Now a reason I resisted using any non-IE browser for a long time was the apparent fanatism of many non-IE / non-windows users. I always dismissed everything I was told from such individuals, because I regarded them as "FIGHT TEH POWAH!!!" "rAgE aGaInSt tHe mAcHiNe" types. Yeah, a rather broad generalisation there, but that's what they always struck me as. I mean something developed by a bunch of ragtag developers in their free time can't possibly be as good as what a multi-billion corporation can develop, right?
Well apparently not. Ever since I gave in, whenever I've been forced to use IE on a public computer I feel how wooden it is.
Now a brief list of firefox's advantages.
- plugins
There is a ton of 3rd party plugins available. A couple of days ago, I downloaded a plugin which goes through my bookmarks checking the to see if the webpages they link to are removed/updated/moved/still active. A month ago I downloaded a RSS panel plugin exporting headlines of news web sites to my browser so I can follow several at once without having to go to each site individually. With a big community there are literally thousands of plugins. If you've ever thought "wouldn't it be cool if my browser could X" chances are someone has thought of X and has made a plugin for it. - finding-links-as-you-type
You don't need to point-and-click your way through the internet. You can navigate through links with your keyboard. Type the first couple of letters of the link and it gets highlighted. Press enter and away we go! When I'm on gamebanshee's homepage and want to go the forums, I don't need to scroll down and click on forums. I just need to type for and press enter. - Tabs
Probably the single biggest improvement over IE. You can open several pages in the same browser window. If I'm reading a long article (or a HLD'esque reply to a post) and there's a link in the middle of it all I need to do is ctrl-click on that link (or alternatively right-click: open in new tab) and it opens a tab in the background without disturbing me reading the post. If I wanted the tab to be active I alt-click on the link. Also if I've opened several tabs in the window but for some reason I want to continue reading them later, I can save my tab session and then continue it later, without bookmarking every single page I've opened. Note the last feature I described is a plugin.
- Customizable Toolbar
Every single item on your toolbar can be removed. Think the homepage button is a waste of space? Remove it. - Integrated Search
There is a built-in google bar, allowing you to more conviniently search teh intarweb. You don't need to go to google.com before you search. Search from the comfort of your own webpage - quick searches
This allows you to search by typing in your address bar. If you want to google something you need to type "google <searchterm>" in your address bar and a search will commence. If you want to look a word up you can type "dict <searchterm>" and <searchterm> will be looked-up at dictionary.com. You can create your own quicksearches, so that for example I can create a quicksearch searching CNN.com or gamebanshee's forums. - quick links
Same as quick searches, but for links. Now to go to SYM, all I need to do is type SYM in the address bar and hit enter. It's amazing how much time this saves. - popup blocking
There is an integrated pop-up blocker, which is just as good as any other paid or free one. Nothing more, nothing less. - AutoDownload
You can tell firefox to always download into the same folder. If you are downloading a lot of files (for example a .rar file split into 20 parts), not having your browser ask you where you want to download the file is a big advantage. - Built in download manager
I'm actually not sure if this is a plugin or was actually built in, but I can now pause and queue my downloads without using another program. - security
Since 98% of web users use IE most browser hijacking / adware will not work with firefox. - annoyance eliminator
You can prevent web-pages from running scripts that hide the status bar or change the statusbar text, thus making it harder to see where the links lead. - skinnable
Self explanatory. Firefox allows you to change the skin of your browser. Because eye-candy matters. - lightness
Maybe that's just an illusion, but it seems to me that firefox loads faster than IE. Not that it makes a big difference if your browser loads for 1second or 0.5seconds, but it's something to keep in mind.
Next thing you know I'll also be switching to Linux...
