I've been using it for 90% of my internet browsing for about a month now. The rest of the time it's Opera unless a site demands IE. Prior to that I was 50/50 Opera and IE.
I started off using NCSA Mosaic in late 1993 and switched to a beta version of the Mosaic Communications browser (maybe 0.93 beta) in 1994.
Once Mosaic released their browser (later known as Netscape Navigator), I continued using that until the Mozilla project was founded. I switched to Firefox as my primary browser maybe 18 months ago on both Mac OS X and Wintel systems.
On Wintel boxes, 98% of my web browsing is done with Firefox; the other 2% comes from a few incompatible websites, website design testing, and running Windows Update.
On Mac boxes, 90% of my web browsing is done with Firefox; I dabble a little with Safari and Camino, mostly because I have draconian adblock filtering and cookie blocking on Firefox.
Yes, I use it and I try to get all my non-computer savvy relatives to use it as well. The only time I run IE is when I want to check for Windows Updates on Micro$oft's site.
I've been using Firefox for about 6 months now. I still use IE at work and on a 2nd PC that I have that I use for the XM Satellite Radio stream. When the XM stream first came out, it only worked on IE. It supposedly works with Firefox now, but I've had some problems with it and haven't had time to try to fix it.
Firefox is a pretty nice browser. I use Opera for all of my regular browsing, as I have since early 2002, but the various Mozilla derivatives are good for when I go to sites that have Flash content I want to view (I removed that plugin from Opera for various reasons; mainly because I was tired of CPU usage being driven to 50-60% from having to render the blasted Flash ads that infest so many sites).
When I started college (and my computing degree), most of our PCs there had Netscape installed and ever since I've preferred using a Mozilla-based browser I hate Internet Explorer, but will suffer it for some sites. I mainly use Netscape as it mostly has the all-in-one feel that firefox doesn't. I mean, that it's more like an "idiot-proof device" than Firefox's ability to control many aspects of the browser, and not knowing if switching one or more preferences could fuck you up. My main gripe with Netscape is it doesn't seem to handle heavily Java laden sites very well, including some of the DVD porn sites.
I have Firefox installed, but haven't got around to really examining it. I mean, what extensions do you download and install? How many can you deal with without overloading it and ultimately slowing it down? What are the best extensions? which ones are more necessary than others? Etc, etc, etc.....
But it is or can be a big improvement. Only time (and more opinions, extensions and help) can tell.....
cykedout besides Flash and quicktime what other extensions do you need?
If you are absolutely worried about security. You should have a firewall, software firewall and protowall installed. three pronged defense. With just protowall I feel the internet just moves faster and if a site is blocked then I can decide if it is really something I want to access or just leave it be as an evil site.
I've been a little slow to switch over after the install, because the way Firefox handles tabbed browsing feels a bit clunky compared to Netscape. (Extra clicks and pokes needed to do the same thing - irritating.)
Maybe there are some configuration options I can change. Don't know yet.
There are probably better ones out there, but compared to Microsoft's piece-o-crap Internet Explorer, it's like driving a BMW vs. a Ford Focus. For porn surfing, the automatic pop-up blocking makes it a no-brainer!
God hates us all, you know it's true, God hates this place. - Slayer 1726 Posts 10/03
Posted - Jan 19 2005 : 9:18AM
Well, I don't use FireFox, but I use Mozilla (essentially the same thing). I think I use Moz for like 98% of my browsing, and I'll never go back to IE except for Windows updates...
There are some tuturials out there that walk you through changing some of the networking and browsing configuration options in Firefox that enable it to approach the page rendering speed of Opera. Mozilla is fast, but not quite as fast as Opera's rendering engine.
I've installed firefox and am not impressed with how slow it is when coming across a graphically intense page compared to IE. I do like the address bar searching better, the results are more effective.
still getting used to tabbed browsing and some of the quirks that need ironing out. (such as not seeing a flashing cursor in some forms)
Microsoft Corp. created the world's most popular operating system — one that's also heartily embraced by hackers and virus writers. And it begat the world's top Web browser, which makes it all too easy to mistakenly download and install spyware, adware and other garbage.
You'd think the world's largest software company, which presumably knows its own Windows and Internet Explorer code, would have long ago come up with something to repair PCs possessed by malicious programs.
Think again.
Though Microsoft regularly releases bug fixes, security patches and even the occasional virus-removal tool, it has only recently made programs available to help people wrangle back control of their computers after they've clicked the wrong pop-up ad, opened a rogue attachment or installed adware-packed freebies.
