# What is Firefox? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832 "2010-03-26T02:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/1 "2010-03-26T02:19:06Z")
Ok, so what is Firefox? Some kind of OS? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/2 "2010-03-26T02:22:11Z")
It’s a browser, like Internet Explorer. Read [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox) for information. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/3 "2010-03-26T02:22:32Z")
It is another browser, like Internet Explorer. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/4 "2010-03-26T02:47:30Z")
so is google’s “Chrome” ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/5 "2010-03-26T02:52:42Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > so is google’s “Chrome” And Safari, Opera, OmniWeb and Camino, along with many, many others. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/6 "2010-03-26T02:57:39Z")
It is the most sophisticated [del]warplane[/del]browser ever built. Though to use it, you have to think in Russian. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/7 "2010-03-26T03:17:29Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > It is the most sophisticated [del]warplane[/del]browser ever built. Though to use it, you have to think in Russian. Вы выигрываете нить. It’s supposed to be “you win the thread”, but the translator used the word for string. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/8 "2010-03-26T03:19:27Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Вы выигрываете нить. > > It’s supposed to be “you win the thread”, but the translator used the word for string. That’s hilarious. I mean, that’s exactly what a Russian would say: “You win this…how do you say?..String!” ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/9 "2010-03-26T03:49:55Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Ok, so what is Firefox? Some kind of OS? 😕 No, it’s my only friend. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/10 "2010-03-26T13:40:22Z")
Ah. I thought it was going to be asking what the mascot is, which is the red panda. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/11 "2010-03-26T13:46:05Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Вы выигрываете нить. > > It’s supposed to be “you win the thread”, but the translator used the word for string. In Soviet Russia, string win you! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/12 "2010-03-26T14:50:38Z")
Also, there’s thing called Google, which when you type in the name of a product and hit search, provides links to lots of sites with information about it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/13 "2010-03-26T15:12:06Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Also, there’s thing called Google, which when you type in the name of a product and hit search, provides links to lots of sites with information about it. I see you’re unfamiliar with Jinx… ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/14 "2010-03-26T15:29:26Z")
Wow. Just wow. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/15 "2010-03-26T15:30:11Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > No, it’s my only friend. It’s not your only friend! But it’s a little glowing friend. But really it’s not actually your friend. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/16 "2010-03-26T16:52:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Ah. I thought it was going to be asking what the mascot is, which is the red panda. Isn’t Firefox’s mascot… the fox? I just looked on the Mozilla site and I see no pandas there. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/17 "2010-03-26T17:17:52Z")
[Red Panda](http://mansionapartmentshackhouse.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/redpanda.jpg) [Firefox Logo](http://www.indianweb2.com/thumbnails/firefox-logo.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/18 "2010-03-26T17:23:37Z")
Is this a whoosh? The logo looks more like a fox made out of fire, curled around a planet. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/19 "2010-03-26T17:29:05Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Is this a whoosh? The logo looks more like a fox made out of fire, curled around a planet. “Firefox” is the literal translation of the Chinese word for a red panda. On the other hand, I’m not sure that the people who made the web-browser knew that, so the actual image on the logo still might be meant to be a fox. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832/20 "2010-03-26T17:34:39Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > “Firefox” is the literal translation of the Chinese word for a red panda. > > On the other hand, I’m not sure that the people who made the web-browser knew that, so the actual image on the logo still might be meant to be a fox. It is actually meant to be a red panda. [Link](http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firefox/firefox-name-faq.html). And I didn’t think ‘firefox’ was actually the literal translation of red panda, though I don’t speak Chinese so I couldn’t say for certain (online dictionaries don’t seem to think so). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-firefox/533832.md?page=2)