Introduction:

Mozilla Firefox is the most recent browser package to enter what has been dubbed as “the war of the browsers.” However the public has embraced Firefox as it’s become the primary competitor to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. This review will look at the functions of Firefox, the overall ratings we’ve compiled and most importantly: How has the product risen so quickly in Internet communities?

First of all, Mozilla can be considered the predecessor to the world’s most popular browser in the golden years of the Internet. Its code comes directly from the base of what used to be Netscape Navigator which was made open source after Netscape started to fall in the war of the browsers. The Mozilla project was hence born, and its development has been realised by a very large community of open-source enthusiasts.

The inner-workings and primary features of Mozilla can be seen as a continuation of what used to be Netscape, previous to its acquisition [for over $4 Billion USD] by America Online in the late months of 1998.

Functionality & Features:

Import your settings from IE & Netscape.

Firefox has been dubbed as the fastest browser on Earth. Unfortunately, we beg to differ. After testing their latest 1.0 release –- their first non-beta product – we found Firefox no better than most other browsers out there, including, shall we dare to mention, Internet Explorer 6.x. The so-called fire speed is a myth and we found that a lot of the examples we’ve heard about around the web cannot be proven correct.

Firefox also lacks in the functionality department. It’s been noted that the unperfected aspects of some CSS styles and javascript can totally deform a web pages’ overall layout. This is something which might have to be considered in the future if there’s ever another full-scale “browser war” as we saw in the mid-late 90’s. Web designers might just have to switch back to creating two versions of the same site, though very doubtful.

One thing we liked about Mozilla Firefox was tabbed browsing. It’s something many surfers alike have become accustomed to. Which brings us to another question, why hasn’t Internet Explorer implemented this to curb the competition? Another time, but it’s sure to give Mozilla Firefox a head start on grabbing Internet Explorer users right, left and centre.

There’s one thing IE has adopted, and that’s something Firefox is loved for: Popup blocking. You’ll never have to see this again if you migrate to Firefox even when the new XP Service Pack’s built in blocker seems to leak 2 weeks after release. This is something Firefox comes up on top with.

Firefox also comes with something brand new to the world of Internet browsing, that’s the community-driven and supported Extension Manager. From small tasks useful to forum users like creating tiny-urls to including a full blown MP3 player attached to your browser window, there’s absolutely tons of XML powered extensions you can add on. Be reminded, extensions should not be grouped with or considered the same as the spyware and nags which latch onto IE.

One last feature we thought would be worth mentioning was the fact that, like the tabbed browsing, Firefox comes fully packed with a download manager. If you’re willing to switch browsers, forget your taskbar being cluttered with endless download and browser windows. They’re also a thing of the past along with the daily security threats and exploits posted [and not posted] on the Microsoft web sites.

Conclusion:

Well, it’s honestly a blast from the past for the past 6 months as the Mozilla community is raving about Firefox and predicting the final downfall of the new millenniums king of the browsers. Unfortunately, it’s far too premature to predict anything to do with the future of the market. Many people were also considering Opera as the new victor, but yet again, the landscape has changed. Albeit, Opera did include advertising in non-registered versions.

In retrospect, it’s not features which have swayed the consumer in using a certain product in this field. It’s been marketing, tight monopolies, lack of user-awareness and a general stubborness to switch from something people have become so used to – Internet Explorer.

In closing, Opera still seems to be the most useful and the most stable piece of software right now and it’s a pity people have moved their sights away from it. Mozilla is, however, a very worthy and hopefully successful opponent in taking back some of that market Netscape lost so many years ago.