Mozilla Firefox (and Thunderbird)

Well, I decided to make a jump to Mozilla Firefox from trusty ol' Internet Explorer. So far, I'm not 100% sure of what I think about the new browser. First looking at it, it seems really nice. I love the tabbed browsing, the XPSP2-like security features (block installs, block pop-ups, block active-x installs), the way I can customize the toolbars, and the speed. My favorites (bookmarks) imported over without hassle, as well as my cookies, history, and settings.

One of my main complaints is the lack of Google Toolbar support. Yes, there is a version of the toolbar built-in, but it is only limited to search (although you can search a lot more than Google). I want my Blog-This button, my highlighter, etc. Phil Ringnalda created a BlogThis extension for FireFox, but I haven't installed/tested it yet.

Most of my issues with this new browser is based around my familiarity with IE. I remember the early days, when Netscape was king and was the only browser I'd use. After Netscape died (well, died enough), I made the switch to IE and never went back. Looking at the browser world now, IE has fallen (way) behind. It is time for a change.

Here's a quick list of links to help with the Mozilla FireFox browser:

List of Keyboard Shortcuts.
List of Mozilla Extensions.
List of Mozilla Themes.

Also, I switched from Outlook Express to Mozilla ThunderBird last night as well. I've tested several email clients over the past few months, and ThunderBird looks like it can hold its own with OE. My main complaint, right off, is the lack of decent filter setup (which OE is victim to also). I've played with several other products the kill both of these clients when it comes to filter setup, but those other products usually suck at everything else. I would REALLY test ThunderBird and install it at work, but nothing beats Outlook 2003. Nothing. But, give me a few days/weeks and we'll see if I stay with the 'bird or run back to OE at home.