FireFox, whats so good about it? Whats wrong with IE?

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

I've tried FireFox yesterday after reading good things about it, and after visiting 1-2 websites and seeing it doesnt even get the left/center/right alignment for paragraphs right I immediately uninstalled it. If it cant handle alignment properly I dont even want to consider using it. Reminds me of Netscrap that also screws up most website layouts.

So whats so good? It dodnt seem faster than IE, maybe even slower.

I wouldnt be surprised if it also doesnt support javascript properly like most browsers other than IE.

I dont know what's wrong with IE, as far as I know, at least since Windows 2000/XP, its the most stable, reliable and fully featured web browser. I have not once at the slightest problem (except in 98 where it freezes all the time, but everything freezes all the time in 98).

So, whats wrong with IE? Whats so good about firefox? So far IE is still my #1 choice, all others have problems with layout, javascript, styles, etc.

[coolmandingo]

you should check out crazybrowser, its free. go to www.crazybrowser.com All it is IE with tabbed windows! Since its just IE, all website will work perfectly with it, plus you get the extreme joy of using tabbed browser windows. I tried Mozilla and FireFox and all those other browsers so I know exactly how you feel, none of them can compare to Crazybrowser, check it out, you wont be disappointed. Oh yeah, crazybrowser also has bulit in pop up blockers that work like a charm, you can turn it off too if you want.

[craigmodius]

well first off I like IE too, but IE is way more permissive to things like spyware than it ever should be. Ever hear the term drive-by install? Hit the wrong webpage, and boom you've got spyware, no click required. Same things with pop-ups etc.

Alotta reasons like that is why people like mozilla/firefox. Webpage designers code their pages for IE, because everyone uses it and they're lazy, so a page where you might get pop-ups in IE, you won't get in Firefox/Mozilla.

Same thing for why those allignments don't work in FF, because Webpage designers code their pages for IE, because everyone uses it and they're lazy, so it looks like crap in FF and Mozilla, but hey it looks great in IE.

Since Microsoft thinks they're too good to follow standards like html, and people are too lazy to code their pages properly then M$ wins. And Linux and Mac users get the shaft. And the viruses and spyware keep plowing along. Good luck uninstalling IE from Windows.

Having said that I use Avant Browser which is the same sorta thing as that coolbrowser, but has a few more bells and whistles.

[gizmo1_1]

To start,

Pop-up installs
Slow
Spyware
Pop ups
Adware
Security issues

It is unfortunate the M$ doesn't play by the rules. Many webdesigners user tools to create their sites based on Proprietary IE technologies. There are a vast number of webdesigners who do not know the first line of html, but can make a site in M$ WORD and post it in the web. They are probably oblivious to the fact that their site cannot be used by almost 25% of the web community.

I realize that Firefox isn't the best at displaying IE based content, but that is a small price to pay to avoid the Ad-ware and spyware that IE allows to be installed on your system without your consent.

I realize that you can tighten the security on IE and prevent unauthorized installations, then what do you have. The same as using the alternative browsers.

I run linux as my primary OS and prefer the control rather than the bells and whistles of IE/WIN32

[TechZ]

Well Since I've never had any such problems with IE, i just keep Firefox installed, just-in-case, and simply for the tabbed windows, i hope IE 7 has that feature.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

>Pop-up installs
You can easily disable that

>Slow
Runs lighting fast on my Athlon 1700+, couldn't possibly be faster, firefix actually seemed slower but I didnt time.

>Spyware
Never had a problem with that

>Pop ups
SP2 ads a popup blocker

>Adware
Never had that problem

>Security issues
No problems here either

[InTheWayBoy]

I myself have never had any spyware issues either, but it's still nice to know that should you run across something bad you're less likely to take a dive. I think IE is much faster then FireFox, at least as far as loading and opening new windows is concerned...but that's probably because it's so integrated that no other browser could start that fast. I like the new improvements under SP2, like the always deny activex prompt and the pop-up killer...but I'm still not installing SP2 for another month or so.

