Begun, The Browser Wars Have

As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over 25 million downloads direct from the makers website, and goodness knows how many through other sources, Microsoft announces that it will be releasing IE 7 ahead of schedule. Originally scheduled for release with Microsoft's new Longhorn operating system in 2006, it seems that Microsoft are reacting to the run away success that Firefox has had over the last few months. But is Microsoft's announcement just a response to Firefox's success, or is it truly a commitment by the software giant to improve the browsing experience of the masses?

I'm going to make no secret about it; I am a Firefox user first and foremost. Ever since I first looked at Firefox and saw the features such as power tabbing, proper support for Internet standards and the integrated search bar, I've been in love with this browser. To me Internet Explorer has not a patch on the competition, and without a major update soon will surely fall behind. When Microsoft announced their plans to bring forward Internet Explorer 7 I was very interested in what they had to offer. Competition is the life-blood of progress, and if Microsoft were to seriously invest in their browser it would be of great advantage to Internet users as a whole. Unfortunately, I was disappointed at what emerged. It seems that all Microsoft are doing is making some nebulous claims as to 'increasing the security' of their browser. No mention of tabbing, increased standards support or any of the other features of Firefox which IE are sorely lacking. To me it seems that all Microsoft's latest release aims to do is distract people in an attempt to out-hype Firefox.

I sincerely hope that I can be proved wrong and, for once, Microsoft can deliver on their promises. Early reports do, however, indicate that their new browser will only work with Windows XP, leaving many users out in the cold still. Even if Microsoft does get it's act together there is one thing they'll never have ? cross-platform compatibility. While Firefox will run under Mac OS X, Linux, even old BeOS systems, as well as Windows, IE is limited to Windows only. So for now Firefox is far and away the best choice of browser for the web, and looks like it may stay this way for some time to come.

Do you not want to believe what I am saying? Well, even the almighty Google agrees with me. Just try searching for 'best browser', or even 'browser' in Google, and just see what comes up. Even MSN seems to agree. If you haven't yet tried Firefox and would like to give it a go, it can be downloaded here. If you would like to know more about why you should consider changing your browser I can also recommend you go visit This Page: Why you should dump Internet Explorer.

Daniel Robson runs http://www.shock-therapy.org where he hands out his freeware, as well as hosting Freeware for Symbian UIQ series 7.0 phones such as the Sony Ericsson PX00 series.

---

Free Preventive Maintenance Software

While several preventive maintenance software manufacturers offer free trials for... Read More

Intro to UNIX Shells

A UNIX Shell is in simplest terms, a command line... Read More

Causes of ERP Failures

ERP is the acronym of Enterprise Resource Planning. Multi-module ERP... Read More

Lotus Domino: Application Integration ? A Programmer View

There are two approaches for application integration:? Programmer's approach ?... Read More

Microsoft CRM Conversation Gateway: VoIP - Implementation & Customization

Microsoft CRM is winning market share step-by-step from such the... Read More

Microsoft CRM Integration With Microsoft Office Documents ? Overview For System Integrator

Microsoft CRM is CRM application, maintained and supported by Microsoft... Read More

Crystal Reports - Geterogeneus databases: SQL Server, Oracle, Unidata, Btrieve ? Tips For Developer

Crystal Reports is the most flexible tool on the market... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains international implementation ? USA / Mexico ? overview for consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was purchased from Great Plains... Read More

Software Process Improvement -A Successful Journey

Background: For many organizations like ours, the interim target of... Read More

Spyware Protection: A Must for Any Home Computer

Now that spyware is the single most dangerous threat to... Read More

Great Plains DOS Support ? Notes for Consultant

Great Plains Accounting, accounting package for mid-size and small companies... Read More

Navision Attain Database access via C/ODBC in ASP.NET Application

Navision Software was purchased by Microsoft and now it is... Read More

Why Stick With Email Clients Like Outlook?

Trying to figure out a stream in banning one email... Read More

Five Tips For A Great Software Demo

Whether you need to close a sale, gather end-user feedback,... Read More

Great Plains Dexterity ? Microsoft Great Plains Customization Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics... Read More

Document Templates Give You The Perfect Framework For Your Documents

When it comes to running an office, the SOHO entrepreneur... Read More

Keep Your Software Simple! A Review of EditPlus

I like my software simple. If it's too complex or... Read More

International Support - Microsoft Great Plains VAR/Partner Selection ? Overview for V.P. IT

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

ERP Consulting: Microsoft Great Plains Partner Future Directions

In the Clinton era the status quo was simple: you... Read More

Software Review: Xsitepro Total Site Management Software

It's not very often I get excited about a software... Read More

What is Spyware? Are You Being Watched?

Find out why Spyware Removal from computers is important and... Read More

Navision Sales Module & Reporting: Jet Reports, C/ODBC, XBRL, Business Analytics ? highlights

Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with... Read More

Groove Network. Are you in it?

If you are in a business that passes documents around... Read More

Microsoft CRM Integration with IBM Lotus Notes Domino ? Machinery Dealership Example

IBM Lotus Notes with Domino email server is traditional document... Read More

A Time-Saving Programming Tactic that Doesn?t Work

Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More

New Web-Based HR Tool is Max From NAS, Hannibal, and InfoLink

Three highly respected names in Human Resources have joined forces... Read More

CROOK: A Methodology for the Refinement of Forward-Error Correction

Table of Contents1) Introduction 2) Related Work 3) Framework 4)... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains in Metal Distribution: Implementation & Customization ? Consultant Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves to the wide spectrum... Read More

Corporate ERP: Standard vs. Rich functionality ? Microsoft Great Plains

Traditionally we were considering functionally rich systems, such as SAP,... Read More

Who Is Minding Your Sensitive Data?

Stealing company information used to be the specialty of spies... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Chemicals & Paint Industry Implementation & Customization Notes

Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of industries, in the... Read More

Groupware: Avoid the Ad Hoc Shuffle

GroupwareEfforts are continually made to manage the unavoidable ad hoc... Read More

Spyware, What is it?

Spyware, what it is and what it does. Basically, spyware... Read More