CrackedWorld

Ever since I first started using Firefox about 3 years ago I have loved this browser. I was discussing problems with a slow internet connection with a colleague at work when he suggested to me that I try an alternative to Internet Explorer. That was when I discovered Firefox by Mozilla and after that there was no looking back.

Getting Firefox is easy. And its FREE! You just go to the Firefox website and click the download button. The program is only 7.1 MB, with a DSL or Cable internet connection it shouldn’t take more than a minute or two for download.

Once you have it downloaded to your desktop just double-click the installer and let it go. upon installation firefox will prompt you on a few basic choices.

Firefox needs to know a few things about preferences such as:

• Would you like Firefox to import your favorites from Internet Explorer?
• Would you like to use your Home Page from Internet Explorer?
• Would you like to make Firefox your Default Browser?

I answered yes to the first two of these options. I wasn’t willing to change my default browser until I was sure I liked this better than IE.

Opening the browser for the first time took me to my regular Home Page which I asked to be imported from Internet Explorer and to the Firefox start page. Here you find a lot of tips and features which were now at my finger tips.

Some of the more prominent features Firefox has to offer are:

• Tabbed Browsing
• A comprehensive Bookmark system
• A superior Download Manager
• An integrated Search Bar

This just names the most obvious of the best features, There are many others that run behind the scenes that are unseen but certainly noticed.

The Tabbed Browser was and still is my favorite feature of them all. It allows you to open multiple web pages in one single window. This is not only convenient but more efficient for my computer too. When you want to follow a link to a new web page you have several options; you can 1) right click the link and select open in new tab, 2) drag and drop the link into the Tab Bar next to your currently open tab, or 3)  if you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, (and most of us do), you can center-click the Mouse Wheel to automatically open the new tab.

The Book marks are another great feature allowing the user to store numerous web pages of choice in the Bookmarks toolbar at the top of the browser window, (right below the standard navigation buttons). This allows you to open your favorite websites without having to open a Bookmarks (Favorites) Pane. I have well over a dozen book marks in the bookmark toolbar many of the are organized into separate Folders I have placed in the toolbar. I can open the folder and select a web page or open the entire folder of web pages at the click of the button. Filling the Bookmark toolbar is easy, just drag and drop the site you want from either your Bookmarks Pane which opens on the left with the bookmarks Nav. button, or right from the webpage the itself, open the web page and drag the title that’s in the tab to the toolbar and its there.

To Bookmark a web page just right-click its tab and select Bookmark this tab, or bookmark all tabs if you wish. The bookmarks slider on the left side will hold an indefinite amount of bookmarks and bookmark folders if you run out of room in the toolbar.

The Download Manager once set to your liking in preferences, is a matter of clicking download and Firefox will automatically download any given file to where ever you tell it to. Firefox is intuitive enough to default the same location as other files of like formats. So if you downloaded a video clip to Windows Media Player. Firefox will automatically download other files of that or similar formats to the same application unless you tell it otherwise. Firefox also keeps a detailed log of all you downloads which can be found in Tools on the Main Menu. From there you can see all the recent file downloads you’ve made.

The Integrated Search Bar is located in the upper right corner of the browser and is usually defaulted to Google,  this can be changed, just click the drop down arrow next to that familiar Google G and select the search engine of your choice. Firefox provides a broad selection of different Searches including Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo, and Ask to name a few as well as a tool to download more searches if you don’t find the one you want.

Firefox has many other behind the scenes things going on that you don’t see or know about but they give a performance superior to other internet browsers n areas like security and Pop Up blocking. I have literally had less then 10 pop ups on my computer in the last 12 months using Firefox.

Next time I will explain how extensible Firefox is and show some of my favorite extensions for Firefox. Until then give Firefox a try and help mend The Cracked World.

Tags: Computers, Firefox, Internet
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