Washington Post - Rob Pegararo - 10/30/2006
More on IE 7 and Firefox 2
It was easy to take up the 950 words (or
however many yesterday's column added up to) when
describing two complex programs that people will use for hours each time they
use a computer. Here are a few more thoughts about these two browsers:
* Search plug-ins: Both browsers'
Web-search boxes can be used with your choice of search sites; you can download
and install new search plug-ins with a couple of clicks, then remove them just
as easily (this is a big change from earlier Firefox versions). IE 7, however,
also lets you create a search plug-in of your own in a few short steps. I used this feature
to add a washingtonpost.com search shortcut to my
copy of IE 7.
Fortunately, there's already a washingtonpost.com search plug-in for
Firefox. (Click the first "Washington Post" link, not the second.)
* Right-click options: Ever come
across a reference on a Web page that puzzles or intrigues you? With the most
useful right-click command ever, Firefox 2, like earlier versions, will run a
Web search for whatever text you've selected. IE 7 lacks that. Instead, you
have to select the words in question, copy them, then paste them into its
search box, then hit the Enter key.
* Find features: Firefox 2 is
worlds better than IE 7's conventional find feature. It has a find-as-you-type
search feature that will instantly jump to the first word matching what you've
typed. It also lets you highlight every occurrence of that word or phrase on a
page.
* Cookie control: Internet Explorer
7 allows you to block "third-party cookies" -- the tiny text files
placed on your computer by advertising networks to track what ads you view on
the Web. Firefox used to offer this feature as well, but for some reason that
setting was removed from Firefox 2's Options window (if you'd already set
Firefox 1.5 to reject third-party cookies, however, that setting will remain in
version 2).
That's a surprisingly bad move by Firefox
developers who usually don't go overboard when they try to simplify the
program's interface. You can, however, still adjust that setting in Firefox's
about:config screen. Type "about:config" into the address bar, then
type "network.cookie.cookiebehavior" in the "Filter" box
that will appear below. Double-click that line, type "1" in the
"Enter integer value" box, then click the OK button. (This will also
run in next Sunday's Help File.)