Make the Switch to Firefox

Travis writes, wondering about My web stats suggest that I’m preaching to half the choir with this one, but here’s my latest column for The Yaletown View (and its sister publications).

Geeks like to diss Microsoft. They don’t like Microsoft’s history, its technology
or its business tactics. Microsoft has built some excellent products-Microsoft
Excel, for example-over the years. However, 90% of the computers in the world
run Microsoft Windows because of good marketing, good timing and good fortune,
not because of great software.

Fear not. This isn’t a column demanding that you switch to that open-source,
geek favourite Linux. Or to become a snobby Apple user. Those aren’t bad ideas,
but are still kind of a hassle for the average human. [more]

Instead, I want you to merely abandon one fiefdom of the Microsoft kingdom:
Internet Explorer. Instead, try out the knight in shining armour of the open-source
community: Mozilla Firefox.

The average person doesn’t stop to think about their Internet browser, but
they should. It’s a bit like using the same pen, or driving the same car, and
never wondering if there’s a better alternative. Your browser is probably the
only tool you use to consume information online. It’s worth improving that experience
if you can.
Pure and simple, Firefox is a better Internet browser. There are plenty of geeky
reasons to switch-standards-compliance, open source politics, cross-platform
compatibility, built-in RSS support, extensability-but let’s talk about advantages
that you actually care about:

• Security – Many viruses, spyware applications and other exploits are designed
  specifically for Internet Explorer. Firefox users deal with fewer of these
  issues.
• Popup Blocking – There are plenty of plug-ins available that you can add
  on to IE to block irritating advertising windows, but Firefox blocks popups
  by default.
• Speed – Firefox starts up more quickly and loads pages faster.
• Tabbed Browsing – In IE, there are two basic ways to use hyperlinks. Either
  you click the link and the browser displays the new page, or the new page
  pops up in a new window in front of your current one. Tabbed browsing enables
  new pages to be opened in new tabs (a bit like Excel worksheets) behind
  the current page. It’s a subtle difference, but it will profoundly change
  how you read online.
• Price – Firefox is free. IE is a component of Windows, which definitely
  isn’t free.

One minor disadvantage of Firefox is that some Web pages have been designed
only with Internet Explorer in mind. This approach displays a lack of professionalism
from the Web designer, and means that they may not display correctly in Firefox
(or other browsers). This is a rare situation, and is easily solved by viewing
that page using IE.

Firefox is the highest profile product from the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit
organization dedicated to "preserving choice and innovation on the Internet".
They’re starting to make a difference. As of late December, 2004, 13.5 million
people have downloaded Firefox. For the first time in years, Internet Explorer’s
monolopy on the Web is being threatened.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that that’s 13.5 million geeks
with nothing better to do than try out new software. You’re mostly right, but
that’s not the point. When it comes to technology, the geeks inherit the Earth.
Examine every Internet trend and you’ll find that they’re the early adopters.

Take 10 minutes. Go download
and install Mozilla Firefox. It won’t take long-the whole thing is less than
5 MB. Try it for a week. If you don’t think its security, speed and new features
make it better than IE, you can always uninstall it.

Footnote: For a longer and less-biased article on Mozilla Firefox, check out Wired magazine. It wasn’t pertinent to my column, but I was surprised that the Wired article didn’t mention the origin of the term ‘Mozilla’ (it’s a contraction of ‘mosaic killer’).