As we start to explore ways that technology can be something that actually makes our lives in ministry easier, it makes sense to start with the “elemental things” – the basics.
Whenever I am asked to take a look at someone’s computer there are a few things that I take the time to advise them on – anti-virus programs, memory usage, storage space maintenence (cleaning and backing up) and getting the most for the least out of quality free programs. The top three free (open source) programs in the world are Linux (an operating system – think Windows or OSX), Apatche (an internet protocol – don’t think about it) and Mozilla Firefox (a web browser – see, you know what that is).
While Linux and Apatche are probably not something that we’ll ever cover on this blog, Firefox will be a staple of its content. Firefox is (arguably) the best web browser available and we’re going to take some time today to talk about why that is and we’ll get into the basics of getting it for your own machine.
Firefox is based on the now defunct Netscape browser, it has been developed by an active community of programmers who have developed it into a the most expandable and powerful web browser available. It’s currently on the verge of releasing the newest version of the program – Firefox 3.0.
I would like to run down a list of things that have convinced me that Firefox is the current best choice to use when browsing the internet, many of these reasons can be found on the Firefox site itself as well.
Tabbed Browsing – This was actually the feature that first “tempted” me away from Internet Explorer. In the old days web browsers has one window and if you wanted to look at another site you had to open a whole new window. Starting with Netscape and continuing on now in virtually every browser they introduced tabs which allows you to have multiple windows open at a time all organized in the same place. It has literally changed the way I surf the web, I can be reading an article and click on a link in it and not have to worry about hitting the back button when I am done to go back to what I was reading.
Embedded Search Bar – I’m sure many of you have installed toolbars that have searchbars in them so you can search easily from any page. Well, this has the feature too, but it’s part of the basic program and you can add just about any search to it from the big guys like Google and Yahoo to a search engine that searches every Campus Crusade for Christ page. Now, again, IE had added this aspect, but Firefox has always done it better in that it will even allow you to create (or “roll”) your own search engine for any page you’d like.
Web Feeds (RSS)/Live Bookmarks – So, one of your supporters has a blog and you like to read it on a regular basis but it gets annoying when you have to go to it every day and the updates are rarer than you’d like. Now think about today’s weather, and the news, and your students’ blogs, and your brother’s online photo album… it becomes a lot of sites to visit every day. Feeds are a way of looking quickly and knowing who and what has updated and whether or not you need to go and look at the new content. Firefox allows you to bookmark feeds and it will update them as the site is updated. All you need to do is browse through your bookmarks to know if your nephew has been potty trained yet (or may be your students as well). We’ll talk about Web Feeds more later when we talk about GReader.
Pop-Up Blocker – It blocks pop-ups unless you say otherwise. It’s pretty easy.
Phishing Protection – Some emails you get from “eBay” are not safe because they’re not really from eBay and they’re not really linking you to their site; same with your bank, Amazon, etc. (And the emails about “free V14Gra”) Hackers do a really good job at making the site they link to look A LOT like the real site and when you log in to the fake site, they now have your username and password… and perhaps your credit card and address and everything else. Firefox knows what to look for in these sites to warn you that they are not real, it can protect you from identity theft.
Open Source Means Secure – Who are the best people to protect against hackers? Hackers. The same reason that major computer companies host “hacking competitions” every year to hire new IT employees is why Open Source programs are safer than proprietary ones – the people making it know where to look for security holes and they know how to fix them.
Spyware Protection – When a program tries to run or install, it asks you. If you say no, the program doesn’t download and your computer stays safe. It will ask every time. Simple enough.
Add-Ons – Here is the other advantage of the Open Source movement. Anyone can make it better. The same people that are building the browser for everyone to use also know that there are some uses that a lot of people want but not nearly everybody. The fact that the source code is open makes it possible for people to create Add-Ons that add functionality to the browser – blocking advertisements, notify you when you get email, change your keypad shortcuts, correct your misspellings, help you to share files, etc.
Web Standards Compliance – This will mean very little for people who do not work with internet technology much. It means that when a website is coded according to internationally accepted standards of web design that it will look exactly the way it is supposed to. The reason that some sites work in one browser and not another is IE’s historical ignoring of these standards.
Getting Firefox
Firefox is available for just about every Operating System on the market. From Windows 95 to Vista, OSX and any Linux build out there. There are even versions that you can install on a USB thumb drive and take your bookmarks and preferences with you!
Point your current antequated browser to www.GetFirefox.com and click the link that looks like this (it will recognize your Operating System – it probably will not say “for Linux i686″).
Next, save the file onto your computer wherever you usually save your install files (we’ll talk about keeping your desktop clean later) and follow the instructions on the page that just loaded – it will load instructions that are specific to your system.
Once you get it installed start it up (I would suggest saying “yes” to making it your default browser), import your bookmarks, etc. and read through some of the guides and tutorials that will come up on the first page that loads. (If the first page that comes up doesn’t say “Getting Started with Firefox” the head to that page here.)
Now you’re on your way to a new Internet experience! Next time we’ll talk about getting the most out of your Firefox install.
Tags: firefox, internet, web browsers, tabbed browsing, search engines, web feeds, rss, bookmarks, phishing, pop-ups, open source, spyware, web standards
