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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Thursday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week - Wednesday,
January 26th |
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The Firefox
Phenomenon Since its
introduction just over 2 months ago, The Firefox Web Browser has been the
hottest download on the internet; over 20 million downloads, and in this
brief time some industry analysts have said that Microsoft has already lost 10%
of its share of the browser marketplace. Firefox has become so incredibly
popular that its users donated money to place a full page ad for it in the New York
Times! The
browser most people have used is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which
is built into all versions of newer Windows. But Internet Explorer has been
plagued with security holes. Even with release of Explorer 6.0 and windows Xp service pack 2 there are still ongoing security
problems. Technically
the biggest difference between Firefox and Internet Explorer is that Firefox
does not use Activex Controls and plugins, which are part of Windows, which have lead to security
problems and drive by downloading of spyware and other bad programs to
user’s computers. Firefox does not use Activex,
and thus is a more secure browser. The other
major technical difference is that Firefox is an open source browser –
the source code is available for anyone to see and modify, and Internet
Explorer uses proprietary source code. You can
download and use The Firefox browser Version 1.0 for free from http://www.mozilla.org/. The Mozilla
project is an offshoot of Netscape, the world’s first web browser back
in the early 90’s, but which was virtually wiped when Microsoft began
giving their browser away for free as part of windows. Since then no browser
had been a threat to Microsoft, and they lagged behind in improving internet
Explorer Now Firefox
is actually a better browser, with a new concept of internet surfing called tabbed windows
– instead of clicking on a link and opening new windows – you can
have multiple windows open and just click between them – a much faster
way of seeing and recalling information. It is also a faster browser, and
includes a popup blocker utility. Foxfire uses Google as its default
search engine, and incorporates the new concepts of Smarter Search and live
Bookmarks. When you
download and install Firefox, it will automatically read and convert all your
Internet Explorer favorites and settings, so you’re ready to go at once
and enjoy a new browser experience. The next
thing you can do is customize your Foxfire toolbar so you can have the icons
and choices on it that you want.
I‘m using it with Outlook, but it will work with any email and contact
management program. Mozilla also offers its own
free and very good email program – Thunderbird. As the
end user, you have the best of both worlds. You can use either or both, and
if one doesn’t work, just switch to the other. It has
been a long time since Microsoft has had any serious competition in any of
its primary products, and Firefox is providing more choices for computer
users. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2004 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html (509)624-7230 |
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