A requirement this week, was to specifically compare an open source browser to one that was not. For this post, I’m choosing to talk a bit about Mozilla Firefox (open source) and Internet Explorer.
While both of these browsers are essentially free, Firefox can be used on multiple operating systems to include Macintosh, Solaria, Linux,
OS X, Windows, as well as for Android and iOS. Internet Explorer is provided
and only available on computers running Microsoft Windows. As this is included
on the system already, there is no need to download, unless you deleted it, or
need an update. You will have to go through the download process with Firefox.
It’s straightforward, however, and pretty quick. Both browsers are also regularly updated; the last
update was earlier this month. (Microsoft & Mozilla, 2016)
Speed-wise, Mozilla
beats Internet Explorer. It also is less resource intensive. If you take a look
at your task manager while you have each browser open looking at the same
content in any one or multiple tabs, you can see these numbers for
yourself. Mozilla seems to take up less
memory by a little less than half of that from Internet Explorer!
I spend a lot of time at the computer, and many hours using
web browsers. While neither of these are my first choice, Mozilla is my second.
If I have to spend this much time each day looking at pages in a browser, I do
prefer that it be visually appealing to look at, to an extent. Mozilla is clean
and offers plenty of customization, if using the desktop version. Personally I don’t know
of anything that could be worse to look at and use than Internet Explorer. It’s
quite plain, and many sites simply don’t look good viewing in it.
I currently haven’t upgraded to Windows 10 either. I read
that Microsoft made a new browser: Edge, for this version going forward.
Apparently it’s worse off than Internet Explorer is, even after initial
updates. I won’t be going into more detail about that, as this post is to
discuss Firefox versus Internet Explorer, but I thought I would at least
mention it. (Berls, 2016)
As far as Mozilla goes, there is a wiki page with
information, a place to upload files, and history of changes that occur in the coding.
While the main page hasn’t been updated in some time, the other relevant links
are still currently active. I found it quite interesting that the community of
coders hold a meeting every week. They also discuss various related projects
and have official representatives who interact with contributors. There are
even student ambassadors, who help promote all of the work Mozilla and the
community are doing. (MediaWiki & Semantic MediaWiki, 2016)
Sources:
Berls, B.
(2016). Microsoft Edge Is Windows 10’s Biggest Mistake. Retrieved from
http://www.brucebnews.com/2016/04/microsoft-edge-is-windows-10s-biggest-mistake/
MediaWiki,
& Semantic MediaWiki. (2016). Contribute/Coding. Retrieved August 18, 2016,
from https://wiki.mozilla.org/Main_Page
Microsoft.
(2016). Popular Internet Explorer Downloads. Retrieved from
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/internet-explorer.aspx
Mozilla.
(2016). Firefox – Desktop browser, Android, iOS, OS, Hello, Sync, Private
Browsing. Retrieved from https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/products/
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