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Mozilla Firefox 2.0Eric Moore, CUGGJanuary 13, 2007 |
Although Internet Explorer (IE) still reigns as the de facto
standard for web browsers on Windows computers, a number of others are
competing with IE in the arena of features, security, and
user-friendliness. Amongst the competing products is the open
source web browser Firefox, maintained by the Mozilla Foundation
(http://www.mozilla.org/). Although it has been promoted as a
better alternative to IE, particularly in regards to security, I
principally use it for a number of features that are unique to or
uniquely implemented by Firefox 2.0. Although some of these
features such as tabbed browsing and searching for text within a web
page are available in Internet Explorer 7.0 (IE 7), they are
implemented in ways that make my web browsing much easier than if I
were to use IE 7.
I will discuss some of the features and point out how they differ from
what’s available in IE. If you are interested in
trying Firefox 2.0 for yourself, you may freely download it at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/. I have used Firefox
for about three years and have never encountered a problem installing
or using it, nor has it ever interfered with my ability to use IE for
those websites that cannot be viewed with Firefox.
Tabbed Browsing
Tabbed browsing is an innovation that has been available in earlier
versions of Firefox as well as other web browsers such as Netscape
Navigator, Opera, and Safari. Microsoft has been behind the
times in regards to this feature, as tabbed browsing has only now
become a standard feature with the recent release of IE 7.
Tabbed browsing allows the user to download and view several web pages
within the same window. When using older browsers such as IE
6.0, the user must open a different browser window for each
simultaneously downloaded web page. This has the effect of
cluttering the Windows taskbar and desktop, making the user work harder
when switching between web pages.
I use tabbed browsing regularly, especially when reading news and
technical articles. If in the midst of reading an article I
encounter a link to another web page with additional relevant
information, I can click the link with the middle mouse button to begin
downloading the page. The page downloads in the background in
a new tab while I can continue to read the original article without
interruption. This not only eliminates my need to go back
later and try to find the links that interested me, it also means that
the next topic of information is already downloaded and ready for me
when I finish the original article.
I have discovered much to my pleasure recently that if I have several
tabs open and Windows suddenly locks up for some inexplicable reason, I
can force my computer to shut down, restart it, and then reopen Firefox
to pick up where I left off. Firefox detects that my previous
session was interrupted and will give me the option to reopen the tabs
that I had opened prior to the system shutdown. This has
saved me much time and trouble on more than one occasion.
Integrated Spellchecking
Firefox 2.0 introduced a new feature that has confirmed all the more my
reasons for using Firefox rather than IE. I am a stickler for
proper spelling, so I always make sure I’ve not made any
spelling errors prior to sending web e-mail or submitting an online
support request. Prior to the release of Firefox 2.0, I would
copy the message I had typed and paste it into Microsoft Word or some
other program that has a spell checker. This was inefficient
as it required me to switch between two different programs to perform a
simple task in Firefox. (Spellchecking is
available for IE 7 as a third-party add-on available at
http://www.ieaddons.com.)
Now that spellchecking is integrated into Firefox, I can see as I type
whether I have misspelled a word. Any word that is not
recognized by Firefox is underlined in red. I can right-click
the (allegedly) misspelled word and select from a list of suggested
corrections, or select an option to add the word to a personalized
dictionary so Firefox will recognize it again in the future.
Add-ons
The user is not limited to the default features of Firefox.
The user may customize the program in a number of ways with themes,
extensions, and plugins. Information and available downloads
may be found at https://addons.mozilla.org/. (Do note that
the add-ons are created by third parties, so be careful as some could
be buggy and unstable or render Firefox insecure.)
A variety of themes are available, allowing the user to change the
appearance of Firefox. For example, different button icons
and color schemes are available. Some icons are more artistic
than the default ones while others are more colorful or easier to
see. The available themes are inspired by animals, sports
teams, nature, and other topics.
Software extensions add to the existing functionality of
Firefox. The available extensions include dictionaries,
privacy and security controls, stock tickers, calendars, and
downloading tools.
Plugins seamlessly add new functionality for handling special
multimedia and graphic formats. Plugins are currently
available for Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, Java, QuickTime,
RealPlayer, Shockwave Player, and Windows Media Player.
