FIREFOX DOWNSIDES
As much as Firefox is a great tool, there are some small deficiencies in this application. Gratefully, these deficiencies will be quite minor for most users, and with impending improvements, these glitches will likely be repaired within the next 12 to 18 months.
1. Images inconsistently load slower than IE. While Internet Explorer will render most web pages quickly on DSL or cable bandwidth, Firefox seems to intermittently take 30% to 100% longer to render the same graphics. This is not a consistent flaw; it seems unique to whichever website you are visiting.
2. Firefox does not integrate well with Outlook or Outlook express email. With little annoying things like viewing HTML email, or launching links from a message, Firefox does not respond quickly, and often fails to respond at all.
3. Firefox also fails to integrate with Pocket PC Windows and USB cradle synching. Although only a small percentage of users actually download web calendars and web mail into their Pocket PC’s, that small percentage will be frustrated until Firefox fixes this.
1. Images inconsistently load slower than IE. While Internet Explorer will render most web pages quickly on DSL or cable bandwidth, Firefox seems to intermittently take 30% to 100% longer to render the same graphics. This is not a consistent flaw; it seems unique to whichever website you are visiting.
2. Firefox does not integrate well with Outlook or Outlook express email. With little annoying things like viewing HTML email, or launching links from a message, Firefox does not respond quickly, and often fails to respond at all.
3. Firefox also fails to integrate with Pocket PC Windows and USB cradle synching. Although only a small percentage of users actually download web calendars and web mail into their Pocket PC’s, that small percentage will be frustrated until Firefox fixes this.
4. Firefox will not render the same web page format and styles that IE will. For example: where you would normally see a page's black table outline in IE, you will see a blurred grey outline in Firefox. Not a show-stopper, but annoying, especially to web developers.
5. Plug-Ins do not auto-install as easily as IE. To add Flash player, Shockwave, Quicktime, and Java Virtual Machine, Firefox users need to manually search and download/install these tools. Sometimes, you will even need to tweak the installs using Firefox Tools menu.
6. Power User Complaint: intermittently, HTML form buttons fail to respond to the keyboard enter button in Firefox. For example: to log into one of my online bank accounts, I normally enter my account number and PIN, and press enter to submit. In Firefox, I need to switch to my mouse to press submit. This is a small peeve for those of us who love our keyboards.
5. Plug-Ins do not auto-install as easily as IE. To add Flash player, Shockwave, Quicktime, and Java Virtual Machine, Firefox users need to manually search and download/install these tools. Sometimes, you will even need to tweak the installs using Firefox Tools menu.
6. Power User Complaint: intermittently, HTML form buttons fail to respond to the keyboard enter button in Firefox. For example: to log into one of my online bank accounts, I normally enter my account number and PIN, and press enter to submit. In Firefox, I need to switch to my mouse to press submit. This is a small peeve for those of us who love our keyboards.
PERSONAL COMMENTS
I must confess, despite my devout loyalty to Microsoft's IE7 browser, I absolutely adore Firefox! It's clean, fast, similar enough to IE for immediate transition, and better in many little aspects. I am particularly fond of the ability to save more than six tabbed home pages, group bookmarking, and personal skin options. For repetitive browsing, searching, and viewing 90% of web pages, Mozilla’s Firefox is now my preferred choice.
Most significantly: I prefer to do online financial transactions in Firefox instead of IE. Firefox is much more reliable for encrypting my passwords and protecting my online PINS.
Granted, there are times I need to switch back to IE: viewing my web calendars, synching my Pocket PC, and viewing a select few web pages that render better in IE. But outside of these few exceptions, I am now a Firefox convert.
Most significantly: I prefer to do online financial transactions in Firefox instead of IE. Firefox is much more reliable for encrypting my passwords and protecting my online PINS.
Granted, there are times I need to switch back to IE: viewing my web calendars, synching my Pocket PC, and viewing a select few web pages that render better in IE. But outside of these few exceptions, I am now a Firefox convert.
SUMMARY
Whether you are loyal to IE, Opera, Safari, Mozilla, or Netscape, the imperfect-but-lean Firefox is a highly recommended alternative. With so many helpful little features like pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, horizontal bookmarks, and integrated Google, Mozilla's Firefox is working hard to win its users affection. By focusing on the most-appreciated browsing features, the Mozilla developers are giving users a slick and lean alternative to the bloated-and-insecure Microsoft IE browser.
Is this the end of Microsoft IE? No, not by a long shot, but this is the first really serious threat to IE's market share, and perhaps the beginning of Browser War II. As of this writing, an estimated 35 million users have switched from IE to Firefox, or roughly 15% of the Internet public. Accordingly Microsoft's market share has dropped from 90% to less than 80% since Firefox was released.
Try Firefox out for yourself. Maybe you'll see why so many users are switching over.
Is this the end of Microsoft IE? No, not by a long shot, but this is the first really serious threat to IE's market share, and perhaps the beginning of Browser War II. As of this writing, an estimated 35 million users have switched from IE to Firefox, or roughly 15% of the Internet public. Accordingly Microsoft's market share has dropped from 90% to less than 80% since Firefox was released.
Try Firefox out for yourself. Maybe you'll see why so many users are switching over.
