The debate about Firefox or Internet Explorer, which is the best browser, has been going on for a long time now. While both the browsers have its own share of loyal users’ base around the world it is still an open race, it cannot be pinpointed yet that a certain browser is better than the other. Both the browsers have its own unique features and comes with its own set of pros and cons. If you are doing a comparison between Firefox and Internet then here is what you need to know:
Makers and Versions
Firefox is developed by Mozilla Foundation and the latest version of Firefox is 18.0.2. Internet Explorer is the product of Microsoft, one of the leading global companies in the computer technology segment. The latest version if IE is IE 9.
Market Share
In terms of popularity Internet Explorer enjoys the upper hand, there are more number of users using IE than Firefox, however, the number of people using Internet Explorer is dwindling rapidly, whereas, the numbers for Firefox is increasing each day. This is owing to the fact that IE comes pre-installed in all the computers that run on Windows OS and uninstalling IE causes several problems in the smooth functioning of the Windows. In terms of percentage, the current market share percentage for IE is 49% and for Firefox is 32%.
Platform Support
According to James Miller of VersionPlugin one of the major reasons why the popularity of Firefox is increasing is the fact that it is an open browsing platform and it is available for free. It runs on cross OS systems including MAC, Linux bases systems, Sun Solaris and Microsoft Windows run computers. IE on the other runs only on Microsoft Windows.
Standard Compliance and Compatibility
Microsoft has a long history of having troubles with adhering to the industry standards that are followed by the others. The company has not always complied with the W3C standards. However, the scenario changed with the release of the IE 9, which is developed using the HTML 5. Experts suggest that this would not only increase the security measures of IE but also reduce the IE hacks cases. Firefox on the other has always been following the W3C standards. Thus, Firefox scores higher than IE in this respect.
Developer Support
When it comes to developer support, Firefox comprehensively trounces IE. With the huge number of additional add-ons and extensions, Firefox has tremendous developer support. Also, in terms of customizability, Firefox can be greatly customized by the users as per their needs. Mozilla enjoys the developer support from Google. On the other hand, Microsoft’s IE has no such external developer support and it has to stand on its own two feet and it does not even come close to the offerings of its rivals.
Security
This is another aspect where Firefox beats IE hands down. Since IE is integrated with its OS any issues with IE becomes the issue with MS Windows, which in turn leads to more problems for the users. Firefox being an open source model tends to receive new security updates faster than IE.