quick FIREFOX question for those in the know...
 

I've been having problem with IE6 for ages now, a bug which means I can't open more than one or two separate windows without it crashing.

Rather than messing around with installs and fixes etc. (been there!) can I simply downmload and use Firefox instead? Can I run both (not at the same time obviously) just in case one fails?

I'm assuming the setup and everything is pretty easy:)

any thoughts/opinions/comments welcomed!

thanks all:)

Firefox is just another browser with lots of little options i.e. multi-tabbing. I personally find it much easier to use than IE and less resource draining! A must for anyone using more than 5 windows!

This can be run alongside IE or as a replacement doesnt really matter!! And the best part is its free!!!!

the only minor issue is downloading the plugins - has to be done manually! But once done SIMPLE"!

Must be noted however, that there are sites out there that do not work with firefox, there are several rendering problems in the firefox engine, and there are security holes in it as well, (which don't seem to get fixed as quickly as the ie ones do).

I used it for a while, but tbh I've gone back to ie for my main browser as I was just getting too frustrated with firefox :(

That's madness :)

Iain,

I think you must have typo'd there a bit - Firefox errors (the few that there are) are usually fixed within days (normally before any exploit code has been released) - compared to fixes for IE which take months to be released (long after people have been compromised). I read a report this week that said that in the last year IE has been vulnerable to known attacks for something like 280 days, compared to Firefox being vulnerable for about 3 (can't remember the exact figures).

Also, as has been argued on just about every Firefox thread previously, there is nothing wrong with Firefox's STANDARDS COMPLIANT rendering engine - it is the crappy pages written for an even crappier browser (IE) that causes the problems.

Daniel

Yep agree, its not the some sites dont work in FF, its that they are written to take advantage of IE extensions and therefore dont render properly in anything else. M$ have got very complacent with IE and they are paying the price. Its funny you dont realise how much IE sucks until you start using something better like FF.

Gary

But it is full of bugs. I develop for it every day, and there are some serious problems with it's rendering engine, especially when you try and use multiple nested / layered dhtml components, (using the standards). I'm sure they'll be fixed in time, but at the moment, it's just to frustrating for me to use as a main browser.

As for those websites, I didn't say anything about the reasons they don't work. As a consumer, I don't care about the reasons behind them not functioning, I just need them to work. Just because Firefox is standards complient, doesn't make it more usable at the moment, (at least not until those websites are rewritten).

IE 7 is out soon and guess what .... it will have tabbed browsing :idea::Whatever_

They say it will have better security, and implement standards better as well. We shall have to wait and see :)

I don't understand the tech details but as a user, I can't see what's so great about Firefox. I'm no MS fan but it looks to me like Firefox has got popular on the basis of a big campaign from a kind of IT intelligensia, the same crew that believe that all information must be free and that copyright laws are inherently evil.

I use both , I find Firefox a bit quicker and uses less resource's , But there are some websites it just won't work , so I run them side by side usually :)

FFox is great, I also like the way u can skin it :) Something that is lacking in IE completely. IE7 does sound promising though.

You mean patent laws instead of copyright I think. Firefox is just an open source web browser, nothing more. It's become popular because it isn't tied into the underlying OS like IE is, offers more features, and is subject to less security problems. It's also free, IE is not.

I actually mean copyright laws as the discussion there is about file sharing (not about browsers etc, though that wasn't clear from my post :)).

Oh :) Well, open source doesn't have anything to do with anti-copyright because open source code is still copyright :)