I recently downloaded Mozilla and have put IE into semi-retirement. Apart from its seeming unwillingness to implement certain automated features (some, but not all Javascript stuff won’t work right/at all) I find it much less aggravating than IE.
When I downloaded Mozilla, I passed on the opportunity to download Firefox instead. Are Mozilla and Firefox similar? How do they differ? Is one better than the other? If so how?
–SSgtBaloo
Firefox is just the browser, without the mail/news reader, chat client, or other features bundled into Mozilla. It’s leaner than the full version of Mozilla, and I believe the Mozilla people plan to replace the bundled browser and mail/news program with Firefox and Thunderbird sometime soon.
Firefox also has a faster loading time and it handles custom searches much easier.
The browser included in the Mozilla Suite is an application called Seamonkey. The aim of the Firefox project (originally called Phoenix, then renamed Firebird, and finally renamed Firefox) was to produce a new browser to replace Seamonkey that would be small, fast, and modern. One of the largest original motivations was to start fresh, eliminating the “feature creep” that had bloated Seamonkey. Firefox started out at about half the size of Seamonkey, but as features were added to make it a complete release-quality browser, it increased to the present size of ~5MB vs ~7MB for Seamonkey (figures from the 05/14 builds).
If all you need is a browser, go with Firefox; it doesn’t have the bloat of Mozilla, and thus is faster. I am using Firefox at the moment, and it works great.
You’d be better trying out Firefox. It’s faster and sleaker. Mozilla’s great, but can be a bit unwieldy.
I concur with the Firefox recommendations, but I just want to add that Microsoft and Mozillla implement two different versions of JavaScript. That’s why some stuff that works in IE doesn’t work in Mozilla. I believe Microsoft’s version is considered nonstandard, even though it’s more widely used.
One advantage of Firefox & Mozilla is that if you do find a page that causes a problem, you can submit it via Bugzilla, and the experts out there will check whether it’s the programs at fault, or the site.
Oh, and BTW, there’s a nifty plugin for them, called ‘ieview’, which adds an option in the context menu (right-clicking on a page) to open it in IE, so if you come across a problem page you’re only one click away from the intended version.
Firefox rocks. It’s been my default browser for a few months now. I like it even better than Apple’s Safari browser.
Because I’m having various issues with IE and Hotmail, I’m thinking of downloading and using Firefox or Mozilla. I DO want another mail client, one that’s not connected to my ISP. My computer has plenty of memory (just had another block or unit or whatever installed a few weeks ago) so that’s not a problem. I use Win98Plus, and I probably won’t change it for a while.
My questions are:
How long does it take to install Mozilla?
How much tweaking will I have to do? I HATE tweaking, I’m not good at it, and I am not familiar with some computer jargon, so I won’t necessarily know what to do if the explanation is overly technical.
How userfriendly is Mozilla? Is Mozilla friendly to nontechs?
I don’t want to spend more than an hour, maximum, tweaking and learning Mozilla. I’d rather put up with IE.
Well, I just got finished downloading it, and it took about…2 minutes.
Of course I do have a cable connection. So far I am digging it. I have very little memory and such, so I will probably need to get rid of IE…just making sure this stays cool first.
Looks like I am going to have to change a few things (like, the cursor is huge…it’s annoying me) but I do like it more than Opera (the only other browser I have dealt with).
Once you have Mozilla downloaded to your system, installation takes less than five minutes, if that.
How long is a piece of string? Seriously, Mozilla will work “out of the box.” That’s the best way to start so you can get familiar with it. Then as you feel comfortable, just explore the “Preferences” area and adjust accordingly. I’ve found the “Preferences” area of Mozilla is easy to understand and use than IE.
Yes, to both questions. Keep in mind you are really “unlearning” IE and learning a new tool. However, Mozilla is fun to learn (IMHO) and not condescending.
Well, if you can master being the admin for SDMB, Mozilla is a snap. 
Seriously, plunge in, the water is fine, and then some. You don’t need to adjust all the tweaks and features the first time around. Just do it. Then dig around Mozilla as you see fit.
IMHO, IE is the prostitute of browsers. It will do whatever it can to open a web page. That does not necessarily mean it will do it correctly. Look at it this way - if 98 percent of vehicles on the road had square tires, you would expect life to be one bumpy hell as the norm. It takes some time to learn that Mozilla is like riding on round tires. You’ll finally realize that square tires are not the way to go, even though too many others think they are just because they don’t know any better.
Finally, if you have questions or problems, just ask. There are enough of us Dopers using Mozilla that answers are quick.
Mozilla’s interface is very similar to that of Netscape Communicator (as, Navigator 4.7), if you remember that.
Don’t get the wrong impression; feature-and-compatibility wise, it blows the old Netscape completely outta the water. And IE, for that matter.