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You have probably noticed Firefox ads from around the web -- including the bottom of this site. The Open Source Community has a new figurehead to add to its current display: the Firefox web browser.

I will add information about Firefox soon, but for now you can visit their website by either clicking here: Mozilla.org or clikcing on the "Get Firefox" ad at the bottom. Thunderbird is the companion e-mail client.

For a brief intro (not written by me) to Firefox and why you should switch, click here

No. This is a common misconception those who have not been following the progression of computer software.

Here is a small exerpt from Slashdot with the counter-argument after someone made the claim that if people use firefox people will start 'writting malware' for firefox. With this being simply false, here is an explanation:

[...]You're assuming that Firefox has the same amount of bugs and vulnerabilities that IE does and it's not the case. A lot of why IE has been so problematic is that during their war for the browser they "extended" the crap out of it, adding a lot of out-of-standard enhancements and extensions. IE has countless API's that keep web sites and applications stuck on IE and making it harder to switch to something else (really, no different then anything else Microsoft has ever made.) Firefox is open source, it adheres to standards more strictly, and it's a lot more light-weight. There's less opportunity for malware to get in with Firefox, and if there's a security flaw it's fixed a lot faster. On the other hand, because of IE's extensions and extra functionality, it makes it much more difficult for Microsoft to back off on all the extra (and not soundly designed) features because everyone is stuck on them.

Firefox is Open Source Software, meaning that the source code is available to programmers (and nonprogrammers if they really want to look) and as such, Firefox can be available for any platform. That being said, there are official downloads available for all major platforms: Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Because of the interoperability of UNIX/POSIX systems, it is possible to run the linux version of Firefox on *BSD, Solaris, and other UNIX systems

Firefox's Interface looks very similar to IE, so the switch will be easy!

Top reasons to use Firefox:

• Security/Safety (Safer from spyware and viruses)
• Tabs
• Style / Themes (Skinable - Cool - Feel - Looks Slick)
• Extensions (Adblock - Many of them)
• Not Microsoft
• Speed (Sometime double)
• Pop-up Manager
• Password Manager
• IE - Better than
• Flexible / Power
• Open source
• More organized
• Easy switch (Over come fear of it not being Microsoft software)
• Free
• Find bar
• IE - risk of continuing to use IE outweighed the inconvenience and possible disappointment of a switch
• Live bookmarks
• No complaints
• Non compatibility with many sites is a myth (Only Active X sites)
• Perk - option to "allow sites to install software"
• Perk - small alert saying "The Document Contains no data"
• Personal toolbar
• Rss/XML Feeds (Easy to use)

Spread Firefox website

BSD vs Linux

Linux vs Windows

Linux Migration Intro

Linux subsection

Slashdot

25 reasons to convert to Linux

Linux is progressing swiftly, and Windows is loosing ground. See what benefits can be gained by switching, and experience what you have been missing!

Being available at low cost or free, Linux can be tried care-free and without monetary demand. Do not want to mess with your hard drive? Try a Linux Live Distribution like Knoppix or Ubuntu.

Have Questions, Concerns, or feedback? Contact me