Until just recently, I have been using Internet Explorer to find my way around the internet, just like 99.99% of the rest of the online world. It's not really because I
like IE, but I've stuck with it really from a lack of other good alternatives. I have messed around with Netscape and Opera and even a couple of other lesser known browsers in the past, but was really disappointed with each of them, and always found myself back on Internet Explorer in short order. Not too long ago I decided to step off the Microsoft bandwagon once more, and give another new browser that has been gaining momentum a try:
Firefox. Well, at first it was actually called Phoenix, then they renamed it Firebird, and now it's called Firefox. How the name evolved from a mythical flaming bird to a nickname for the red panda I'll never know, but call it whatever you like, it is easily the greatest web browser I have ever used. It's fast, simple, elegant, stylish, and highly customizable. What's not to like? The browser is very clean, straightforward, and simple. No confusing layout or menus, and even the options menus are very easy to follow. Looking for something more than the basic menu options though? Not a problem. It has the ability to easily download and install tons of additional extensions, giving the browser all kinds of added functionality. You can add RSS and news readers, web developer tools, bookmark managers, download managers, and a large variety of other tools to help you search and navigate and get the most out of the internet. At first I was a little tentative about switching browsers, because I have a couple of 3rd party tools installed on my Internet Explorer that I didn't want to lose, namely my Google toolbar and my download manager, Flashget. I installed the Google toolbar in IE mainly to block popups, but having a Google search box always sitting there has proved quite useful, as well as the form auto-complete feature it has. As it turns out, Firefox already has a built-in popup blocker
and a Google search box by default, and just a quick search through the available extensions and I also had a souped up form auto-complete option as well. But what of the download manager? Turns out there are also extensions to add Firefox support to most 3rd party download managers, including Flashget, so looks like I'm all set. But wait, there's more! As long as I was perusing the available extensions, I decided to try a few more of them out. My favorite by far is the Adblocker. Firefox already blocks popups by default, but with this extension you can actually remove banners and ads from
within webpages. That's right, it just strips out all the annoying blinking eyesores on the fly so you don't even know they're there. It's fairly simple to configure, and within minutes you get commercial free internet. Simply brilliant. I won't go into all the extensions I installed, and bore you with details on news readers or web developer tools. I'll just sum it up by saying that whatever you use the internet for, Firefox can make it easier. Firefox also has Internet Explorer beat hands down on aesthetics. By default it already looks better than IE, but you can also download new themes for Firefox, completely customizing the interface to your heart's content. Try doing
that in Internet Explorer without giving yourself a headache.
In summation, not only is there nothing that Internet Explorer can do that Firefox can't do better, but Firefox has tons of cool features that Internet Explorer can't even come close to touching. I highly recommend downloading it and giving it a try. It's simpler to use, easily customizable, highly configurable, and just plain looks cooler. Thus I give it the new Warped Core stamp of approval:
