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Firefox
I was inspired by Brad Feld's post on Firefox to download and install the free open source Firefox browser.
Unlike Brad, I don't think I'll be making the switch just yet.
It could easily be my machine configuration (Win 2000, old computer, badly in need of a new laptop) or something else, but Firefox is flaky on my computer. It takes too long to load pages and sometimes times out before its able to load the page.
Internet Explorer, on the other hand, works great on my laptop.
And I've gotten used to the look and feel of the IE browser. Firefox feels a little clunky to me.
I understand the security benefits of using Firefox, but I've got spyware pretty much under control with Spysweeper and AdAware and its not a big enough reason to switch.
Now, there is one browser out there I do like better than IE. That's Apple's Safari browser. If they made a Windows version of that, I'd seriously consider switching to it.
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Posted October 5, 2004 in Venture Capital and TechnologyComments
Hi there - there are additional benefits to Firefox apart from security. One of the key things I like is tab browsing and the ability to extend the app with many extensions. I've discussed some of these extensions on my blog recently. Good luck.
Posted by: Rodrigo A. SEPULVEDA SCHULZ | Oct 5, 2004 6:23:57 PM
Hey Fred,
I use Firefox all the time but I'm pretty agnostic on technology. Odd that'd you'd see issues though - I use FF on a 3 year old Thinkpad T21 with 384M of RAM and get great performance. Not really a powerhouse machine... Might want to have IT checkout some basic things (fragmentation, free disk, etc) on your laptop.
And anyway, I thought VC's always had the latest, flashiest gear ;) Where's that Tablet PC.
Posted by: rick gregory | Oct 5, 2004 11:53:55 PM
Having started a long time back using Netcaptor and then Opera and a host of other browsers. I would have to say that I like IE for what it is.
Firefox for all intents and purposes is a great browser. In fact, I would say that if not for the fact that I am so used to using IE, (or variants of it) I would switch in a heartbeat.
My current browser is MyIE2 and well Firefox. I use both on and off and can honestly say, Firefox runs slightly slower at least on my machine that is.
Posted by: Jacob Pang | Oct 6, 2004 12:51:52 AM
Just picking up on your comments about Safari. I use a Mac and do like Safari. However I am a converted Firefox fan simply because some of the Java Applets in sites such Ecademy.com I use all the time run better. Additionally Safari has this 'delay' built in which means sometimes the page slowly as the browser waits for the CSS to load before displaying. Other than that, Safari is a great addition to the Browser line-up. I don't believe Apple will develop a PC version, but then you could always buy a Mac and run Virtual PC in a widow ;-)
Posted by: Stewart Marshall | Oct 6, 2004 3:18:37 AM
A friend of mine is a real open-source fan. He's tried to convert me to Linux, open source productivity software and now Firefox.
Up to now I've always taken the attitude "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I never liked Netscape since 1995 and I've loved IE since version 4 onwards. I've been using IE 6 from when it was in beta which was a few years back. However since IE 6.0, other than security patches I haven't noticed any useful new features. It seems Microsoft having won the browser wars (well at least the first major battle) decided to stop innovating.
So why switch to Firefox? In 2 words "tab browsing". My friend kept raving about it and now I can see why. I run lots of windows (well at least I used to) often dozens at a time. So saving a click or two makes a big difference. That's major reason one.
Major reason two is this:
Tools> Extensions> Get More Extensions
You can choose to download and easily install (or uninstall) new functionality. And new stuff is being added all the time. As these extensions are created bottom-up by users and not top-down by Microsoft improvements happen a lot quicker.
There's 2 major reasons to www.getfirefox.com
and that's not even taking into account security benefits.
James
Alternative Energy Blog
p.s. Fred how much memory does your machine have? I run a 1999 PC at home with 384MB ram and Firefox runs just fine.
Posted by: Alternative Energy Blog | Oct 6, 2004 3:28:53 AM
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