So I’ve been using Firefox for a while now (almost 2 months), and I’m impressed. This is coming from someone who used Safari almost exclusively since it was available and barked at anyone who tried to tell her anything bad about it. Firefox, at this point in its development, is a more sensible browser than Safari. Note that I didn’t say it was a better browser. Firefox is a great browser for people who like to tinker. If you’re not scared to get your hands a little dirty, install some extensions, play with themes, and do a little reading to see what works and what doesn’t, Firefox is the way to go. Some people are content to use whatever browser they download or whatever comes with their system as is. If you’re one of those people, you can stop reading now. Cool things about Firefox: * You can install extensions by clicking on web links for them * There are a lot of themes (but make sure they work on Firefox 0.8 for your OS before you install them * There are TONS of sensible extensions that make your browsing very slick * It’s available for Linux, Windows, and OS X; one browser to bind them * It’s quick like a bunny - no joke * You can add multiple search engines to the search box: Google, Froogle, Amazon, Wikipedia, and IMDB are just a few of my engines * The whole browser is themed in CSS: if you can’t find a theme you like, make your own Currently I am running the Apollo theme done by Aaron Spuler which some people are delighted about. I am also running the Tabbed Browser Extension which allows me to open links from other programs and new page links in tabs in my existing browser window. Today I also picked up Adblock which strips out 95% of the ads on the internet with a little help from the filters on Aaron’s site. With those two extensions, I have a really comfortable surfing experience. I am going to look into other extensions and if I see anything else worthy of mention, it’ll get posted here. Got any extensions you want me to try out? Drop a link in the comments and I’ll check it out.

If you didn’t know it by now, the cowards at Microsoft have decided to drop development of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for the Mac platform. I am grateful that I no longer have to worry how badly IE is going to mess up my next design project, but I’m also pissed off that the giant spineless wonder decided to run at the first sight of competition. Yeah I said it.. Safari scared MS and they packed up their bag of tricks and headed for higher ground. BAH! I was looking forward to a longer battle between IE and Safari for the Mac desktop, but I guess that’ll never happen. I just want to know how many of you people actually still use IE. Isin’t the consensus that it’s not standards compliant, therefore it’s almost impossible to code for both IE and another browser without one of them barfing on your design. Furthermore, there is no tabbed browsing. How do you friggin browse the web without tabs? I, personally, would shoot myself if I was forced to go back to a PC, much less have to use IE as my browser. *GAH* Tell me what browsers you have gotten to love.