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General discussion

compare Mozilla vs Firefox

Mar 17, 2005 1:59AM PST

I noticed that several knowledgeable people here are recommending Firefox over Mozilla.

I have both installed (and MSIE for upgrades) and see no difference in surfing speed or anything else. Firefox requires a separate MAIL program, Mozilla has MAIL integrated in the program and as far as I know has as many or more features as Firefox.



I am curious why Firefox is recommended over Mozilla. (I find Mozilla to be VERY stable)

Just curious, am I missing something in Firefox.

Ben

Discussion is locked

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For instance...
Mar 17, 2005 2:06AM PST

Mozilla is a suite and I use its Composer to create some content. Firefox doesn't have that or email.

Bob

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Personal opinions. . .
Mar 17, 2005 2:08AM PST

As you stated, FF is without email, Moz has it. That's basically the only difference.

Why is FF recommended most? Who knows.

I have them but still use IE6. Why, because I keep Windows updated (two XP machines and one W98SE machine), run the Spyware Suite (from my site below), run Zone Alarm as a firewall, all behind my D-link router, and currently run NSW 2005, I have NEVER been infected.

HTH,

Click here to see the CNet faces, learn a little about internet
connections and data, and download free software.

If you can remain calm, you just don't have all the facts.

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Updates through Netscape
Jun 20, 2006 2:26AM PDT

You can get all your updates from WindizUpdate. Just go to their site making sure you're using Nestcape or Mozilla, download the plugin, restart then go back to the site and begin the update procedure. The plus is you don't have to be invaded by the WGA spyware that Microsoft has deemed necessary.

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One thing is ...
Mar 17, 2005 12:54PM PST
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it's just that...
Mar 17, 2005 10:37PM PST

Mozilla Suite has an HTML editor, email program, and a newsreader. Which means it's MORE bloated. If you don't need to edit HTML code, and if you have a standalone E-mail and Newreader app; you don't need the Mozilla Suite. Just get Firefox. And why is Firefox recommended over Mozilla Suite? Because a typical web surfer just needs a basic browser like Firefox. Mozilla Suite is recommended for more tech savvy people. Firefox is for ordinary basic web surfers. Happy

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Bloated? I use that stuff.
Mar 17, 2005 10:41PM PST

Can you offer another such suite without the bloat?

I know about notepad for HTML editing so let's not use that one...

Bob

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The more important question
Mar 18, 2005 9:35AM PST

We're talking suites vs. stand alone and who has more buttons, etc., etc. My main question is on the security issue. I've been using 1.7 and my wife just went to FF. How much better off is she, in terms of what is supposed to be Mozilla's selling point - security? Isn't that what it's all about?

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I use both.
Mar 18, 2005 11:41AM PST

Since I consult on web content and more... I use both and find them to be equal on the security front. Yes there is that recent discussion about a Java exploit, but let's leave that in the Security Forum.

Ever since I banned (and the office agreed) IE except for Windows Update at the office and home, our workload for spyware sweeps and overall problems went to some less than percentage point of the prior days with ... ie.

Bob

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Mozilla seems to be the winner....
Mar 20, 2005 12:26PM PST

I have Moz and Firefox and msie. To me, Mozilla is the best BECAUSE it has MAIL, which for me never gives any problems. ( I use msie for ms upgrades only)

Thanks for all the input.

Ben

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Where has everyone been?
Mar 24, 2005 11:41PM PST

I've used Mozilla and I've been trying out Firefox for a couple of months. What's the big deal?

I'm now doing the same thing in these packages I've been doing in Netscape for several years. Mozilla and Firefox didn't invent the wheel, they just made it look prettier!

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Windows Update and IE???
Mar 25, 2005 2:32AM PST

Bob, you said:
>>>Ever since I banned (and the office agreed) IE except for Windows Update>>>

Is IE the only way you can update Windows? Does this mean I should use IE every now and then?

Thanks,
Gina

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For Gina,
Mar 25, 2005 4:20AM PST

" Is IE the only way you can update Windows? "

No. But the other methods would have us work harder so we don't.

