The Leader

Issue date: 8/30/06 Section: Opinion

Only 12% of an estimated billion users are using Mozilla Firefox to browse the Internet, are you one of them? If you aren’t nodding your head and patting yourself on the back yet, here are the top five reasons why your back to school list needs to include installing Firefox.

1. Firefox saves time.

Everyone could use more time. Mozilla has found ways to give it back in small amounts with a number of intuitive features. A one-click bookmarks toolbar under the address bar can be easily customized to put all your favorite sites right at your fingertips. When you login to a site, Firefox’s password manager offers to save the information and can automatically enter it on subsequent visits. In addition, every browser window has an integrated search bar that can be customized to search hundreds of popular sites including Google, eBay and Amazon.

Another advantage to Firefox is the ability to enter keywords into the address bar and even create your own. For example, typing ‘imdb Snakes on a Plane’ redirects to the Internet Movie Database’s page about the film. Entering other keywords like ‘google’ and ‘wiki’ followed by a desired term open Google and Wikipedia searches. These come in handy for quick resolutions to pointless arguments about facts like the birthplace of Houdini as well as in-depth web searches. Start saving time today.

2. Tabbed Browsing.

Firefox’s most useful feature is actually the biggest time-saver of all during intense web searches and bouts with procrastination. Instead of opening each webpage in a separate browser window like in Internet Explorer, Firefox can open every page in different “tabs” in one window. Navigating between tabs is as easy as pointing and clicking. It seems like a tiny feature, but you’ll grow to appreciate the ease of moving between multiple pages quickly instead of searching for the IE window you were just looking at. You need tabbed browsing.

3. Security.

The next time you click one of those AIM virus links or contract some infuriatingly resilient spyware, remember that Firefox would have saved you frustration and even more time. Built-in virus and spyware protection that actually work are just two more reasons why you need Firefox. Also, unlike IE, Firefox doesn’t rely on a separate program to check for and install security updates. When an important update becomes available, vulnerable users are notified and the files are automatically downloaded and installed the next time Firefox opens.

4. Customizability.

Do you find yourself craving up-to-the-minute forecast updates or an ad-free browsing experience? Have you ever wanted to download a video from YouTube or play Pong in your internet browser? All of these features are available along with over 1,700 other free Firefox extensions on the browser’s homepage. Bored by the default gray style? Changing the look of the entire program is as easy as choosing one of the hundreds of available themes. Start enjoying your browsing experience today.

5. Firefox makes wasting time fun.

As much as everyone loves to save time, the internet inevitably brings out the time-waster in all of us. Using a brilliant extension called StumbleUpon, Firefox users can randomly browse a collection of the best pages on the Internet. Hilarious videos and addicting games are sandwiched with provocative and thought-provoking articles about current events. A community of over a million “Stumblers” submit their favorite webpages or visit and rank websites added by other users. Higher-ranked submissions are more likely to be suggested to other users, and the extension starts to predict websites you might like based on your past preferences as you use it. Start Stumbling and make the most of your wasted time.

You deserve better than Internet Explorer. Firefox is available at www.getfirefox.com, so join the revolution and start patting yourself on the back today.

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