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Internet Explorer 7 is still inferior to Mozilla's Firefox Browser
By John Parson
Microsoft releases their final version of Internet Explorer 7 today.
This release completes Microsoft's 'catch up' to the features Mozilla's
Firefox browser has had as standard equipment for at least a couple of
years now. It took Firefox's assault on Internet Explorer's market
share before Microsoft was willing to do something about updating their
web browser. This is the first update to the IE browser in five years. With this new release, there are literally hundreds of articles coming
out evaluating IE 7 versus Firefox's browser. Everyone is asking
themselves the same question. Does IE 7 have the edge over Firefox's
browsers once again? Personally, I still prefer Firefox. Here are some
reasons I think Firefox is still superior to IE 7.
Firefox is not built into the operating system. This first thing is big
for me. In order for the average person to be able to use Internet
Explorer 7, they need to go through the whole Service Pack 2 upgrade.
This in itself isn't all bad because it gives people an incentive to
update their operating system. The problem though is having to go
through all kinds of hoops just to access a browser that is so tightly
integrated into the operating system that it gets in the way isn't my
idea of fun. In comparison, Firefox is a small, easy to install
download that is also easy to remove. Microsoft's reasons for
integrating their browser so tightly into Windows doesn't hold water in
my books.
Secondly, Firefox is operating system independent. I run a Linux based
operating system on my laptop with Firefox installed. The Linux version
of the operating system runs just as well as in the Windows version.
This integration also allows for the greatest number of potential
developers and users for the Firefox browser.
Thirdly, while IE 7 now includes plug-in support, Firefox plug-ins or
extensions as it's called by Mozilla, is much more mature with
thousands of extensions already written for it. This gap will no doubt
close over the coming couple of years but as of today, the advantage in
this area is still with Firefox.
Mozilla continues to improve their browser regularly with new features.
Firefox 2 is about to launch in a few days with all kinds of tweaks and
new features. IE 7 represents Microsoft's first browser update in
years! Microsoft wasn't interested in updating their browser until they
starting loosing major market share to the Firefox browser. If Firefox
hadn't come around, I wouldn't be suprised if Microsoft would still
have not spent any development money on a new version of Internet
Explorer.
The biggest advantage that Microsoft has in its corner is the fact that
they use their operating system monopoly to force their browser onto
the desktop of every operating system they sell. They also integrate
their browser so tightly to the operating system that no one can remove
it like a normal piece of software (Firefox).
The Firefox team is much more responsive to consumer needs. They are
generally faster at fixing bugs than Microsoft and almost infinitely
faster at adding new features. Overall, Firefox is the best choice
today and into the foreseable future.
About the Author:
John Parson is a technology writer for Yowling Inc.
Posted on 2006-10-23
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