FIREFOX or INTERNET EXPLORER?

In early November 2004, the Mozilla Firefox web browser finally left behind its beta status and became an official release. Unlike the many other failed web browsers that came before it, Firefox is tipped to be the best prospect yet in toppling Microsoft's Internet Explorer from the top browser spot.

Before the mid 1990's, Netscape Navigator was the top web browser in use around the globe due to its wealth of functionality and relatively quick speed. Microsoft moved into this market so aggressively that they more or less wiped Netscape off the face of the earth (Microsoft faced court action for this).

As time went on, developers started building sites that were 'best viewed' on Internet Explorer. Often this meant that sites were not viewable on alternative browsers due to the use of Microsoft proprietary technology and deviations from the set industry standards that Internet Explorer encouraged.

Mozilla Firefox is the only alternative web browser on the market to seriously address these issues and provide real competition to Internet Explorer. Firefox excels in the following areas:


Security
Firefox is more secure than Internet Explorer because it is not integrated with the operating system. Unlike Internet explorer, it does not have the majority of hackers and virus writers in the world trying to break into it.
Speed
The Firefox rendering engine is faster than Internet Explorer's.
Functionality
Firefox provides tabbed viewing, meaning you only need one window open to view multiple pages.