Why Firefox Could Improve Your Life on the Internet
by Bob Morse

(This article appeared in the Eureka Times-Standard, March 8, 2005)

After Microsoft's Internet Explorer won the browser wars in 2001, essentially killing off rival Netscape and taking over 95% of the market, it looked like the end of innovation for the application that most people use as their access point to the Internet. But behind the scenes a horde of intrepid volunteer programmers started banging away at a new browser based on the Netscape core. Late last year, that browser, now dubbed Firefox, had its official release and suddenly it looks like the browser wars are back. Or at least a skirmish. Since it’s release (which you can get for free at http://www.mozilla.org. Firefox has been downloaded over 24 million times, and Internet Explorer has lost 8% of its market share.

So what’s all the excitement about? Well, for one, Firefox is a very nice browser. It’s fast loading with a clean look. It’s easy to use and comes with some very nice features. The one you’ll notice right away is tabbed browsing. That is the ability to have a single browser window hold multiple sites that you access by clicking tabs instead of having multiple windows open at the same time. If you haven’t tried tabbed browsing you should download Firefox just to see how nice it is and wonder how you lived without it.

While tabbed browsing is the most obvious feature, the standard installation of Firefox also comes with a great built in search box that allows you to pick from a list of search resources such as Google, Yahoo, even Amazon and EBay. If you don’t like the default list you can add your own favorites in just a couple clicks of the mouse.

In addition to the standard features, Firefox is supported by a huge community of volunteer programmers that contribute extensions, which you can install. Some of these may seem frivolous like the Abe Vigoda watch plug-in. Others are more practical like Mapit, which allows you to highlight an address on a web page and get a map to the location from your favorite online mapping site. New extensions are constantly being created.

But one of the most vital advantages of Firefox is its security. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is full of security holes that allow hackers to slip viruses and spyware onto your system. Microsoft sends out patches and updates to plug the holes, but keeping on top of all these fixes can be a frustrating task. Firefox is far more secure right out of the box. The browser also has excellent pop-up blocking and easy-to-use cookie management.

The growing popularity of Firefox has forced Microsoft to announce a new version of Internet Explorer that will be released some time this year. This version will supposedly fix most of the current major security holes but there has been no announcement regarding new features.

Of course, not everything is perfect with Firefox, either. A few web sites are built to be functional only with Internet Explorer...something that runs counter to the open nature of the Internet anyway. Plus, you won’t be able to download Windows updates using Firefox. But since IE comes pre-installed on all Windows machines you would always have it around for those instances.

The development of Firefox is an extraordinary story in itself. The new browser is the result of the Open Source community made up of programmers donating their time to develop the best software they can. Firefox is one of the first such programs developed for the general public. Previously, most Open Source applications have been created for use by other developers. If you try and like Firefox, you should also try Thunderbird, an excellent email program by the same team. Thunderbird is full-featured, secure, and has excellent spam filters built right in. It, too, is free.

If you would like to learn more about technology that affects your life and work, stop by the monthly public meetings of the Redwood Technology Consortium. To learn more about the meetings and the RTC visit www.redwoodtech.org.