"Unfortunately not all sites work in Firefox. And many of them tend to be the bigger corporate sites such as the Sydney Morning Herald site."
-- Anonymous
But while the decision of which browser to use is relatively simple for users, the situation is more complicated for large organisations, many of which have become so dependent on Internet Explorer that a wholesale switch is practically impossible. The irony is that a few years back, companies were deliberately implementing single-browser policies as a way of cutting costs for development, training and the like. Security concerns have now given organisations all the reason they need to have another look at multiple browser support, with many enterprises evaluating Firefox or other alternative browsers, and some universities and public-sector bodies having already dumped IE. Microsoft has taken note and executed an about-face on its browser policy, announcing a standalone Internet Explorer 7.0 will begin beta testing this summer in the US.
Browser policy decisions are complicated by the fact that many Web applications and internal enterprise systems currently require IE, and that Firefox is expected to attract more security problems as its popularity increases. Industry analysts say companies should prepare for a multi-browser world, but exactly what this new world will look like is unclear.
The Mozilla Foundation stresses that the real battle isn't between browsers, but between two types of technology -- Microsoft's, which is tied to Internet Explorer, and standards-based technology, which can be used with Firefox or any other standards-compliant application. In theory, this means that sites and Web applications that work with Firefox should behave the same way with Opera, Safari or other Mozilla browsers (like the Mozilla suite and Camino), and switching should no longer be an issue.
"The old world is about IE 5.5 and Microsoft proprietary things like ActiveX. The new world is about W3C standards," says Tristan Nitot, president and founder of Mozilla Europe. Testing internal applications for standards instead of for a particular browser may seem like extra trouble for companies, but in the long run it will reduce security risks and save money, Nitot says.
Momentum
There's increasing evidence that the Firefox phenomenon has real momentum. Many of the figures have become familiar; Firefox usage exceeds 25 percent on some Web sites targeting technical audiences, it has surpassed 25 million downloads, it is used by 5 to 10 percent of the Web population. Firefox hasn't been around long enough for enterprises to have adopted an official policy toward it, but many IT departments have made it their choice, according to anecdotal evidence and testimonials collected by the Mozilla Foundation.
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As an IT network sysadmin, I have watched the development of Firefox with interest. I have been using it since the 0.7 release and have had very few problems. Some sites don't display correctly, and when checked with the W3.org HTML validator, usually reveal that they are not HTML standards compliant. If the site if programmed exclusively for IE then you must use IE. If it is standards compliant then Firefox will work.
I like Firefox as it makes my job easier. I load up 6 websites in the morning to see what is happening, so when clients call up I am informed. I can do this in three clicks in Firefox (including loading the program itself), and uncountably more in IE - which do you think I use?
The integrated Google search gets used uncountable times per day. This and tabbed browsing are the killer features for me in my job as sysadmin and
tech support.
I use Firefox for Internet Banking as my bank uses a Java Console. As long as that is up to date, I am protected.
I like Firefox and have it installed on all the PC's I use - work and various home machines. My work is a Microsoft house, so I will never get it installed on anything else, but it saves me time and we know time is money, so my boss does not mind too much!