BrianAndPamela.com

So, recently I posted my review of Internet Explorer 7.  I did that because I know that some of you out there are still using IE6 and if you are, you NEED to upgrade.  But I don't use IE unless … well, no I don't use IE. 

UPDATE:  (10/24 11:15) The final version of Firefox 2 is OUT!  Get it now at http://getfirefox.com

Allow me to take this opportunity to introduce you to the OTHER new browser out there, the one I use, Firefox version 2.  So, in case you've been living under a rock or just ignoring my Firefoxian Evangelism for the past little bit of forever, Firefox is a free and open source browser, which means the cost of upgrading or even just trying it out is a grand total of nothing.  It has had features since launch that IE is just getting in version 7, such as stronger security, add-ons that extend functionality and (joy of joys) tabbed browsing.  Once you've experienced tabbed browsing, you seriously will wonder how you ever lived without it.  It's like dual monitors, but I digress… A bigger deal is that Firefox doesn't support Active X, which is one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities in IE, this makes some things (like some IE-only sites) a pain in the neck, but there are ways around that.  And besides, you're not uninstalling IE, you're just not using it unless you REALLY have to.  In a nutshell, Firefox > IE, got it?

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, Firefox 2 isn't out yet.  At least it wasn't when I wrote this, but it'll be out any day.  I promise.  They're on Release Candidate 3, which means that we're only DAYS away from launch and the version you can download now (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/bonecho/all-rc.html use http://getfirefox.com ) will be pretty close to the real thing, and it will auto update to the full version when it's released.

So what's changed with Firefox 2? Well, at first glance, not much.  In fact even the default Firefox 2 theme is pretty close to the old one.  In no way is the interface as radical as IE7, so if the new interface for IE is too much, you'll feel right at home with Firefox.  The default theme is very reminiscent of a Linux look, but with a definite nod to XP.  The Mac and Linux versions have subtle variations but are still clearly Firefox, the brand identity is strong.  Interestingly, I was listening to Inside the Net this week interviewing the guys who were tasked with the design upgrade and they really had to think long and hard about weather the use a visual style based on the XP interface or the new Vista Aero interface.  Of course one of the biggest visual advantages of Firefox still holds, you can skin it however you wish, there are hundreds of other looks for Firefox, and even before 2 was officially released there were already skins for it available.

Since Firefox has been doing tabbed browsing since day one, the news for version two is the improvements built in.  The tab management is greatly improved with the ability to drag tabs around to reorder them and a menu to allow two click access to any opened tab.

The search box in the upper right has been improved, with sites like Google and Yahoo! suggesting common completions for your search as you type.  Management of the search options has been improved, to which I say: Why? Firefox allows you to enter a keyword search term so you can search from the address bar.  Simply go to Google (or yahoo, or Wikipedia or any place with a search box), right click on the search box and choose "Add a keyword for this search…", Enter a name ("Google") and a keyword (For Google, I chose "g").  When you're done, open a new tab, and in the adress bar type "g your search terms".  Voila… quick search.  I've got quick searches set up for Google, Wikipedia, IMDB, Amazon, Digg, and separate searches for Google news, Images, Groups and Froogle.  Really makes life MUCH simpler.

There are a few other cool things to note with Firefox 2.  There is an even quicker quick find.  In addition to the CTRL-F which allows you to find things on a page you can now press the forward slash key to bring up a temporary Quick Find box.  It doesn't let you highlight all occurences on a page, but you can F3 through the results.  All the search options are still available from the CTRL-F bar also.  Firefox 2 now has a built in spell checker, which is nice for anyone who uses websites for posting to forums, blogs or anything else where spelling counts.  There's also some basic session management, with Firefox asking you if you'd like to restore open windows and tabs after a browser crash or a plug-in installation which required a restart.  This session restoration can also be made the standard behavior for whenever Firefox is started up.

One of the biggest advantages Firefox has over other browsers is the wealth of Extensions available.  These helpful add-ons extend the functionality of the browser.  Some are behind the scenes, like Fasterfox which improves Firefox's speed.  Add things to the browser, like ForecastFox which puts radar and weather forecasting in a toolbar.  Still others change the functionality of the browser, as does Googlepedia, which runs a wikipedia search in parallel to every google search you perform.  Unfortunately, not all extensions have release 2.0 compatible versions.  For some it's a small matter of code, for others, they need to be rewritten.  For the simple ones, the Firefox Nightly Build Tools(NBT) extension can force the extension to think it will work, and it probably does.  One of my personal favorites, TabMixPlus is one of those that doesn't work at all, which is a shame because the ability to duplicate a page in a new tab, complete with a duplicated history made research MUCH easier.  Well, most popular extensions will be functional very soon, and until the the NBT hack works very well.

Lastly, of course there are some security advantages in FF2.  The biggest is that it's not IE, but that's not new.  FF has also added anti-phishing protection, which should make those of us who recommend the browser to everyday users sleep much better. 

So that's it.  Firefox 2.  Get it.  Use it.  Love it.