Sunday, October 03, 2004
Other web browsers
(1) Is it true that both the US Department of Defense and the German Federal Office for Information Security have advised against using internet explorer because of the security hazards it poses?
Ref: http://www.w3reports.com/index.php?itemid=574
Sav:- Not sure on the US government angle but I can count numerous organizations with in Australia that do not utilize the Internet explorer browser due to hassles with spyware and other security issues. Firefox and opera seem to be popular choices for these companies. Firefox is popular because of the fact it is open source and problems are quickly identified and a new stable release issued, where as with internet explorer you have to contact Microsoft and hope someone is listening at the time and even then often the fix doesn’t actually come out until a new version or major service pack is released.
(2) I understand that Firefox is the fastest growing browser alternative in the market. Is this true?
Ref: http://enterprise-linux-it.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Firefox-Tops-Two-Million-Downloads&story_id=27235
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=node/view/875
Sav - Certainly has made big inroads into the industry and people are utilizing the new features. ISPs are really taking note with many helpdesks here in Australia recommending the software to people. Firefox and Thunderbird are now probably two of the best open source products on the internet today. My feeling is yes it’s a great product and many people are adopting for both IT departments and home users. So yes its true enough that the big guys are either hiding under the bed or trying to emulate the features Firefox has to offer.
(3) Is it true that Firefox includes many feature enhancements like tabbed browsing, type ahead find and a full powered popup stopper?
Ref: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Yes, my testing has shown these features to be quite good, tabbed browsing is ok on unlimited plans but if your on a light plan or capped plan it can be a pain because the tabbed websites download in the background each time the browser is activated and thus runs up the download megabytes. But it does save on heaps of time and is a great option for most users. Pop up blockers are becoming standard in most browsers now, but Microsoft’s tends to put strains on system resources when it blocks the pop ups. However, it appears the firefox pop up blocker does stop most pop ups and doesn’t put a strain on resources when doing so.
(4) How do I obtain Firefox and how hard is it to install?
Sav: many of the magazine CD’s have both firefox and thunderbird on the cover for both linux and windows environments. I’m more familiar with the windows install and its just a case of follow the bouncing ball. You can also download them from http://www.mozilla.org/products
(5) If it really is the best web browser on the planet, how can I help other people hear about it?
Ref: http://www.spreadfirefox.com/
SAV: Word of mouth, tech TV, media and internet services providers keep telling people about the advances in open source technologies we should see the adoption rate increase.
Ref: http://www.w3reports.com/index.php?itemid=574
Sav:- Not sure on the US government angle but I can count numerous organizations with in Australia that do not utilize the Internet explorer browser due to hassles with spyware and other security issues. Firefox and opera seem to be popular choices for these companies. Firefox is popular because of the fact it is open source and problems are quickly identified and a new stable release issued, where as with internet explorer you have to contact Microsoft and hope someone is listening at the time and even then often the fix doesn’t actually come out until a new version or major service pack is released.
(2) I understand that Firefox is the fastest growing browser alternative in the market. Is this true?
Ref: http://enterprise-linux-it.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Firefox-Tops-Two-Million-Downloads&story_id=27235
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/?q=node/view/875
Sav - Certainly has made big inroads into the industry and people are utilizing the new features. ISPs are really taking note with many helpdesks here in Australia recommending the software to people. Firefox and Thunderbird are now probably two of the best open source products on the internet today. My feeling is yes it’s a great product and many people are adopting for both IT departments and home users. So yes its true enough that the big guys are either hiding under the bed or trying to emulate the features Firefox has to offer.
(3) Is it true that Firefox includes many feature enhancements like tabbed browsing, type ahead find and a full powered popup stopper?
Ref: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Yes, my testing has shown these features to be quite good, tabbed browsing is ok on unlimited plans but if your on a light plan or capped plan it can be a pain because the tabbed websites download in the background each time the browser is activated and thus runs up the download megabytes. But it does save on heaps of time and is a great option for most users. Pop up blockers are becoming standard in most browsers now, but Microsoft’s tends to put strains on system resources when it blocks the pop ups. However, it appears the firefox pop up blocker does stop most pop ups and doesn’t put a strain on resources when doing so.
(4) How do I obtain Firefox and how hard is it to install?
Sav: many of the magazine CD’s have both firefox and thunderbird on the cover for both linux and windows environments. I’m more familiar with the windows install and its just a case of follow the bouncing ball. You can also download them from http://www.mozilla.org/products
(5) If it really is the best web browser on the planet, how can I help other people hear about it?
Ref: http://www.spreadfirefox.com/
SAV: Word of mouth, tech TV, media and internet services providers keep telling people about the advances in open source technologies we should see the adoption rate increase.
# posted by Peter Saville - IT Consultant @ 6:38 PM 