The company now has two free programs to help rid PCs of unwanted pests. Though Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool and Microsoft AntiSpyware show some promise, they aren't close to being magic bullets.
I tested the programs on a Windows XP (news - web sites) computer I borrowed from my wife's cousin. The 3-year-old PC, a Gateway running Windows XP Home Edition, was basically unusable.
Annoying pop-up windows, a sign of adware, were the least of its problems. The modem dialed phone numbers even though the PC was hooked up to a broadband connection. It took more than a minute to load a single Web page and often crashed minutes later.
Error messages appeared when I tried to open the Task Manager, a Windows utility that shows running programs and processes. It refused to load Windows Update, Microsoft's site for downloading security patches and other fixes.
Needless to say, the machine had not received any security updates from Microsoft in a while. To load Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool, I had to get it using another machine, load it on a USB drive and install it manually. (It's usually available through Windows Update.)
Once installed, the tool scanned the machine and reported no problems, even though there were big problems.
The tool looks for a limited number of pests, such as "Sasser" and "MSBlaster," so it didn't find the worm, "Netsky.P," that had infected this PC. The program, though, will be updated each month and will presumably become more effective.
By building its tool into Windows Update, Microsoft shows it's aggressive about snuffing out pests. But it's got to stay up to date with the threats — and send out updates as close to real time as possible. Who wants to wait until the second Tuesday of each month to fix a sick PC?
Existing computer security firms have nothing to worry about — at least for now.
Computer Associates' ezAntivirus took three hours to scan the entire system and found 19,000 infected files. After the worm was knocked out, the machine became slightly more stable and I could tackle the spyware problem.
Installation of the prerelease version of Microsoft's antispyware program, which can be downloaded free from Microsoft's Web site, was easy. The final version's price, if any, has yet to be announced.
The interface was clear and simple. I ran a thorough scan, which discovered 77 spyware and adware programs. I followed the software's advice and removed them all.
But bizarre behaviors — including multiple pop ups, unwanted toolbars and generally sluggish behavior — continued.
So I rebooted the PC in safe mode, which limits the number of programs that load at startup. The theory is that if it's not running, spyware can be more easily deleted. This time, the program found about two dozen spyware programs. I deleted those, too.
After rebooting again, the PC continued to show signs of infection, though it did seem less bogged down. Having spent two days disinfecting the system, I broke down and reformatted the hard drive. I then reinstalled Windows XP and all its patches.
It took just 90 minutes.
The clean start gave me a chance to try Microsoft AntiSpyware in its other role — as protector of a clean system. Compared with competing products, it did a good job and was easy to use. (There are modes for novice and advanced users.)
It continuously monitors 59 checkpoints and alerts users whenever a program attempts to make a change, though some of the messages could do a better job of explaining troubles in plain English.
I tried downloading and installing a well-known adware program, PurityScan. The security features in Windows XP Service Pack 2 tried to get me to stop, but I ignored it. When the spyware installer was running, two windows popped up giving me the chance to block some files from installing.
This time, I agreed, but the program still showed up in a subsequent scan. With a few clicks, I successfully deleted it.
In theory, Microsoft AntiSpyware should get better over time. It's programmed to send reports back to Microsoft to improve and update spyware definitions.
The antispyware program also has useful tools for easily accessing Windows and Internet Explorer settings that were previously hidden deep within the operating system and browser. In fact, any hijacked settings can be restored with one click.
Overall, I was more impressed with the antispyware program's protective measures and simple interface than with its ability to cleanse existing infections. Still, Microsoft seems to be on the right path to fixing the mess caused by the careless users, malicious programmers, unethical companies and vulnerable software.
Microsoft AntiSpyware is not free if you read the disclaimer. It appears they are offering it for free until June or July or whenever they start charging for it.
I love FireFox it is so much better than IE. I still us IE for dragging loads of links to my download manager (ReGet) as Fire Fox cant seem to do this always.
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - By age 10, Blake Ross was designing Web pages on America Online. By 14, after mastering complex programming languages such as C++, he was fixing bugs in Netscape's Web browser from home, a hobby that landed him a job offer. "What, at the local store or something?" David Ross remembered thinking when his son told him. No, at Netscape Communications Corp.
Ross, now 19, a sophomore computer science major at Stanford University, has an even more impressive resume than most of his peers. Before graduating high school, he helped develop Firefox.
