| On a feature by feature comparison, Firefox either matches or surpasses IE. |
| |
Internet Explorer 6 (with XP SP2) |
Firefox 1.0 |
| CNET rating |
7.0 |
8.0 |
| Pop-up blocker |
Yes |
Yes |
| Able to selectively block pop-ups or view blocked pop-ups later |
Yes |
Yes |
| Built-in RSS reader |
No |
Yes |
| Able to view multiple pages within same window using a tabbed structure |
No |
Yes |
| Third-party plug-ins |
Yes - many |
Yes - some, but more everyday
there are thousands working on this, not just one greedy corp |
| PNG, alpha transparency support |
No |
Yes |
| Uses ActiveX technology |
Yes |
No
but proprietary technologies only benifit one - M$ |
| User interface skins |
No |
Yes |
| OS compatibility |
Windows XP SP2 and later only* |
All versions of Windows,
Mac OS X,
and several Linux distributions |
| Adherence to web standards set by society |
No |
Yes |
* Going forward, Microsoft will upgrade only the versions of
Internet Explorer running on Windows XP SP2. The last standalone version of
Internet Explorer 6 will work on versions of Windows up through Windows XP SP1.
Because this is their way of insuring that you move to their new code that
allows them better control over your PC. |