Well, maybe the third time will be the charm for the hapless Mozilla folks. They tried to call their standalone browser Phoenix, then Firebird, and now they’re trying Firefox. Apparently each name has conflicted with another product. Anyone want to wager how long this one will last?
A quick recap of Firefox’s “features” from Mozilla Firefox’s page…
Tabbed-Browsing
Firefox presents a fast and convenient way to browse the web - now you can open several pages in one window in separate browser tabs. Open links in the background while you read a web page, then continue to the links when you’re done - pages are available when you need them, making the web feel faster even over slow connections.
Opera can do that. Actually, Opera can do better than that (learn more about Opera’s MDI feature, which Phoenix/Firebird/Firefox doesn’t offer.)
Popup Blocking
Popup advertising is one of the most annoying things to hit the web in recent years. Firefox shields you from unwanted popup advertising. It also gives you control to allow certain sites to open popup windows, if required to operate.
Yup, Opera can block unwanted popups as well. It doesn’t yet support site-specific settings, but I have found the general settings to work for 99% of the sites out there.
Integrated Search
Firefox makes finding things easy. The built in Google bar provides convenient access to the best search engine on the web. Simply click in the Google bar or press Ctrl+K, type some words and press Enter.
Opera has Google built-in, and about 14 others as well. Plus you can easily add your own. And you can decide which one to search by using single keys, i.e. g = google, z = Amazon.com, etc (Learn more about Opera’s search.ini).
Efficient Navigation
Details are important to us. Sometimes it really is easier to navigate with the keyboard. Firefox lets you open links by simply typing some of the text in the link - no mouse necessary.
Opera welcomes Firefox as the second browser to realize that details are important. You can navigate Opera by Q and A keys, or Shift + Arrow Keys. Or you can search text or links on the page. Or you can get a list of all the links on a page and use the arrow keys to pick which one you want.
AutoDownload
Automatically download files to your Desktop or another location with the new AutoDownload feature. Downloading becomes much simpler without windows popping up asking you where to save, etc.
Opera offers a Quick Download feature which will download without asking you where to save. In case you do happen to care where files are saved, Opera will also pop up a window asking you where to save a file, but (unlike IE and Firefox) Opera will start the download as soon as you request it, and continue to download the file while you decide where you want to save it. (IE and Firefox wait until you have chosen a name/location before the download begins.)