by 
Why are you still using Internet Explorer 6.0? You know who you are. You’re that person that just uses whatever web browser came installed on your machine (you’re probably writing documents with Word Pad) and you keep saying “but it works.”
Sure, you’ll upgrade to IE 7.0 (which just came out) and be amazed by technology that has been around for years and think it’s new. Or maybe you’ll never get around to trying tabs, but there are many more features out there in the world of browsers that you’ll never see if you don’t take the plunge.
Firefox 2.0 is the latest web browser on the market and boasts more features “out of the box” than IE 7. This version of Firefox can be installed whether you have a previous version of Firefox or simply your old IE. After going through the quick setup wizard, you’ll be prompted to bring over your history and bookmarks from your other browser so you won’t lose anything!
My favorite new feature of Firefox 2.0 is “Microsoft Word” style spell checking. You know, the little red line under misspelled words that you can right click on and choose the correct spelling? No more clicking a button to check, this browser does it right away.
You also get some of the great functionality that were only previously found in extensions at your fingertips. One is that Firefox natively remembers all the tabs you had open the last time you were running, and opens them again the next time you run the web browser. You can pick up right where you left off.
Also, the free extension support on Firefox is amazing. I’m running multiple extensions right now. Everything from a status bar monitoring extension that shows me the current and forecasted weather to one that lets me look at web design elements on the fly. There’s even one that lets me run a given site in a tab that’s IE in case I bump into some site using unsecured ActiveX controls. We’ll cover what extensions to get and why in later episodes. (Though if you want to see some of the ones that I’m running, look at one of the pages of this site!)
So, what are you waiting for, go download Firefox 2.0 and see what’s different and better!
I’m going.
Often called “An Owed to the Spelling Checker”)
by Jerrold H. Zar
I have a spelling checker.
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it’s weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule
The checker poured o’er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
Be fore a veiling checkers
Hour spelling mite decline,
And if were lacks or have a laps,
We wood be maid to wine.
Butt now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of none eye am a wear.
Now spelling does knot phase me,
It does knot bring a tier.
My pay purrs awl due glad den
With wrapped words fare as hear.
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud.
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.
Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays
Such soft ware for pea seas,
And why I brake in two averse
By righting wants too pleas.
Ow. That hurt my eyes. Thanks a lot, Stephen!
MIn, I clicked the icon at the bottom of your post to download FF 2.0, and it was an exe file which my computer warned me probably had a virus. Also, it wanted me to save it to a disk? Something didn’t seem right, so I deleted it.
Don’t laugh at me too hard. Or call me paranoid.
Thanks. :O)
What gave you the prompt that it was probably a virus? I believe that there are warnings that exes downloaded from the internet could contain viruses, but you can rest assured that FF 2.0 is not one. You need to save it to disk before you can run it.
So, you have good instincts about not trusting everything you open or download– keep them! But you don’t have to worry about downloading something right from the mozilla.com website.
Well, actually, I need to say this – for me this version sucks. Really. I installed it, and suddenly my old truthful Firefox stopped behaving. Tabs stopped working, bookmarks disappeared, System Manager got crazy. I had to remove 2.0 from my computer and reinstall 1.5 sth back. Fortunately, it works just as it did yesterday morning.
Well, probably it is a beta still, and I am going to wait patiently until Firefox updates itself…
Wow, that’s interesting. That’s the first negative complaint that I have heard. I wonder if there is any difference between versions of OS and Firefox. You aren’t running US Windows XP or English Firefox, are you?
Nope. Win XP Prof Swedish Swedish Firefox. That is why I was totally astonished yesterday.
Otherwise – never had any problems with the program.
You could upgrade your OS… Mac OS X Swedish would work fine, I’m sure 🙂
I bet it would, Stephen 😉
Never tried Mac OS on a PC, though 🙂