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Firefox is fresh alternative
to Internet Explorer

Remember the battle of the browsers a few years ago? There was a time when Netscape was the leader and waged an all-out war with Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Netscape lost out to mighty Microsoft and disappeared into the shadows. It was too bad. The competition was great for the consumer and after the fight was over, Explorer became complacent and has become infamous for security loopholes and a favorite target of viruses and spyware.

Fortunately, a new Web browser is catching on. Called Firefox, this open source marvel is becoming the browser of choice for disenchanted PC users.

Firefox has some nifty features that Internet Explorer lacks and has become the darling of open source fans who aren't crazy about Microsoft monopolizing the Web. Ironically it was developed by an organization that itself was a spin-off from Netscape.

How do you find it? Go to Mozilla.org and download Firefox. Set up is a breeze -- there's a wizard to walk you through the procedure.

At the end of the process you can make Firefox your default browser while still being able to use Explorer (or other browsers) if you so desire. One very nice thing is that you can easily import "favorites," bookmarks, passwords and cookies from Explorer into Firefox so you're not going to lose time. (Try doing the reverse with IE and you'll appreciate Firefox even more).

Firefox is packed with cool features. What I really like is the format: The top of the browser page is very clean and leaves plenty of room for the Web site, rather than looking at a bunch of icons that you rarely use. It loads quickly and the "Firefox Start" page comes with a Google search bar at the top of the page.

One of the most popular features is "tabbed browsing" which allows you to arrange a few of your favorite Web pages to automatically open when you launch Firefox. It's easy to navigate your preferred pages by using graphical tabs that look like those you'd find on paper file folders. A well-designed help page called "Firefox Central" tells you how to use the program and it's simple to add tried and true plug-ins such as Real Player. Other features such chat and a dictionary are also available.

As innovative as Firefox is, it may not be for everyone. There are a few issues to consider:

» Not all Web sites will work properly with FireFox. There aren't too many but there are sufficient numbers so that you will encounter one sooner or later.
» FireFox is not a Microsoft product and some people might feel uncomfortable with that.
» Your Internet Explorer plug-ins won't work with Firefox -- but many third-party plug-ins will.

One last thing to think about if you decide to surf with Firefox: Take a moment to check out Mozilla.org, the nonprofit outfit that created this technology. Without the open source wizards whose mission is to preserve choice on the Internet, we wouldn't have Firefox. Consider making an online donation to the foundation. After all, the browser is free, but Mozilla's foundation costs money to operate.

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