Most of us Windows users find Internet Explorer already installed on our computers. A little voice inside our head says: “Internet? I want to explore that. Oh Look! An Internet Explorer!”
Our lives are therefore spent in ignorance of a better browser – one that is loaded with convenient features, a simple and clean interface, and offers us a spyware and virus-free existence. Oh yeah, and it’s a lot faster – but I don’t know if that’s important to you.
IE currently has about 77% of the market when it comes to internet browsing. Firefox is at 15%, though it is very young, and is growing significantly. With the release of Firefox 3 though, and as people begin to rage against the machine, things may change drastically.
Firefox is clean and easy to use. Don’t believe me? Install it. It will not ask you to verify that your windows version is not pirated, it will not ask you to backup everything you hold dear and to close everything you a running, and it will not ask you to restart your computer. Firefox installs rapidly, a portent of your browsing experience for the rest of your life.
Studies done on graphic and media-intensive websites show that Firefox loads a few seconds faster than IE. Also, more intuitive than its competitor, Firefox downloads and displays text first, prioritizing what is most important and least important, displaying the page before it downloads all its components. IE’s slower approach is much more frustrating.
The coolest and most important feature of Firefox is their many add-ons. Crafted by software developers, both internal and external, these add-ons function like widgets, tailoring Firefox to your custom specifications. For example:
Roboform: While Firefox, like most other browsers, remembers your passwords, Roboform goes a step beyond. Many websites ask you for your billing information, and ask you to fill out a whole host of forms each time you register to a new site. Roboform has you fill out a form once, and, with the click of the button, fills out any new form you encounter. This feature is convenient and saves a tremendous amount of time.
Foxmarks: If you, like me, bookmark your favorite sites right and left, you will love this add-on. Foxmarks automatically saves your bookmarks and allows you to access your bookmarks from a different computer. Thus, in the event of a computer crash, or the more likely event that you are not at your own computer, you can still show your friends your favorite website, or make sure to track that ebay item you had your eye on.
Adblock Plus: Know those annoying ads that practically pop off the screen while flashing bright colors? Ever have one of those constantly distract you while trying to watch an online video? Right click, and adblock makes it go bye-bye.
The best part of trying Firefox is that you have nothing to lose. It installs so quickly that there is no reason not to try it out for yourself.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuTgi8TP-p0]
For more info, check out these two highly detailed blog posts:
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