Colleagues who worked with Ross only online were surprised when they met him to find "a scrawny 15-year-old kid," recalled Chris Hofmann, engineering director at the Mozilla Foundation.
To take an internship at Netscape during the summer of 2001, Ross moved with his mother to a rented apartment near Netscape's offices in Mountain View, Calif. She drove him to work each morning.
He continued working on the browser on contract after returning to Florida to attend Gulliver Preparatory School. He breezed through computer classes, finishing projects in a day that took others two weeks, said Dean Morell, a former teacher and chairman of the school's computer science department.
Ross soon took on a much more demanding project.
America Online Inc., which bought Netscape in 1999, was trying to resurrect the once-mighty Netscape browser. AOL added features, but they bogged down the software and reduced performance, Ross said in recent interviews by e-mail and at his parents' condo in Key Biscayne, a Miami suburb.
At 17, Ross and another Netscape programmer, David Hyatt, started a side project that became Firefox. They wanted to strip down Netscape and the Mozilla suite on which it is based. By reducing the software to its browsing basics, they figured it would run more efficiently.
Ross and Hyatt created an early version of the browser. Because the project was open source, thousands of volunteers could examine the programming code and suggest ways to improve performance and fix bugs.
"I have fond memories of long nights spent at Netscape just poring over all the feedback people submitted about our programs," Ross said.
Hofmann, the Mozilla engineering director, said Ross dealt with the pressures of Silicon Valley quite well for his age.
"I don't think that he was intimidated or awe-struck at all," he said. "With open-source projects you rise to a level based on your skills. It is really a meritocracy. Anyone who has the skills rises quickly and Blake had all those skills."
AOL ultimately spun off the project and created the not-for-profit Mozilla Foundation to develop Firefox and related software.
Hyatt left to design Apple Computer Inc.'s Safari Web browser, but Ross stayed and helped fix Firefox bugs from college.
Firefox was officially released Nov. 9. It was used by 4.6 percent of Web surfers in early January, and that number could reach 10 percent by mid-2005, according to WebSideStory, which tracks browser use. Microsoft's Internet Explorer has dropped to 90.6 percent this month from 95.5 percent in June.
Security experts like Firefox, saying it isn't as vulnerable as Internet Explorer to viruses, spyware and other malicious programs.
Ross has assisted with marketing, helping to place an ad in The New York Times paid for by thousands of Firefox users.
Ross will work with a team on Firefox version 2.0. He also gets calls from venture capitalists and has a startup with Joe Hewitt, another veteran of Netscape and Firefox. He said he can't talk about their work, but he's also interested in writing movies or children's fiction.
The downside of his success: "All my computer science professors are expecting straight A's, even in classes that have nothing to do with the Internet," he said.
And have his appearances in major newspapers posted on his eponymous Web site helped with those California girls at school?
"They're the ones that aren't impressed at all," he said with a laugh.
#SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03
Posted - Feb 16 2005 : 1:58PM
The PornZilla link Jacco posted above is pretty cool; the tools are actually useful, plus it's funny that there's this committee of dudes who work on making porn surfing more efficient.
I haven't been able to import my Outlook mailboxes into Thunderbird, so I haven't used it. I read somewhere that this is a known problem and that I need to import the mailboxes to another e-mail program and then import them into Thunderbird from that third program.
However, my opinion is that, if it can't import the mailboxes from Outlook yet, then Thunderbird isn't ready to be distributed.
Most likely because of all the security problems that Microsoft has omitted with IE and the anti-Microsoft buzz of Mozilla. I am happy with it personally.
1 Microsoft Internet Explorer 84.85% 2 Netscape, etc. 9.42%
2/05:
1 Microsoft Internet Explorer 75.96% 2 Netscape, etc. 21.39%
As far as Thunderbird goes, I like it. I use IMAP for everything, so there was no issue with mailbox importing. It seems faster than OE, and the spam filters are nice. The RSS support, to me, makes RSS too much like e-mail (which it isn't; I think it's a bad analogy) so I'm sticking with FeedDemon for my RSS needs.
I must admit...i never knew i had an alternative to explorer....firefox has opened my eyes...im having so much fun with it! I downloaded the stumble+upon extension which is great fun!
I have to say it is great but I have also noticed it running away with my memory when I fusker too much. My advice would be to not open more than about 600 jpgs as it tends to slow you down ;)
Dirty Auditions 14 - review by Captain Jack
Posted - Jan 18 2005 : 11:01PM