" Does this mean I should use IE every now and then? "

For WU? Yes.

bob

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Thanks Bob!
Mar 25, 2005 9:09AM PST

I'm glad I decided to read this thread today!...Gina!

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The reason you need IE for Updates
Mar 26, 2005 11:05AM PST

Come on, people. The real reason you need IE for Updates is that Microsoft won't allow you to update with another browser. Go ahead, give it a try. Ya get the picture?

Rich

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Extensions
Mar 24, 2005 8:03PM PST

Thing is, most stuff in the mozilla suit are avaible in FireFox as extensions (ChatZilla, html editor, etc).
That's one of the reasons why I use FireFox, it comes with less features when installed, but can be added using extensions...

(bad grammer *lol*)

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mozilla vs firefox
Mar 25, 2005 2:58AM PST

Personally, I use Firefox much more than the Mozilla Suite. I don't really like the built in mail with Mozilla, so I use Thunderbird instead. For HTML editing I use some Firefox extensions which work better than what the Mozilla Suite offers. Firefox has many more extensions, such as Adblock and the Web Developer toolbar, which is another reason that I use it more.

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mozilla vs firefox
Mar 26, 2005 3:16AM PST

For me it is the opposite. I am very reliant on the email component and also make a lot of use of the html editor.
What I like about the Mozilla suite is it is less effort to install all in one package (though it can still be a chore on my unix w/s at work).

On the other hand the focus of the mozilla org seems to be to move towards FF and TB and I fear that sooner or later I will have to migrate.

Also having them as separate applications means that a crash of the browser won't take your email down at the same time (I sometimes get crashes - but I am a very heavy user and run mozilla for days or weeks on end).

Coli

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Some facts...
Mar 27, 2005 10:59AM PST

Hi All

I have heard some news recently that makes this question irrelevent.

The Mozilla organisation are stopping their efforts on the Mozilla Suite to concentrate on Firefox (internet) and Thunderbird (email).

Just to answer some questions that have arisen from above...

The Netscape browser was first developed by the Mozilla people and is based on the same engine, but is severely bloated with commercial additions (shopping etc).

Firefox is lean and clean and secure (just 4.7MB download) but you can make it work the way you want with dozens of extensions to choose from.

I leave IE's security mode on high except when I am downloading Windows Updates and then I raise it again as it is integrated into the op system and can leave you vulnerable even if you don't use it.

Thanks

Michael

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Mozilla or Firefox
Mar 27, 2005 10:08PM PST

Firefox is just a newer browser. It offers good stability (It's what I use), and more features such as tabbed browsing (having one browser open with many different webpages inside open at the same time). Overall, I really prefer Firefox over any browser that I have tried so far.

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The Mozilla org to focus development on Firefox
Mar 29, 2005 1:14AM PST

According to the Mozilla development roadmap ( http://www.mozilla.org/roadmap.html ) the new plan is to maintain the integrated Mozilla suite but to focus development on the standalone applications like FireFox and Thunderbird. In their words:

"1. Focus development efforts on the new standalone applications: the browser currently code-named Firefox, the Mozilla Thunderbird mail/news application, and standalone composer and other apps based on the the new XUL toolkit used by Firefox and Thunderbird. We aim to make Firefox and Thunderbird our premier products, and encourage extension authors and other ISVs to target these applications for their work as well.

2. Updated: Continue to perform sustaining maintenance, including security updates, on the SeaMonkey application suite's final stable branch (1.7.x) for enterprises and other organizations with large existing Mozilla deployments...

...In short, and in the same order as the roadmap element list above, the reasons for this new plan are:

1. Firefox is simply smaller, faster, and better -- especially better not because it has every conflicting feature wanted by each segment of the Mozilla community, but because it has a strong "add-on" extension mechanism. We recognize that different users need many different features; such demand is legitimate on its face. Attempting to "hardwire" all these features to the integrated application suite is not legitimate; it's neither technically nor socially scaleable.

2. What's good for the browser is good for the mail application, too. Mozilla's integrated mail has many fine features, but it suffers from too many integration points with the other apps, and it remains a complicated front end maintained by too few people, most of whom have different day jobs now."

