Here’s the deal.  If you’re working on a PC running Windows, please do yourself a favor and kick Internet Explorer to the curb.  I know, it’s easier because Microsoft pre-installs it and makes it the default browser, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the best or the easiest to use.  Once you discover Firefox, you’ll wonder how you got anything done without Add-Ons, Extensions, and all the other bonuses you get in addition to one of the fastest and most compliant browsers in the world.  So, go get your own copy of Firefox here!  Go.

Internet Explorer is notorious for security problems, and has a mind of its own sometimes when rendering html code properly.  Every other browser, no problem. But inevitably something will cease to work on Explorer.  As a web developer,  I’m dealing with at least two of these issues now, so I must admit that my insistence that everyone “cease and desist” with Explorer is at least partly selfish. While Explorer still has a grip on the browser market share on PCs, Firefox has climbed the ladder and now occupies 22.5% market share, including mobile devices, Macs (which you can’t even GET Explorer for anymore – whew!), and PCs that are preset to use Explorer.  That means that a good number of you who come across this article have already seen the light of day!

The other beauty of Firefox is that it’s an open source project, meaning that:

• It’s FREE
• There are thousands of people working on new functionality, plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions to make Firefox even more functional.
• It’s FASTER (Explorer ranks last in this regard when compared to Safari, Opera, and the leader Firefox).
• Cross-platform support

I personally use Macs and an iPhone, so Safari is the default choice rather than IE, but still not as functional and customizable as Firefox.  OK, so when you make the switch (and you WILL), there are about 5,000 add-ons waiting for you to customize your web browsing experience.  There are some essential add-ons and plug-ins and doo-dads and thingamabobs that I find essential to my day, and you might find useful:

PingFire – (pings updates automatically to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blog, LinkedIN, etc- adds one button to your menu bar!
All-in-one Sidebar – organizes your add-ons, downloads, etc into a neat single sidebar.
Facebook Toolbar – automatically updates with number of messages, status, etc. – adds to the top menu of Firefox
FoxyTunes – adds a menu bar at the bottom to control iTunes, and monitor what you’re listening to, etc.
TwittyTunes - works with Firefox to ping your Twitter status with what you’re listening to, browsing, interested in, etc with one click. Also shortens URLs automatically.
StumbleUpon – for finding interesting websites, discovery, recommendations, or just inspiration.
TinyURL creator - to automatically shorten really long URL’s for easy emailing and inclusion in Twitter posts.
XMARKS – syncs your bookmarks across all your machines, automatically, including passwords (use at your own risk, although I trust it enough to use it myself.)
Video DownloadHelper – will download any Flash video, quicktime movie, etc from almost ANY website (YouTube, Vimeo, news sites, concerts), and will convert to most formats (including Quicktime), then add to iTunes for a killer video playlist!!
Boost for Facebook -  lets you “skin” Facebook with different themes colors.  Tired of that blue yet??
Clear Cache – adds  a simple button to your toolbar to clear the internet cache.  Really useful for web developers.
FireBug – allows you to view and adjust a site’s HTML/CSS code in real time! Pinpoint where that mysterious formatting problem originates. An ESSENTIAL tool for web designers.  Great for developers to discover file names, CSS formatting, includes, and font treatments embedded in code.

There are literally over 5,000 plug-ins for Firefox, some more useful than others. I use the list above every day, and would have a very hard time using another browser at this point. That should get you started!

Yet another blast from the exhaust of The Rocket Pop.

Ride the Rocket,

Scott Dickens
Owner and Social Media Junkie