eagle-eye wrote:Well Vivian, it really all boils down to security. Most malicious (bad stuff--spyware,malware, etc etc) code (the "language" behind what make a pc an all software talk) is targeted towards IE, simply because it is what MOST users have therefor a bigger target for code writers. Also, IE is "bloated" (uses a lot of space for alot of BS) where FF does not (though it is growing) A user can better control Firefox vs IE through settings and such. Thats it in a nut shell but there is more than that. I still have IE installed because there are some sites that will only allow IE.
Look for the IE Tab extension for FireFox, it opens up any site you wish in a tab in firefox, but using the IE rendering engine. It's great, just a click of the button and you get an IE page in your regular FF window.
Vivian, security is great, and FF is much more so then IE, it also has more frequent security patches if there are issues discovered, but from a regular users perspective I think the biggest draw is the features, and there are many built right in in the base install. Two of favorite built in features are: in line spell checking (anytime you type on a web form, the spelling is checked on the fly and misspelled words get red squiggly lines put under them, ala Microsoft word style), and the built in session resotre (if turned on, when you close firefox it'll remember all your open websites in tabs/windows, and then when you start firefox the next time it will automatically reopen all those tabs/windows/websites). There are more. But the best to come is yet to come: FF has a huge library of themes (for changing the appearance, as eagle eye showed one such in the original post of this thread), and extensions (for adding any sort of functionality you would like.. so long as someone has made an extension to do so!) My FF is so heavily customized with my settings and extensions that I feel really awkward when I have to use another PC that is not mine. But the plus side is my FF configuration fits me like a glove, and it is a pleasure to surf the internet.
Other notable browsers worth checking out if you want to evaluate your choices are Opera and Safari for windows(assuming you don't use a mac, but then you'd already have Safari, now wouldn't you?) I believe Netscape still exists, but I have not looked at it in a long time. If you want a feature rich alternative browser which still uses the IE engine, Maxthon is fairly good, if you are okay with still living with IE.