I cannot say I am really active with open source projects, but I do take interest in a number of projects, including Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is not just an alternative to Internet Explorer, it is a significant improvement over Microsoft’s web browser. The fact that it is not integrated directly into the Windows operating system makes it significantly safer than IE. That does not mean that Firefox is not free of vulnerabilities, but it is unaffected by viruses that target IE. I know people who have been spared of viruses because they had Firefox running as their default browser.

That’s not necessarily why I continue to use Firefox though. I love its improved interface, which includes tabbed browsing. When I first started using Firefox I didn’t use this feature much, but now I am hooked. It is so much nicer than opening half a dozen windows. Firefox also adheres to web standards better, so web pages may actually look better in it than in IE. I have just been continually impressed with the robustness of the browser and its user interface.

Anyway, they released the final 1.5 version today and I am very pleased with the new features. They are have also unveiled a new website today that appears to be geared towards consumers in hopes of attracting new users. These changes should be matched with a open source marketing blitz of some sort soon.

In any case, I just wanted to babel on about Firefox for a bit because some of my non-techie friends may read this. I highly recommend you download the new version and try it out.