Firefox 2 vs IE 7

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Some quick thoughts on Firefox 2 and IE 7…

Firefox 2 doesn’t seem like it should be a whole new version. It seems about the same as 1.5, which seemed about the same as 1.0. But overall I still love the software, and the add-ons/extensions are great. I use this for 99% of my browsing.
Installation was a snap. The download was about 5 MB and took about 2 minutes to install. No reboots were required and so I was up and running quickly.

IE 7 is a much bigger update and it is beautiful. I think the integration with feeds is fantastic, and it definitely has the look and feel of Firefox (or other tabbed browsers). I actually think the way it handles feeds is better than Firefox/Sage in that if a feed has an “attachment” or link to a file to download, IE 7 shows you the link but Firefox/Sage doesn’t.
Installation was not nearly as easy as Firefox. The download was about 18 MB and took about 15 minutes to install. I needed 2 different reboots until I was able to use the software. I did have a beta version of IE 7 installed, so if you installing IE for the first time it may be quicker.

What are your first impressions?

Comments 2

  • On many of my website’s pages I use a background that I don’t want to scroll with the page. IE deals with this just fine, but Firefox does not.

    Firefox is just NOT as sophisticated as IE!

  • Dear Graham,

    I’m using both now. I do like the RSS integration on IE also. Prior I considered it to much bother to have an RSS reader. Now I look at the content.

    On Firefox it really doesn’t seem to be any better, or worse, than IE to me. I had the older version and rarely used it.

    On the “tabs” situation I feel like it is the answer to a question I had never asked. For years in IE if I want something to open in a different window I just hold the shift key down and click on what I want opened in a new window. Now to change between windows I just Alt-Tab and I’m there. Now with tabs I hit Ctrl-Tab. Doesn’t seem to be much of a help to me. Maybe I don’t exactly understand the benefit’s of tabs.

    So, in my opinion, I think Firfox is just as good as IE. No better, no worse. So I am still just opening one, then the other, to see if I can find something really better about one or the other. So far it’s a tie.

    I suppose if one really hates Mickey-Soft (and many do) Firefox would be a great way to not use IE. I myself use whatever I find to work best for me.

    Take care,
    Cameron

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