IE 7 vs FireFox 2

Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on November 2, 2006

It's being covered as a war between two browsers, Internet Explorer 7 and FireFox 2, it's about features, it's about security and it's about ease of use.

newsday.com says:

Bottom line: If you're happy with Firefox or Opera, there's no need to switch to IE7, but it's worth a look. If you're still using IE6, the new version is definitely worth downloading. You can let the pioneers discover the early bugs or find it now at microsoft.com/ie.

The Akron Beacon Journal says:

In Mozilla, Microsoft is facing a far different rival from Netscape. Mozilla doesn't seek to make a profit -- it's owned by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation. And it responds to users every day, as its fans voluntarily write the software. Several of the features that users had written as optional add-on features to Firefox have been integrated into version 2.0, including a built-in spell-checker and system restoration, which automatically reopens windows and tabs, returning the browser to its state before it was closed -- or before the system crashed or rebooted.

Computerworld reports:

Just one week after claiming that users of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 7 browser could be at risk to an online attack, Danish security vendor Secunia ApS is reporting a new bug in the browser. The bug allows hackers to place a fake Web address in one of the browser's pop-up Windows to trick a victim into inadvertently downloading something from what appears to be a trusted Web site. Secunia has described the flaw in an advisory.

The Age reports:

Two Firefox 2 bugs have been reported, which allegedly cause the browser to crash. Mozilla has rebutted one of the bug reports, and say that the other can't be "reliably exploited". "I would call it just noise," Window Snyder, Mozilla's security chief, told CNET News.com. Two flaws have also been found in IE7. Both potentially expose users to phishing attacks, but Secunia has labelled them "less critical".

What isn't mentioned in these articles, of course, is that for many people there is no choice. Either key applications have been written that only work in one browser forcing them to use IE, they run minority hardware or operating systems which Firefox supports, or they use a locked-down desktop with only one installed. Until you have rivals competing like this it's entirely possible to miss the huge benefits to be gained from open standards.

cheers, stuart

Stuart's blog
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4712 reads

Firefox Better for Academic Community - At Least for Now

Submitted by Jeff VanDrimmelen (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) on November 2, 2006 - 7:43am.

Thanks for aggregating the discussion going on right now in a nice easy place to see. It is true, there is a lot of buzz about the two browsers. I am lucky enough to have the choice which browser to install on my computer and although I prefer Firefox 2.0 with it's spell checking capabilities, I have also installed IE7 because, like you said, certain web applications just run better on it than Firefox. As far as the academic community goes, however, I always encourage Firefox where possible because of the many, many extensions which are available right now. I'm sure IE7 will catch up in the next year as developers start to see the market potential in IE7, but for now the Firefox extension database far outnumbers the IE extension database... and the best part is, all the Firefox extensions are FREE (very important in the academic community)! It seems like every discipline has an extension that makes their lives and/or research easier. One that I recommend to our foreign language departments is an extension that allows them to listen to the radio in foreign stations. Granted, you can often find that information on web pages, but there are toolbars as well that translate pages, link to cultural events in that country, and search in a second language as well. That is just one of hundreds of such extensions. Yeah for open-source!

		IE 7 vs FireFox 2 Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on November 2, 2006 It's being covered as a war between two browsers, Internet Explorer 7 and FireFox 2, it's about features, it's about security and it's about ease of use. newsday.com says: Bottom line: If you're happy with Firefox or Opera, there's no need to switch to IE7, but it's worth a look. If you're still using IE6, the new version is definitely worth downloading. You can let the pioneers discover the early bugs or find it now at microsoft.com/ie. The Akron Beacon Journal says: In Mozilla, Microsoft is facing a far different rival from Netscape. Mozilla doesn't seek to make a profit -- it's owned by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation. And it responds to users every day, as its fans voluntarily write the software. Several of the features that users had written as optional add-on features to Firefox have been integrated into version 2.0, including a built-in spell-checker and system restoration, which automatically reopens windows and tabs, returning the browser to its state before it was closed -- or before the system crashed or rebooted. Computerworld reports: Just one week after claiming that users of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 7 browser could be at risk to an online attack, Danish security vendor Secunia ApS is reporting a new bug in the browser. The bug allows hackers to place a fake Web address in one of the browser's pop-up Windows to trick a victim into inadvertently downloading something from what appears to be a trusted Web site. Secunia has described the flaw in an advisory. The Age reports: Two Firefox 2 bugs have been reported, which allegedly cause the browser to crash. Mozilla has rebutted one of the bug reports, and say that the other can't be "reliably exploited". "I would call it just noise," Window Snyder, Mozilla's security chief, told CNET News.com. Two flaws have also been found in IE7. Both potentially expose users to phishing attacks, but Secunia has labelled them "less critical". What isn't mentioned in these articles, of course, is that for many people there is no choice. Either key applications have been written that only work in one browser forcing them to use IE, they run minority hardware or operating systems which Firefox supports, or they use a locked-down desktop with only one installed. Until you have rivals competing like this it's entirely possible to miss the huge benefits to be gained from open standards. cheers, stuart 6708 \| browser \| browser wars \| firefox \| IE7 \| Internet Explorer 7 \| Open Standards \| open_source \| spell checker \| tabs Stuart's blog Login or register to post comments 4712 reads Firefox Better for Academic Community - At Least for Now Submitted by Jeff VanDrimmelen (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) on November 2, 2006 - 7:43am. Thanks for aggregating the discussion going on right now in a nice easy place to see. It is true, there is a lot of buzz about the two browsers. I am lucky enough to have the choice which browser to install on my computer and although I prefer Firefox 2.0 with it's spell checking capabilities, I have also installed IE7 because, like you said, certain web applications just run better on it than Firefox. As far as the academic community goes, however, I always encourage Firefox where possible because of the many, many extensions which are available right now. I'm sure IE7 will catch up in the next year as developers start to see the market potential in IE7, but for now the Firefox extension database far outnumbers the IE extension database... and the best part is, all the Firefox extensions are FREE (very important in the academic community)! It seems like every discipline has an extension that makes their lives and/or research easier. One that I recommend to our foreign language departments is an extension that allows them to listen to the radio in foreign stations. Granted, you can often find that information on web pages, but there are toolbars as well that translate pages, link to cultural events in that country, and search in a second language as well. That is just one of hundreds of such extensions. Yeah for open-source! Login or register to post comments
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