Remember those days when Firefox was the underdog? I remember the first time I used it. I fired up Firefox on my old Gateway 2000 running Windows 98SE, dialed up to the internet and viola- the internet at painful speeds, viewed on an ugly, buggy browser.
Things have changed a lot in 10 years. Firefox has transformed into a browser mammoth, the golden standard for what most people expect when strolling across the interwebs. It’s no longer a low-key open-source underdog; even everyday, typical end-users know about it (albeit if many of them call it “Foxfire”). So, how does Firefox stand up?
As you may know, I am an unrepentant Chromium user. It’s a near-perfect browsing experience for me that seems to mirror how I think. That being said, browsers are possibly one of the most personal applications on a PC. While Firefox might not be for me, it might be a great option for you.
My experience with Firefox is very hit-and-miss. I reinstalled Firefox for the purpose of writing this post, and tested it for a good long while. Immediately, I was slapped in the face with the fact that it feels so sluggish when compared to Chromium. Sure, it’s a fast browser- but it’s slower than Chromium, and it’s very noticable. Simply stated, pages don’t load or render as quickly.
The browser behaves as it should, but feels somewhat like the “IE” way of doing things. The “awsome” bar isn’t all that awesome. The seach box is stand-alone, something that I tend to like, but most people absolutely hate after using Chrome for a while. The tabs behave similar to other browsers, although they don’t “pop” out and back in, so there’s nothing to really say there. The interface is clunky and ancient when compared to other browsers, especially the newest versions of Chromium and Chrome which are very sleek and stlyish. And my largest complaint: the menubar. It’s 2010: do we really need a menubar? Sure, there are extensions to hide it, but that’s not the point.
Hey, here’s a nice segue: the spotlight feature of Firefox is supposed to be extensions, but I’ve had very mixed/poor results with them. They slow the browser down and often cause it to dramatically underperform.
The experience using Firefox isn’t miserable; in fact, it’s quite good in comparion to many other sub-par alternatives. And, after all, it is shipped as the standard for most Linux OSs. It’s the one most people are comfortable with. It might not set the world on fire, but it’s reliable, and that’s what counts most for people. And if you speak a non-English language, this is your best bet- it’s available in a bajillion different languages.
Firefox is great. Although there’s a special place in my heart that belongs to Chromium, there might not be one for you. I’m willing to bet that if that’s the case, this will fill the void quite well.
Downloads
