Why move to Firefox 3.0?
8 comments- TAGS:Browser Wars, firefox 3, Internet Explorer, Mozilla
- IT TOPICS:Security, Software, Internet
I wrote yesterday on my personal blog about not being willing to download Firefox 3 until there had been a few bug fixes for the inevitable vulnerabilities that would show up. And while this is not an "I told you so" post, the prediction did come true (I fully acknowledge that the prediction was not that awe-inspiring and others made the same prediction).
No, I am not writing to brag. I am writing to ask a question: why is everyone still downloading Firefox? I know this turns into a religious war like so many other things out there, so I expect some people to get pissy. But really, what is your reasoning? Is it tabs? IE has them now, and I actually like the way IE7 tabs work better than FF2 (haven't seen FF3 yet, obviously).
Is it security? Well, that really doesn't hold much water anymore. IE is even ahead of the game in some respects (recognized EV certs with the green bar before FF3 came out).
Is it simply to stick a finger in the eye of MSFT? That might be a little immature, but I have done immature things a few times in my life, and I still catch myself doing them. So no problem there.
Is it performance? Maybe so. I have not seen anything vastly better in the performance category between IE7 and FF2. If anything, I see IE as faster. Since I haven't used FF3, I can't speak to it. Maybe I will finally download it and have it blow away IE. If so, great!
Is it the customization of FF? Ahhh. There we are. I think a lot of the preference comes down to it being uber-customizable with some really cool plugins and themes. It appeals to the geek, and that is why so many people think it is cool (I love plugins -- NoScript is awesome).
But overall, the issue I have is that FF is no longer this secure alternative that people were looking for. Mozilla soon found that they had to cater to all the things IE catered to, and now they are coming out with the same vulnerabilities that IE has. It does give some additional security benefits if you use plugins, but those are not native FF features.
Don't get me wrong. I use FF. I also use IE, and I also use Safari for Windows (yes, I updated to 3.1.2) because I like features in each. I just like to examine my motives when I am doing something. For me personally, it is because it is something new. That is why I will download it when I feel it is a little more secure.
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