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For what it's worth...
Apr 1, 2005 10:42AM PST

I too have been hearing how great Firefox is. Truth be told, I prefer Mozilla, since it seems to render more web pages better than Firefox overall. I also use & will continue to use IE, simply because it offers so much more than either alternative browser, security issues notwithstanding. The only true plusses to the others are the tabbed browsing feature & relative security, but I can find really no other reason for using the others. I've also tried Opera, which is ok, but I really don't like it as much as either FF or Mozilla. I noticed that someone mentioned "bloat" in this thread, but you know, with all the extras that Mozilla includes (E-mail, HTML, etc.), it still doesn't compare with IE's bloat. Besides, with today's hard drives, who cares about a few Mb here & there. By the time you add Thunderbird & all the extensions to FF, you've got the Mozilla suite in terms of space used anyway.

I mentioned in one of the earlier discussions on these browsers that I am a professional chauffeur on a part time basis (in addition to running my own PC business from my home), & I have yet to find a browser that renders maps as well as IE does (& I don't just mean at MSN Maps, but the Rand McNally site as well), & until someone comes up with a browser that does ALL the things I need it to do, I will stick mainly with IE & use Mozilla for other necessities, while I continue to test drive these other browsers like FF. It's really too bad that the Mozilla org. is "giving up" on it's flagship product, since it is mostly "ready for prime time", while the other pretenders try to play catch-up. Oh well, such is the way of the tech world...

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security is enough
Apr 1, 2005 12:50PM PST

Hi Mazzeo

You mention that all that firefox has on IE is its tabbed browsing and security features. I would add that they are not small features and that they alone are enough to justify the switch and what I like most about FF.

Security these days is a huge problem that IE has not been able to get a foothold on and remains the most exploited and hole filled browser. It is why most computers get filled up with adware and spyware and other scams that eventually make there whole computer unusable. For this reason alone FF should be the browser for choice by most people and IE only used for those few sites that persist in using IE features (which are non standard and what makes it so unsafe). The more people who use IE the more sites will come around to making their sites more cross browser compatible (and safer).

Tabbed browsing is fantastic and save my taskbar from getting buried in programs and makes my whole computer more usable and faster to use. About the bloatware issue I use firefox without any extensions which makes it faster and leaner than IE. If I like to pretty things up or include functionality through extensions then I can but need only add the ones I need. How 'bloated' it becomes is then left up to the user, and it is not filled up (like most software these days) with features that 90% of the people don't use. This is not a hard drive issue but a performance issue.

IE is always there when you have to, but not as the default.

Michael

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Beats all
Apr 1, 2005 10:25PM PST

Avant beats all other browsers.

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It is not a stand alone browser
Apr 2, 2005 3:12PM PST

Hello dufusdad

I went and had a look at Avant and read its FAQ. I was not overly impressed. With the question "Is Avant a secure browser?" the answer was "Avant Browser is as secure as Internet Explorer". This being the main problem and critisism of IE does not inspire confidence. Furthermore it says it works by "using the services of Internet Explorer", so my understanding is that it is an extension to Internet Explorer adding features it doesn't have but with all the security and other issues of IE.

I will stay with a completely new and independent firefox thank you.

Michael

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Avant-Security
Apr 15, 2005 5:18AM PDT

It's my philosophy that most security issues can be handled by security suites and that's what I use(TrendMicro).Avant has so many features(includig RSS feeds) that I think it is best--and also free like Firefox.

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RSS Feeds for Dummies
Apr 6, 2005 8:30AM PDT

Firefox has its Live Bookmarks Feature. I have yet to see an easier way to access RSS Feeds. You just click on the orange box in the corner, and answer yes if you want the feed. Then you find the headlines in your bookmarks.

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FireFox Vs Mozilla
Jun 20, 2006 2:20AM PDT

You stated that you are missing something in FieFox.
Well? What is it that's missing?
Seriously I need to know.
Which component is missing from FireFox that exists in Mozilla.
I've just uninstalled Internet Explorer from XP as it is just too vulnerable to abuse and I've got Netscape installed in it's place.
I read somewhere that Mozilla is better than Netscape and that it's also better than FireFox.
So,..while I'm tooling around with all these new browsers I may as well get the best.
So which is it???