The way I look at it is that FireFox is a nice replacement for users who always get infected with Spyware, and someone looking to try something new. I still will use it on a daily basis, but that's just because it's setup right now...next fresh install I'll probably drop back to IE.

On one note though, there is an extension called "Adblock" which is phenominal...lets you block ads on a webpage, but this time it's worth it! There is still some user input required, but it's pretty damn solid after that...check it out!

[+Daemon+]

IE is to old, doesnt support anything new, its crap, full of holes, its a spyware magnet, no popup blockers, no tab browsing, no rss support, its not fast, to many holes, m$ doesnt want to support it anymore or make new versions until longhorn. Load timeis the same for me in linux and windows if not faster. And thats even saying the IE is already loaded when windows starts, sad.

[xsrvx]

Well +Daemon+ pointed out most of the "whats wrong" with IE question.
The thing I personally like best about Firefox is the little search windows beside the url field. I always have mine set on Google but there are plugins for many search engines such as ebay,amazon and yahoo. The tabbed browsing is cool and the built in pop up blocker rocks. Also the fact that it is cross platform so I can use the same browser whether I am using Windows or Linux.
You can speed Firefox up by typing about:config in the url box and setting the value "browser.turbo.enabled" to true. There are some other settings there to tweak for speed but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

[WebHead]

Best reason to use FF: You don't get all that spyware crap filtering through into your PC.

I've also found that it's best to not choose one browser or another. I use FF as my primary browser. If a site doesn't work well enough, then I switch over to IE (secondary, last resort browser).

Also, on a corrupted Windows environment (corrupt from so much IE use), then you probably won't have a satisfactory FF experience. Best practice is to install FF on a clean install of Windows, just after all the SP's and patches. If it's all setup correctly, it should be a very satisfactory experience.

Note: IE is a superior browser in terms of web functionality. There's no doubt about that. However, FF is more secure with regards to spyware, and other related unwanted activity and serves the purpose of general web browsing very well.

[Ferrit]

Whats wrong with IE?
Frankly the list is too long to type here so lets go with the short list of whats right with it .

NOT ONE DAM THING

[+Daemon+]

FF:

Looks better
Runs better
Does more...
- popup blocker
- download manager
- ez plugin and theme installer
- loads faster than ie
- loads web sites faster than ie
- Dont have to worry about spyware
- great support site
- great add-on support (and site)
- Best thing, a critical updater in the browser, if theres a whole and a patch is out FF downloads it and then a red arrow appears in the upper elft hand corner, just click it and it updates it self.
- RSS support
- Loads more protocol support
- Mozilla Programming Support (mozilla api programming)

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

IE is to old, doesnt support anything new, its crap, full of holes, its a spyware magnet, no popup blockers, no tab browsing, no rss support, its not fast, to many holes, m$ doesnt want to support it anymore or make new versions until longhorn. Load timeis the same for me in linux and windows if not faster. And thats even saying the IE is already loaded when windows starts, sad.

That's weird, I find all other browsers dont support new web features and only IE does. Its also much faster than other browsers and ive never gotten spyware and does have a built in popup blocker.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Whats wrong with IE?
Frankly the list is too long to type here so lets go with the short list of whats right with it .

NOT ONE DAM THING

Right, maybe you dont know how to use it, I can find very little wrong about it and a lot of good things.

[Atodini]

I've run Firefox here for the last few months, only using IE when there is no alternative, effectively microsoft update.

I actually find it faster & more responsive than IE on this machine, though the difference is probably caused by the numerous IE plug-ins essential to avoid pop-ups, adware etc.

I admit that some web pages, including our own Atodini page do not display too well (Ours is the only one of all that we've done that is like this - will be fixed when Susie gets time to redo it (it has been unchanged for a few years now!!!)).

The moral there is "never buy a car owned by a car mechanic"

Susie now optimises all pages for all common browsers.....

On balance I find Firefox more user-friendly than IE and the tabbing is especially useful.

One satisfied customer

John