Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

I just installed Firefox and it looks great! So clean and simple.

However, my boyfriend came home and told me it has a lot of loopholes. I know IE has a lot of loopholes too. Which one is better?

Firefox:
con:
- still has some odd bugs that cause it to lock up for a few seconds
pros:
- not Microsoft
- doesn't crash your OS when it crashes, like IE can
- cleaner interface
- automatically blocks popups and has neat usability tools built in like cookie management and, download management
- has a google bar integrated that isn't spyware (which the normal google bar is)
- is much lower memory load
- is much smaller on your hard drive
- doesn't have a vested interest on monopolizing your PC's OS

They all have security flaws, Internet Exploiter, Opera, Firefox, etc... you're probably better off with lesser used browsers though. From my experience the order goes something like:

IE (most used of course)
Firefox
Opera - use this
Mozilla?

Firefox has tabs and a popup blocker, and in general it renders web sites a lot better and more consistently than IE.

On the other hand, some web sites are built specifically for IE and may not work in Firefox. This is the fault of the developer (there really is no reason to do this) but you still might want to keep both around.

I use Firefox but have noticed that sometimes it doesn't handle forms well. There are certain website I have to use IE for as clicking the "submit" button in Firefox does nothng.

These sites are few and far between though. I really like speed of firefox. If you are committed to browsing hardcore porn on the Internet, Firefox is for you!

Firefox is FAR superior.

My major gripe with IE is that it isn't standards-compliant. Which basically means that as a web developer I have to spend extra time making my hard work actually look decent in IE. It's so annoying that it's unbelievable -- MS for years has tried to add their own IE-specific tags to HTML and trounce around like they own the Internet.

My second major gripe with IE is the whole "1 window per page" paradigm. Oh, and it's suceptibility to malicious scripting, adware, spyware, etc.

It's also slow, ugly, and cumbersome.

Firefox on the other hand is the most standards-compliant browser. Is configurable and easy to manage. You can extend it's functionality with extensions and make it look better with skins.

It's fast, has integrated search and tabbed browsing.

It's also more secure and has fewer vulnerabilities so far.

IE used to find vulnerabilities about once a week. We're still finding a lot of them.

Opera is better than IE. Safari is better than IE.

IE is the bane of web developers... even more so since it practically comes packaged with Windows and so many people still use it for some reason.

If your that desperate for tabbed browsing, there are IE-interfaces that provide tabbed browsing while still using the IE 'engine'.

I find Firefox has some issues that I don't like. It doesn't handle some filetypes as well as IE (PNG, noteably), and some sites I just cant get to work in Firefox (Fileplanet comes to mind).

I use firefox for day to day stuff, but I still use IE for alot.

I use to HATE I mean HATE IE. I was a Netscape person. When Netscape when down hill (I don’t remember the version) I started looking at anything but IE. I tried them all. I ended up over at a friends mothers house to help her with some problems. Used IE and liked it. I have now moved over to IE. I no longer have even a 1/4 of the problems.

As for the tab thing, I got to say I don’t like it. Reminds me of AOL to much. AOL is a viruses and anything like it I run from. Tried it and didn’t like the tabs. (Funny Netscape talks about how much better they are then IE but AOL who owns them uses IE)

As for Google being spy ware. Take the time and know what you are talking about. Google ASK you if you will allow it to send info back to Google. If you say no then it is not spy ware. If it does then it’s not the typical spy ware, Google style is good for you and me. Because I have allowed it, it helps make the Google searches better. That helps you. In IE you can have it or not have it as a help to the community.

I love Firefox. Love it love it love it! No browswer is 100% safe. Firefox wins on features. I'm also using Thunderbird for email now too.

I've used a lot of web browsers throughout the years (including NCSA Mosaic and Lynx), and I have to say that the best browser out there right now is Firefox.

Small size, W3C compliant, Tabbed browsing, Google/Dictionary/etc. bar, Spyware resistant, Pop-up blocker, Streamlined interface, Cross-OS platformed, weaker-severity security holes which are identified and patched ASAP, 3rd-Party themes and plug-ins, Mouse gestures.. there's so many reasons why Firefox is a superior browser.

Safari RSS is the superior browser.

Check out the link. Safari is now 2x faster than Firefox and 5x faster than IE. It alone is worth buying a Mac for.

~Ulrika~

Uh... faster? Since when is web browsing a performance-critical task?
I don't know if that's some newfangled version of safari, but the one I am forced to use on my friend's laptops absolutely sucks.

I use Firefox and prefer it over IE. Haven't found any cons yet.

Alexa

Well, as a forum junkie, I appreciate the faster-loading threads in the SL forums.

As for your friend's laptop, if the program seems slow and unresponsive, it's more likely due to old hardware and insufficient memory than the program. We have an older 15" titanium notebook and it feels painfully slow compared to our new dual G5. For those who use Safari, I also recommend getting the Saft plug in.

~Ulrika~

I have to pick on this one a little.

IE does not support PNGs correctly at all, as in it requires hacks to make it display transparency.

Also, never had a problem with Fileplanet in Firefox.

I can't get the damn download manager to work with FF on Fileplanet. I may be doing something wrong, but...

It might be that Fileplanet went with activex controls or something... betting that the infallible IE could never fall.

However, unless MS decides to support XHTML 1.0 Strict/CSS 2.0 with full compliance -- I don't foresee actually "using" IE any more. I gave up using IE years ago and have never looked back. I only have it on my system for testing since so many poor souls out there still use it.

I like the lack of pop-ups, the integrated extension manager, the lack of "toolbars" being added against my will, the lack of spyware sabotaging my homepage and my OS... etc.

Most of all, standards compliance.

Firefox is standards compliant.

IE isn't.

IE doesn't render anything properly actually -- the only stuff that looks good are sites that are built FOR IE.

IE just doesn't make any sense.

Sorry, I have to call shenanigens on that. I've never yet been to a site that looked /better/ in Firefox than IE, and I have been to many sites where IE was required (At least, I couldn't get firefox to work).

Standards-complaint? Maybe not. But it works.

Perhaps that's the reason why people still use IE...

and well, almost every site I go to looks better in Firefox.

Why?

Because it's standards compliant.

I cannot stress how important this is. I develop websites and applications for a living and it makes me livid when I see IE-specific tags or have to hack a CSS file and risk invalidation just so I can get my page to render in IE properly since so many people still use it.

Devoted Firefox user here.

-Kiamat Dusk

Opera's better....extensions are evil! And the UI is better!!!

*runs from lynch mob*

It looks like Netscape is trying to make a comeback in the area of web browsers. They just put out Netscape 8.0, it combines Firefox and the Internet Explorer browsers. Its based on Firefox and uses Internet Explorer when it thinks a site is safe. As far as I know its just for Windows.

This THIS browser is better, faster, cheaper, smaller, nicer, cooler, higher, lower or more gay that THAT browser, is ofcourse utter bullshit.
It's sort of a vanilla vs chocolate argument.

They all have pros and cons.

I used IE exclusively for years, but recently gave FireFox a try as IE wouldn't load a certain page (due to a completely f*cked up asshole that had the silly idea that people using IE was not allowed to see his page, sigh).
Firefox works great (loads a little slower than IE though), but unfortunately there's a lot of OTHER pages that it does not render, and where I have to use IE

Try them all and find the one you like best, or better, use them all for what they're best at.

I switched to Firefox well over a year ago. One day of use, and I never looked back.

I use IE only for pages that use activex or crappy IE-specific 'features'. And trust me, that's only when I desperately need to view the page.


- Newfie