Firefox

6 Comments

The little browser that could is gaining momentum. The Mozilla Organization did a public preview release back in September, and apparently about eight million people have downloaded it since then. Today Mozilla released the final version of Firefox 1.0.

Free download; runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X; smaller and faster and better-looking than Netscape Navigator, sleeker and less buggy and more advanced than IE. Arik Hesseldahl of Forbes wrote, in a commentary piece about the preview release: "[O]verall I like it much better than any other browser I've used. . . . Firefox is better than Explorer by leaps and bounds."

I still use Safari for my regular browsing. But I use Firefox now and then in various contexts and on various machines, and I like it better than any of the other browsers (other than Safari) that I've used. Go give it a try!

6 Responses to “Firefox”

  1. naomi_traveller

    I’ve been using the preview release of Firefox since my new computer arrived last week and I have to say I am completely impressed.

    The Thunderbird mail client (still in preview) from Mozilla is hands down the best IMAP interface I’ve used yet. I may actually get on top of my languishing INBOX with it… 😉

    Very, very pleasing

    reply

  2. Twig

    I’ve been using Mozilla. Is Firefox significantly different/improved? What makes it spiffy?

    reply

  3. ANON

    Firefox is a streamlined version of just the Mozilla browser, without all the other components.

    reply

  4. Tonya Liburd

    K. A tad confused, as I wasn’t following the browser thing, since I’ve just stuck with the borser I’ve always been using, Netscape.

    Is Netscape abandoned now? I’m assuming the people behind Mozilla were the same poeple who were behind Netscape orignally, before AOL bought it. So they’ve done Mozilla AND Firefox? Why so many? Why not just focus on one and make it better…?

    (like I said, not really been following and I’m curious…)

    reply

  5. Jacob

    Tonya — Netscape is not abandoned.

    Netscape is a corporate division of AOL. They still produce a browser. Here’s my understanding: people from Netscape were involved in the creation of the Mozilla Foundation. Netscape contributes to the Mozilla code. In return, Netscape gets to use the Mozilla codebase in it’s browsers.

    Meanwhile, Mozilla people are using the same codebase (Gecko) as the basis of their various browsers. These include Mozilla and Firefox. Mozilla is a full-scale internet applications suite; it also does email, newsgroups, IRC, and has a built-in HTML editor. Firefox is just a browser, and is designed to be smaller and faster (but with the ability to add extensions).

    Hope this is clear! (I also hope it’s accurate.) I’m not involved with the project, just a fan.

    reply

  6. Jed

    The current version of the Netscape browser (7.2) is still being supported by AOL, and actually they did release that version only a couple months ago, but according to a Netscape rep it was “mostly security fixes with some slightly enhanced functionality.” My guess is that they won’t be releasing any more major versions. The previous version, 7.1, was released in July 2003, not long before they laid off a bunch of developers, and these days my impression is that the Netscape division is mostly focused on the portal site rather than on browser development. (They also laid off more Mountain View employees last December.)

    AOL helped start the Mozilla Foundation in mid-2003 to support the Mozilla open-source software project; my impression is that all future major development on the code that came from Netscape will probably be done under Mozilla’s auspices. Mozilla provides several browsers, as Jacob noted; Firefox is the one I’ve been recommending ’cause it’s fast, streamlined, and cross-platform, uses at least some platform-native UI items, and isn’t packed with a bunch of other non-browser stuff (like mailers and newsreaders and HTML editors). I actually prefer the look of Camino, the Mac OS X-native version—but then, I prefer Safari as a Mac browser anyway.

    reply

Join the Conversation