One of my concerns about free web browsers, if they become popular, is that of support. If Firefox becomes the target of hackers, will Mozilla have the resources to put to work to counter the hackers?
Greg > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of John Maynard > Sent: Wednesday, 28 July 2004 10:49 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Firefox - A Fantastic Web Browser > > Hello All > > I've now found an open-source web browser that's free and works a lot > better than Internet Explorer. It's called FIREFOX (from Mozilla), and is > really fast! I read about in the follow article from The Melbourne > Age. It's pretty easy to use: It includes "tabs" for keeping different > pages from different sites readily accessible. > > It's "pop-up ad" blocker works well, and pop-ups from specified web pages > can be re-enabled (which I've done for uniting.com.au). Firefox also > blocks "spyware": a bone of contention with our kids' computer which is > infected with too many annoyances. > > Anyway, the download is minimal (4.7 MB) and installation is pretty > straightforward, including importing favourites, web history, previously > downloaded pagers and other customised settings from Internet Explorer. > > Cheers from John M. > > .......................... > > Hot tip in Microsoft mag: drop the lost Explorer > By Graeme Philipson > July 27, 2004 > > I have had enough of Internet Explorer. Microsoft's web browser is > underfunctioned and has not been improved for years. It is shot full of > security problems. It is slow and it is ugly. > > There is an alternative. It is called Firefox. I have been using it for a > month and I can't envisage ever returning to Internet Explorer. > > Firefox comes from the Mozilla people, who have had an open source browser > of that name available for many years. I have occasionally used Mozilla but > its advantages over Internet Explorer were not sufficient to lure me across > permanently. Firefox is different, and it already has Microsoft worried. > > You might say the chickens have come home to roost. It was Microsoft's > decision to bundle Internet Explorer with Windows that was the primary > cause of the US Department of Justice's anti-trust suit of recent years. > Microsoft was found to have behaved improperly and given a severe slap on > the wrists, but not before its tactics had ensured the virtual > disappearance of Netscape Navigator, its erstwhile competitor in the > browser stakes. It is one of the great scandals of the modern era that > Microsoft's unethical and illegal behaviour has been rewarded rather than > punished. > > How is Firefox better? For a start, it stops pop-ups and spyware as a > matter of course. You can make Internet Explorer stop pop-ups, but it's a > bit of a pain. > > Firefox also offers a cleaner and more attractive interface than Internet > Explorer, and it seems to me that it's a bit quicker. > > But Firefox's biggest advantage in day-to-day use is its ability to open > any number of tabs. You can have as many web pages open as you want, and > tab between them. You can even have it automatically load all your > favourite pages automatically, so that they are always there for you. You > don't have to open a new window for each web page. > > Tabbed browsing beats having lots of applications, or lots of copies of the > one application, open in your toolbar. It may not sound like a big deal but > it is, especially if you live on the internet like I do. We can only assume > that the only reason Microsoft hasn't done it is because it's too lazy and > is no longer interested in improving a product that has (or had) little > competition. > > Many people are attracted to Firefox because of its greater security - most > virus problems come about because of deficiencies in Internet Explorer's > security features. You know something's going on when the US Department of > Homeland Security advises people to switch, as happened last month. Even > Microsoft's own Slate online magazine is carrying articles advising people > to dump Internet Explorer in favour of Firefox. > > Firefox is available for free at www.mozilla.org. Switching from Internet > Explorer is pretty easy: download Firefox and follow the prompts. It even > exports Internet Explorer's favourites list, bookmarks, and web passwords. > There's a little bit of fiddling around to do but it's worth the effort. > > Mozilla is a non-profit organisation spun out of the remains of Netscape a > few years back to develop and promote the use of open-source software "to > preserve innovation and choice on the internet". It has certainly done that. > > Mozilla has also developed an email client called Thunderbird, a Mac > browser called Camino, and a range of other web development and debugging > tools. All are available at no cost from its website. > > I have written previously in these pages of the differences between the > Microsoft way of developing software and the open source way. The > differences are philosophical and ideological, even religious. But these > differences also have practical consequences. > > Microsoft has just sat on Internet Explorer since its ethically challenged > business practices saw off the competition. It has not seen any need to > improve the product. Mozilla's aim is to build a better mousetrap, and to > force innovation, which is not something Microsoft is interested in. > > Microsoft is worried about the open source model and has begun attacking it > on several fronts. It commissioned or encouraged reports from analysts > showing that Windows is cheaper than Linux. It dropped the price of its > products in many Third World countries. It used the entire panoply of FUD > (fear, uncertainty and doubt) tactics, developed into a fine art by IBM in > the 1970s and 1980s, to full effect. > > Linux is a long way from challenging Windows, and Firefox is a long way > from challenging Internet Explorer, but the use of open source software is > growing inexorably. > > Firefox is so much better, there is no contest. Internet Explorer - just > say no. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > This story was found at: > http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/26/1090693888524.html > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > John Maynard ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > PO Box 600, Cowes VIC 3922 Australia > ------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------ > - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] > - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body > 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) > See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm > ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
