Firefox vs IE

[_Nomomo]

IE only has 2 useful purposes, QuickBooks needs it & Shoutcast in Winamp Pro uses it. To use IE to browse the Internet is frickin' ridiculous when there are a 1/2 dozen better options.

Also Any program with the exception of Picasa that is available in a "Portable" Should not even be installed to your OS. Portables are not just for thumb drives, put 'em on your hard drive and they run like Maseratis.

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/seamonkey_portable

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/google_chrome_portable

http://opera-usb.com/download/operausb1161en.exe

Opera is the best of the 4 above portable browsers, 1 out of a 100 sites work better in Firefox. (you can have 3 or 4 browser types open at the same time with no problems) SeaMonkey is the 2nd best of the above (from Mozilla, the same developers as Firefox)

One of the many Portable App resources available out there:
http://portableapps.com/apps

[_Yoda]

I use Firefox when I'm at work (Windows) and Safari when I'm at home (Mac).

The only time I use IE is if I need to download a template onto Microsoft Office. IE "marries" with the Microsoft applications the best (no big surprise there..LOL)

Firefox is very secure. I love it!

Safari is great, too.

[_Nomomo]

I would add to Liz's comments that Adblock Plus is the #1 Add-on that no Firefox, SeaMonkey, or Opera user should browse the Internet without. Even if you only have 1 Add-on this should be it!

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/

https://addons.opera.com/en/addons/extensions/details/opera-adblock/0.51/

[_cinepro]

I just switched to Firefox because the new versions of IE are not compatible with Windows 2000. And they recommended 2000 for my elderly laptop.

What problems might I expect with Firefox? My son tried it years and years ago and I didn't like it.

I use Firefox 90% of the time, and 9% I'll open a Chrome window for something. 1% is IE for some intranet stuff.

The first thing to do with Firefox is start customizing it and using add-ons. These are my favorites to try first:

Ad Block Plus

Does a great job of blocking ads as you surf.

Tab Mix Plus

Great way to customize tabs. I like to have my bookmarks and searches open in new tabs.

Also, be sure to put all your favorite search sites in the search bar at the top right corner of the screen. This add-on can do it automatically:

Add To Search

[_Nomomo]

Speed Dial for Firefox is an excelent add-on also: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/speed-dial/

The best download for Firefox Browser is here:
http://www.Facebook.com/portableapps/posts/143054762479597
And here: http://portableapps.com/news/2012-01-31_-_firefox_portable_10.0_released

Firefox in the portable edition running on your hard drive is much more responsive and faster than installing it to the OS. It runs directly out of the Folder - No features or abilities are lost in the portabe Firefox and it upgrades to newer releases just the same as the installed to OS version.