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Mozilla Firefox 3.5

Now the latest version of the ever popular Open Source Internet browser, Mozilla Firefox has been released I am going to muse again about its relevance. It is important to underscore how critical this application is for the Internet ecosystem. Now version 3.5 the browser offers users and developers a suite of extensions to customise functionality according to the user requirements.

Mozilla Firefox currently comes packaged by default in all Linux desktop distributions and is readily downloadable for Microsoft Windows and Apple Computers OS X. However, how relevant is the browser in an ecosystem of with MS Internet Explorer, Opera, Apple Safari, WebKit and Google Chrome.

The answer is yes, its very important. Firstly Firefox is providing fanastic compition to Microsoft Internet Explorer. In May 2009 Firefox reached 47.7% market share according to http://www.w3schools.com/.

The browser developed by Mozilla has two clear advantages overs competitors. Firstly the modular framework to enable customisation by way of addons and secondly the number of Translations available for Localization L10n. But more of that later.

Updates

The Mozilla boasts advances to the new version with improvements and additions to core functionality, including:

• Private Browsing
• Password Manager
• Awesome Bar
• Super Speed
• Anti-Phishing & Anti-Malware.
• Session Restore
• One-Click Bookmarking
• Easy Customization
• Tabs
• Instant Web Site ID

For more information please read http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/.

A feature of Firefox which is too often over looked is the number of translations for users.

Internationalization and Localization

Internationalization (i18n) is the activity of designing application or even websites so that they can be easy converted into alternative language.

Localization (L10n) is similar to translation. Converting an interface from one language to another is labour intensive; however there is more than meets the eye. Developer must also be aware that not all cultures use the same notations and formats. That is why Localization goes beyond simple translating and looking into ways to Humanize that application fully. For more information about Internationalization and Localization please see my post, Internationalization and Localization: 1 - The Basics

The advantage that Mozilla Firefox holds over the competition is the sheer number of Localizations available for Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X and Linux.

Firefox is available in over 70 languages, thanks to the contributions from Mozilla community members around the world.

For a complete list of all Localization browse to; http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html.

Quote 1: Download a Firefox version that speaks your language, Credit Mozilla.

Learning More

Firefox is an extremely powerful application with many time saving activities to improve you browsing. To learn a more about Firefox functionality and become a Firefox Ninja read the Tips and Tricks page. There are hints for all abilities. Whether you are a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced user of Firefox. For example:

Try These Tab Tricks

If you’re the type of person who likes to have a lot of Web pages open at the same time, you’ll definitely benefit from tabbed browsing. Here are some keyboard shortcuts that will help you master tabs:

1. Open a new empty tab ctrl + T (mac: ⌘ + T)
2. Open a link in a new tab
3. Middle Click on link
4. Close a tab ctrl + W (mac: ⌘ + W)
5. Reopen a closed tab ctrl + shift + T (mac: ⌘ + shift + T)

Quote 2: Mozilla Firefox Tips and Tricks, Credit Mozilla.

Links

1. http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
2. http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/
3. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
4. http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/tips/
5. http://www.matthewwittering.co.uk/blog/internationalization-localization-basics.htm

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence