:
You will never think of Explorer again!!
The sparkling new browser comes as a result of
years of research and development. Firefox is an
open source software, which has been developed by
the non-profit organisation Mozilla Foundation in
association with developers worldwide.
Dancewithshadows raises a toast to the revolution.
Here are some of the foxy novelties:
1. Tabbed browsing: Currently, only Opera
(the other non-Explorer browser) offers this
facility. This means, you can surf multiple pages
within the same browser window. There is no
clutter in the bottom tool bar when you open
multiple pages. By contrast, Internet Explorer
offers no such convenience. When you attempt to
close Firefox when multiple tabs are open, it pops
up an alert: Multiple tabs open: Shut browser?
This is quite user-friendly, since many of us are
hard-wired into the habit of closing IE windows
when the page is not required.
2. Automatic pop-up blocker: Till the time
website managers grow up to better standards of
civility and give up pop-up windows, this option
is a must. Currently, pop-up blocker is available
with Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you are using
the lower versions of Explorer, you will have to
install a Google toolbar or something similar to
block the annoying pop-ups. Firefox offers pop-up
blocker free.
3. Integrated websearch box: A search
window is integrated into the browser. At the top
right of the browser is a small drop-down box
where you can directly type in search keywords.
Default is a Google search. There are also options
to search through Yahoo, Amazon, eBay etc. Quite
thoughtful, indeed (Psst: There is no option for
MSN Search, but of course you can add it by
yourself -- there is an option to add search
engines.
4. Built-in RSS reader: As of now, only
Firefox ofers this. If you are using Internet
Explorer, you need a separate feed collector
software to read the RSS news feeds. In Firefox,
there is an option called LIVE BOOKMARKS, which
offers the luxury of having an RSS reader right
within your browser. I am not an RSS junkie, but
people who have used this tell us the Firefox RSS
reader is quite userfriendly, though a little
featureless. Something better than nothing :).
Perhaps we can expect more with the later
versions. After version 1.0, things can only get
better!
5. Cross-platform versatility: Whether you
are a Mac fan or a Linux aficionado, there is a
Firefox for you. Mozilla has made the browser for
non-Windows platforms as well.
6.
Addition of extensions and themes: You can add
about 117 extensions (plug-ins) and several themes
(skins) from the Mozilla website, to pep up the
looks and improve functionality.
7. Download manager: The browser
incorporates a download manager, which keeps track
of downloads.
8. No ActiveX support: Mark my word, half
the spies and trojans that are currently running
in your computer, slowing down your work and
gobbling up bandwidth came through ActiveX
controls, the unique Microsoft discovery which
made work easier for hackers. This also means that
the sites which are intensely ActiveX-based won't
display properly in your Firefox screen. On my
part, I have decided to give up on ActiveX-based
sites. If I HAVE to visit some such site, I can of
course open Internet Explorer. Though fox-enamoured,
I cannot uninstall Explorer -- Microsoft has
ensured that IE cannot be removed from Windows
even if you try without damaging the operating
system.
9. Fewer spyware attacks: Most of the
spyware and adware have been written specifically
for Internet Explorer. At least for the time
being, there are no Firefox-specific attacks. But
don't count on this one too much; once Firefox
gains steam, the hackers will turn their attention
to you.
10. Cleaner interface: There are no stupid
buttons pushing you to download Windows Media or
go to Hotmail. There is no Microsoft promo (or any
other promo) anywhere to be seen. Even the request
to contribute for Firefox development is only on
the Mozilla website; not on the browser. Buttons
are fewer and the toolbar is clean and the options
mostly similar to that of Internet Explorer.
11. Better FIND option: Type Control-F and
an unobtrusive search box opens at the bottom
left, which does not block the page view unlike
conventional dialogue boxes. It also includes a
highlight option ie; if you want to highlight all
words with BUSH, it will do so for you.
12. Small setup file: The setup file that
can be downloaded from the Mozilla server is quite
compact, making it convenient to download over a
weak internet connections. The size is only 4.7
MB. This is important, since to lure more users,
Firefox needs to remain lean and mean to enable
quick downloads.
13. Easier migration from Explorer: The fox
knows its limits. To migrate habitual IE users to
its cave is no easy task. The options file has a
section called Help for Internet Explorer
users" which helps you make the transition
easy. Besides, when installing, Firefox can copy
your FAVOURITES and even cookies to the new
browser, so you don't have to do it all over
again.
14. One smart thing I noticed: Like
Explorer, Firefox asks you if you would like it to
be the default browser. When you say YES, all
icons of Internet Explorer are instantly changed
to Firefox's! Even the INTERNET button (Browse the
Internet) on the desktop and the start menu
changes to Firefox. This means once you install
Firefox as default browser, Explorer is
practically out of sight, out of mind! Clever foxy
trick! After this, if you need to open Explorer,
you have to go thought the program menu and click
on the program.
VERDICT: Go for it. Junk IE. Leaner,
smarter, well thought-out, Firefox gives a run for
money to Explorer, Opera and other tail-eners.
Sign up for the revolution and its evolution.
BY JM
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