Search Bar
The toolbar for Firefox includes a search bar that allows for quick and
easy searching with my favorite search engine. I can type in
the word, name, or phrase I am interested in and then click the
magnifying glass to find the relevant information. I use
Google (the default site) but I could select from other options such as
Yahoo, Answers.com, Amazon.com, and eBay. I could also add to
the list of available search engines at https://addons.mozilla.org/.
Searching Within a Page
Once I find the web page I am interested in, I can narrow my search
further by searching within the page for a particular word or
phrase. I use this feature to quickly jump to what I need,
especially if the page is poorly laid out or contains too much text to
skim over.
Searching within a web page is as simple as selecting Find in This Page
from the Edit menu, or by using the hotkey CTRL+F. When I do
this, a search bar will appear at the bottom of the Firefox
window. I may enter the text I am searching for and then
click Next. Each time I click Next, Firefox will highlight
the next instance of the text in the web page. I can also
search for the previous instance by clicking Previous. If the
text is not found within the web page, the text field will turn red.
One reason I really like this feature is that Firefox will
automatically return to the top of the page if I click Next after
finding the last occurrence of the text (or Firefox will return to the
bottom of the page if I click Previous after finding the first
occurrence). Internet Explorer can search within a page as
well, but after it finds the last instance, it will stop rather than
automatically returning full circle to the top of the page.
When this happens, I must manually select the option to reverse the
direction of the search. This is one particular (albeit
minor) feature that I do not like about IE.
Managing Cookies
As explained in the Firefox help document, a cookie is “a
[text] file created by an Internet site to store information on your
computer, such as your preferences when visiting that site.
When you visit a site that uses cookies, the site might ask Firefox to
place one or more cookies on your hard disk.” When
the user returns to the website, it may request that the cookie be
returned by Firefox so the site can customize the web page according to
the user’s preferences. Cookies can also be used to
store personally identifiable information such as the user’s
name and e-mail address.
Cookies can be used by unscrupulous companies and persons to track the
user’s web surfing, such as noting which pages are visited
and the products or services the user searches for. Given the
potential for “spying” on a user’s web
browsing habits, cookies may be managed in a number of ways by Firefox.
By default, all cookies are accepted and retained
indefinitely. The user may elect to keep cookies until they
expire or until Firefox is closed. The user may also
configure Firefox to ask every time whether a cookie should be accepted
or to refuse all cookies. Since many sites will not work
properly if cookies are not accepted, I usually configure Firefox to
retain cookies until I close the program. This way I can
visit the websites I need and then exit Firefox, knowing my surfing
habits have been cleared.
Customizable Toolbar
As with many Windows applications, the Firefox toolbar is
customizable. The user may add buttons for commonly used
functions such as opening a tab, pasting text, viewing the browser
history, and managing bookmarks. The toolbar buttons may be
arranged in whatever order the user prefers along with spacers and
separators to visually separate groups of buttons. For the
sake of convenience, I prefer to add buttons for opening a new tab and
for opening a new Firefox window.
Pop-up Blocking and Other
Content Controls
Firefox has an integrated pop-up blocker which the user may configure
to block all pop-ups (with exceptions for trusted sites) or never block
pop-ups. This is a useful feature for the user who does not
wish to be bombarded with advertisements for products and services,
fake warnings of possible spyware or virus infections, or other
irrelevant information.
JavaScript code and Java applets provide dynamic and interactive
content to web pages, but they can also be sources of security holes
that leave the computer vulnerable to hackers. The user can
control whether JavaScript code is restricted and whether Java applets
should be turned off.
ActiveX controls, which provide similar functionality as Java applets,
are not supported by Firefox at all. ActiveX controls have
been used maliciously and surreptitiously to install worms and
spyware. Unless the user relies heavily on ActiveX support
for dynamic content on websites such as MSN Games and the Windows and
Office updates at Microsoft, this lack of support for ActiveX can be a
good thing.
Automatic Updates
Like any other program, Firefox is not perfect. New bugs and
security weaknesses are being discovered in Firefox every
year. In order that the user can easily keep abreast of
updates, the user can configure Firefox to automatically check for new
updates whenever an Internet connection is available. After
an update is installed, the user is prompted to restart Firefox in
order that the update becomes effective. Firefox can also
check for updates for third-party plugins and add-ons.