I made a switch this week after reading Entrepreneur.com’s The Latest in Browsers by Mike Hogan. I have been using Internet Explorer for as long as I can remember (after the fuss over AOL passed, anyway). But just the other day I decided to give Mozilla’s FireFox 2.0 a try, and I love it.

For starters, it’s important you know that there are three main browsers out there for your PC websurfing enjoyment: Internet Explorer (of course), Firefox, and Opera. Macs users also have the option of Apple Safari. Each of them has recently released a new, upgraded version. And all are free to download and use.

Now, to be honest, the new IE 7.0 took some getting used to, with a number of features getting relocated on the browser. I will admit, I sort of liked the fact that the favorites menu would actually stay open for me. On the older version, it would often disappear if my mouse so much as strayed a millimeter from the box. But it actually took me awhile to find it. And even now, months later, I’m still having problems remembering where the “home” and “print” tools are.

My brother-in-law (Chris Brunner, the owner of GreatFX Business Cards), who is a computer guru and really knows his stuff, has been using FireFox for awhile. So I already assumed it was probably of better quality somehow. But, I hate to change things around on my computer once I get used to the way they are, and I really didn’t feel up to re-learning a whole new browser when I was just beginning to get used to IE 7.0.

But Mike Hogan’s article really got me wondering what’s so special about FireFox. It supposedly has stronger security than IE, but what about the features? Oh well, I decided. What harm could it do to download something for free and try it out? So I did, and boy and I glad.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the condensed version of the tool and URL bar… one sleek line. As I began to explore, I noticed that the Favorites menu, deemed “Bookmarks” on FireFox, has this great feature that allows you to place your favorite bookmark folders right on the toolbar, while using only minimal space. Saves some time and effort, which is always nice.

I also love the simplicity of the options. With IE, I could never fully understand what option I was selecting, with everything in computer-programmer jargon. But with FireFox, all of the options are put in layman’s terms, so I really have the opportunity to make my browser do what I do and do not want it to. And I especially love the fact that there is a spell-check feature that checks absolutely everything I type, just like Word or WordPerfect… and believe me, I need that!

Overall, I found that things were really easy to navigate, and, though I still have a lot to explore on FireFox, the transition has been fairly easy and I’m glad I switched, at least for now. I haven’t disregarded IE entirely, it’s just been placed on the back burner. Apparently I may need it in the future in order to run Windows Update or for using ActiveX when FireFox isn’t sure the website is safe, but I am.

Granted, I haven’t given Opera a far advantage here… in fact, it’s received none at all. I didn’t even look at it as a possibility because I had never heard of it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not just as effective at security and ease.

It’s going to take some time to get anyone to switch browsers, with, as I understand it, 80% of internet users still loyal to IE. And that’s great. To each his own, but I have been converted.

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2 Responses to “Which Internet Browser Should You Choose?”

1. Working at Home on the Internet says:
   

   […] Christopher J. Brunner presents Which Internet Browser Should You Choose? posted at The Small Business Buzz, saying, “The perks of Mozilla’s Firefox Internet Browser, explored by a recent convert from IE.” […]

   Posted February 23rd, 2007 @ 6:17 am
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2. Uncommon Knowledge. » Business, Technology and Knowledge 0.6. says:
   

   […] Christopher J. Brunner presents Which Internet Browser Should You Choose? posted at The Small Business Buzz, saying, “The benefits of Mozilla’s Firefox Internet Browser, explored by a recent convert from IE.” […]

   Posted February 26th, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
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