Week 10: Firefox

Double-clicking on the big blue "E" is only one way to access the world wide web. This week's exercises are designed to introduce you to Firefox, a web browser made by Mozilla.

Mozilla uses open-source software to design its products, and it's worth taking a second to explain what that means, because it's a phrase that comes up over and over again in library world these days. Open source software, as defined by the Open Source Initiative, is software with code that can be shared, modified, and even spun off into other works, freely, among other things. That means anybody with time, interest, and an idea can play with open-source programs to make them better, or write new programs by modifying the existing language in which the program was written.

In very practical terms, this means that open-source software tends to be more flexible, is updated more frequently, and invites more participation and collaboration. Instead of sitting around waiting for a software company to release a new version of its product, you could be actively writing your own code...or, at the very least, submitting your ideas to the programmers to see what they can make for you. If you're interested in this, I suggest checking out What I Learned Today, a blog written by Nicole Engard, self-appointed Open Source Evangelist (she knows a lot of great stuff about other emerging technologies, too).

But, to return to the main point, Firefox: how is it different from other browsers, and what can it do for you? There seems to be no end to what you can do wtih this browser, but two important aspects to highlight are tabs and add-ons. The following short tutorials cover these elements at greater length:

Working with Tabs:






Using Add-ons (also called "extensions"):






See Week 10 of the wiki for more "Firefox 101" videos, and other helpful information.

Your assignments this week are:

Thing #17: Experiment with tabbed browsing and record your experiences in your blog, or a comment below.

Thing #18: Find an add-on that would enhance your web-browsing experience and install it. If that sounds intimidating, you might want to check out the lists of popular and recommended add-ons. If all else fails, who doesn't need another search engine? Report back on the experience.

Thing #19: See if you can find the features that let you change browser text size within Firefox. How do they compare to the settings in Internet Explorer? Record your observations.

Firefox keeps evolving, so it's the sort of tool you'll want to play with on a regular basis, to see what new features have been added. One great example of this is the recently-launched collections feature, which lets you add groups of useful add-ons. What would you like a web browser to be able to do? What kinds of features would be most helpful for our users?