martinlittle.com:thinkThin

On Friday, weird things started happening with me IE - all the bookmarks started flashing every few seconds and it stopped opening pages 80% of the time. So, I thought I'd take a look at Mozilla Firebird. MAN, what a find! This app is rocking. It does exactly what it says on the tin - puts me as a user at the centre of the experience. It is so beautifully designed, fast and a delight to use all round.

Tabbed browsing is a revelation to use - I am one of those people who opens a stack of links whilst reading a longer article, for reading once I'm finished the main article, so having only one browser button on the Windows toolbar makes things so much tidier. Yes, a touch of screen real estate is lost inside Firebird, but I have quickly learned to live with that.

Popup blocking is nice, and having a google box right there is very useful indeed. There are a stack of useful keyboard shortcuts as well as a wide range of extensions, including one that lets you use mouse movements to control activities (a la Minority Report).

Microsoft has got way too used to IE having huge market share, and, as so often with Microsoft, we are in danger of being forced into using their technology as opposed to selecting the best application for the job. What can you do? Get out there and try a better browser! My recommendation now has to be Mozilla Firebird. Try it, you might like it.