Is this internet prodigy about to knock Microsoft off its pedestal? Bill Gates' nightmare? FIREFOX

Times Online ^ | 01.04.05

[Jay Howard Smith]

I use Netscape for the email package mainly. I'll wait for Firefox's email program to come out to try it. I HATE OUTLOOK!

Mozilla's ThunderBird Email package works as well or better than Netscape..!

[holymoly]

I'll wait for Firefox's email program to come out to try it.

Isn't Thunderbird out already? Or are you talking about a different one?

If you hate Outlook/Outlook Express (both of which are as un-safe as IE), you might want to check out Pegasus Mail and/or Popcorn. Both are free. (I'm hooked on Popcorn.)

Pegasus:
http://www.pmail.com/index.htm

Popcorn:
http://www.ultrafunk.com/products/popcorn/

[politicalwit]

I've tried Foxfire on two occasions now and for some reason I find it "lacking." It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason but I keep returning to IE. I do keep Windows XP Pro and IE patched and have never experienced problems.

[Arkinsaw]

A new O.S. to rival windows may cause some concern,but I don't see that happening.

Linux could be a real threat....and is in certain very profitable segments...but in the home segment Linux is not able to compete at this time. Linux is currently for geeks and very experienced users. Its developers do not seem to have concentrated as much on ease of use and consumer friendliness. Until they do, they aren't a threat.

Also, Linux developers seem to take some pleasure in doing things different or opposite from Microsoft just because....well....its different or opposite than Microsoft.

Thats great, but users have been trained to expect their computers to behave in a certain...Microsofty way. Some times you need to give the user what they expect, even if its Microsofty in feel.

[Last Visible Dog]

I skimmed through the article. Where did you get Firefox? How much did it cost? I'm about sick of Windows.

FireFox is a browser

Windows is an operating system

I understand how silly headlines can confuse people.

Get FireFox at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

FireFox is currently less vulnerable because it does less (that is pretty much how the model works - expanded functionality means expanded vulnerability and less options means less vulnerability - this is not rocket science). Home users - by all means switch to FireFox.

[Arkinsaw]

Browser war ended years ago - nobody cares and there is nothing to gain

I disagree, Microsoft has accumulated a lot of power and influence over what the industry does due to its overwhelming majority in the browser market. Microsoft sets the tone.

If they drop below 50%, then they lose a lot of that. And thats worth a lot.

[mdittmar]

Windows is the operating system, Internet Explorer is the browser.

I'd like to try firefox but I don't want two browsers as I like a "lean" computer

I also want to keep my active desktop.

If I thought I could keep the best of I.E. and delete the rest I would,but trying separate I.E. from Windows without causing major problems in Windows could be tricky.

[Publius6961]

Microsoft's success is not build on the browser they give away for free.

The amount of effort, time and expense Microsoft went through to create, debug and embed Internet explorer into Windows, suggest that there was a reason why it was created.

You are not employed by Microsoft are you?
If it makes no sense for a student to go to all that trouble for zero profit, why would a publicly held company do it?

Hmmmmmmmm?

[Doohickey]

In a market, goods and services are bought and sold. Opera is about the only outfit in the browser "market".

Sure, Microsoft makes standards, violates ("extends" them) or ignores them completely. Technological leaders always do, whether it's Microsoft, IBM or whoever. So, when (if) open source becomes the technology leader they'll call the shots and cycle starts anew. I don't see this as "forcing" anything. Its progress.

[KStorm]

I like Firefox, but I don't like the way page fonts are rendered. Maxthon is a good 'tabbed' version of IE.

[silent_jonny]

FireFox is a browser Windows is an operating system

Yeah, I know, my mistake. But Windows and IE are almost synonymous.

[KStorm]

Your wait is officially now OVER.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

[ecurbh]

I'll wait for Firefox's email program to come out to try it.

It's out. I use it.

Thunderbird - Reclaim Your Inbox

[Last Visible Dog]

There is a lot to lose. Microsoft dominates the browser market, so it can have a huge influence on forcing standards that are favorable to it....and if it can't force a standard, it can just violate it and make it the default standard. If they lose the majority, that power goes away. Thats worth quite a lot.

Microsoft dominates the browser "market"

Amount Microsoft makes off of IE (monthly - multiply by 12 for annual amount): $0.00

If FireFox takes over the world and nobody used IE ever again - amount Microsoft will lose: $0.00

The browser is nearly valueless - what is in the browser and what serves up the content for the browser is where the value lies.

[KevinB]

I agree that MS isn't the least bit concerned about Firefox. IE has never made a dime for MS as far as I know because MS makes its money on the operating system that loads IE.

That being said, I have been using Firefox for about six months now and love it. In addition to being fast and easy, I just ran Ad-aware for the first time in two months and it found 0 new objects. I'm sure hackers will target Firefox for viruses if its use becomes ubiquitous, but that's probably way off.

[silent_jonny]

Thanks everybody!

[Chuckster]

I'm trying to convince my wife to give up IE and Outlook. I use Netscape and Eudora Pro.

[Doohickey]

I use both Firefox and IE. I think IE is the better browser, but I do like Firefox because I can keep it stripped down to the bare minimum, so no shockwave or other plug-ins there.

I've used the Google toolbar for a couple of years now, and with SP-2 IE finally got the popup blocker it needed so I don't have the nightmares others will tell about.

Basically, I use Firefox for online shopping, reading the news, etc. and IE for fun.

[Uncle Hal]

I downloaded Firefox but I also have the Avant Browser which has an Internet Explorer base. Avant has most of the bells and whistles of Firefox. It probably is not as secure as Firefox but I like it better. Avant is much better at blocking pop ups than IE.

[holymoly]

I'm sure hackers will target Firefox for viruses if its use becomes ubiquitous, but that's probably way off.

Even if they do, Firefox/Mozilla and/or Opera will never be as vulnerable as IE.

US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#713878
(Scroll down to: "Use a different web browser")

You may also find this of interest:
An extended explanation on why Internet Explorer is insecure