Mozilla’s download day was a huge record breaking success. What I want to know is, why I never use it? What’s keeping me from feeling the warm and fuzzys that everyone else feels?
Firefox always gets an Icon on my desktop, I always download the latest, but it never gets much use. Is the reason habit or preferences? I decided to give it a week of concentrated effort and see if I could kick the IE habit. I clicked my Firefox icon, clicked Help, and Check for updates. The program updated to the new Firefox 3 without a hitch. I will spend a whole complete week trying to accustom myself to using Firefox3. By weeks end this article will be ready to share and I’ll include the results.
Day 1 of using Firefox. Updated it and played around with some plugins for thumbnails for the “about blank†page. Got a cool looking page but it wasn’t as easy to use as I thought it would be. My mistake, a links bar works better.
Day 2 of using Firefox. Well I’m barely into day 2 and have my browser looking like this: Browser jpg . The two browsers look very similar but I’m still finding things that aren’t convenient for me. Like inserting a picture into a word document. With Internet Explorer I open the “Insert Hyperlink†function in MS Word, open the file in IE from my storage area and bingo the link inserts and gives me a chance to type the displayed text. Using Firefox that doesn’t happen. I’m sure there’s a plugin to get around it. I’ve spent about half an hour searching, but so far “no cigarâ€.
Day 3 of using Firefox. Went to check my e-mail today and immediately realized that my Outlook Express wasn’t integrated into Firefox. Did some more looking and found that including Outlook Express may be a bit of a task. Two and a half hours later I am able to send messages using OE in Firefox but no way can I receive them. Don’t have any more time for configuring today. I’ll have to try again tomorrow. So far, it’s getting a little tedious, and because of the time, costly.
Day 4 of trying to use Firefox. The honest truth is that I didn’t use Firefox today. I had too much work and that involved using Email and some other functions that I just couldn’t find in Firefox. At the end of the workday I gave it a go again just to live up to my pledge but basically my work requirements prevented me from using Firefox. Well to be fair, my preference for Outlook Express makes Firefox less convenient.
Day 5 of using Firefox. Day 5 has me back on track. Even without the integration of Outlook Express I managed to focus on using Firefox. I used Firefox faithfully all day and only a couple of times clicked the IE icon by accident. It’s not very convenient and I must tell you that I’m not comfortable with it. I hate leaving the browser to check and send e-mail.
Day 6 of using FireFox and IE. Today I know why I don’t like Firefox. It’s because I can’t integrate the things I like into it. I gave it a halfhearted attempt but I know the switch is doomed.
Day 7 I’m using IE. Sorry, just not going to happen. I love Outlook Express for my e-mail and although I’ve tried others, including Thunderbird, I’m staying with Outlook and as a result Internet Explorer. Not only that but I just like IE. No use switching just for the sake of switching.
Firefox vs. IE Pros and Cons
Pros.
- Less memory use: which leaves more for your system and other tasks. This was a much-needed improvement and is still a problem for IE.
- Firefox is faster: I can’t prove it but if they say so I’ll go with it. It opens pages fine and I don’t see any major lags. It’s certainly not slower than IE.
- More Secure: I can only say that when going to questionable sites I receive fewer popups and Hijackers while using Firefox. I’ve always viewed Firefox as better at stopping spyware but just don’t visit risky places very often, unless it’s for “research†of course.
- Unlimited and cool plugins is the part that I always overlook. I’ll explore these options completely this time.
- Amazing bar: most love it some hate it but I just ignore it. I believe this will fall into the Pros column for most users.
Cons
- Cannot integrate Outlook Express: after several hours of trying. I’ve found how to use Outlook Express to Send e-mail within Firefox but not receive them. For me this is a big problem. There are lots of queries and suggestions on the web, but so far all suggestions fail. Please don’t ask why I don’t use Thunderbird or another program. I like Outlook Express and don’t like the others. It’s that simple.
- Tabbed Browsing: yes, I know, everyone likes tabbed browsing, but I don’t use it.
- Links: or bookmarks as the case may be. I just want a links bar. I don’t care about the amazing bar, or all the new search features. I just want a simple links bar, not something tied to bookmarks, or frequency of use and related searches, just a links bar. Right now I have Firefox configured with a Bookmarks bar. Is that different from a links bar?
- File Download: there is no “run†option in Firefox. In Internet Explorer I have the choice of running from the current location or downloading. Firefox doesn’t offer that option. It also doesn’t give me the choice of where to save each file. I can set the default location in another place but that would be a hassle to change for each download. There is a plugin for that in previous versions, but I haven’t found it for Firefox 3 yet. I’ll let you know.
I know Firefox is gaining users but IEs native features keep it in the lead. Yes, there are plugins for Firefox, but just comparing the basic programs has Internet Explorer winning the race for me.
I’m sure if I was smart enough and had enough time I could accomplish the task, but having a busy schedule prohibits that. It just takes too long. I bet I’m not the only dummy in the world either. There are plenty of people who just don’t see the need for switching to Firefox.
For those who say, “just look how it’s gaining in popularityâ€, I say “yesâ€, just look. It’s been almost 8 years. It’s sitting at approximately 19% world wide, depending on whose figures your quoting, and although it’s gaining market share it’s been a long slow process. Is it a “Bust”? No, absolutely not, but it’s not a “Must” either. The sooner it gets over it’s aversion to Outlook Express the better if will be for us and Firefox. Lets hope the Firefox 3.0 replacement, already in the works, will accomplish this.
