­A Web browser is sort of like the tires on your car. You don't really give them much daily thought, but without them, you're not going anywhere. The second something goes wrong, you definitely notice. Chances are, you're reading this article on a version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It's the browser that comes already installed on computers with Windows operating systems; most people use Windows, and many Windows users don't give a second thought to which browser they're using. In fact, some people aren't aware that they have an option at all. It's called Firefox. From its origins as an offshoot of the once-popular Netscape browser, Firefox is building a growing legion of dedicated users who spread their enthusiasm by word of mouth (or blog). For a while, it seemed like Microsoft's Internet Explorer was going to dominate the browser market indefinitely. Its competitors included Netscape Navigator and the AOL Browser -- and it soundly beat both of them.

When Firefox debuted, it faced an uphill battle to claim space in the market. But Firefox's popularity has grown since its debut, particularly among Web administrators and developers. ­The word is spreading quickly. On June 17, 2008, Firefox held an event called Download Day as it unveiled the final build of Firefox 3. The goal for the event was to encourage people to download the new browser and establish a record for the most downloads of a single application within a 24-hour period. In this article, we'll find out what makes Firefox different, what it can do and what effect an open-source browser might have on the Internet landscape.5: What's New? The origins of Firefox can be traced directly to Netscape, a compan­y whose Web browser, Netscape Navigator, was the dominant browser before Microsoft developed Internet Explorer. The internal company name for the browser was Mozilla. Eventually, Netscape released the source code for Navigator under an open source license, meaning anyone could see and use the code.

A non-profit group was set up to direct the development of browsers using this code. However, Firefox is not the browser the Mozilla group would have released if everything had gone as planned. Like Netscape Navigator before it, the Mozilla software was becoming bigger and bigger as more features were added in -- a problem in software development known as "feature creep" or "bloat." Enter Blake Ross, a computer enthusiast who first started helping out the Mozilla project as a hobby when he was 14. Instead of accepting feature creep, Ross decided to start developing his own Mozilla-based browser, focusing on a streamlined and simple version. Software developer Dave Hyatt also played a major role. Ross was joined by Ben Goodger in 2003, and development progressed rapidly from that point. There were trademark problems, however, so the name was changed to Firebird. Another software company had a project known as Firebird, so the name changed again. Firefox was chosen because it was distinctive, and no one else was using it (although it turned out a European company did own the trademark to the word Firefox, and a deal was reached).

When Firefox was still in the beta stage (when a program hasn't been publicly released, but people can download and use it to help find and fix problems), it was already generating a healthy buzz among tech-savvy Web surfers. In just four months after the official release on Nov. 9, 2004, an estimated 23 million people downloaded Firefox. Firefox had a user percentage of 4.5 percent. Next, learn about the basics of Firefox and how to download it. There you'll find the latest version of Firefox: Firefox 3.5. If you're hesitant to install and learn to use a new program, rest assured that Firefox looks and acts very similar to Internet Explorer and most other Web browsers. There's even a feature for IE users that lists the expressions with which you're familiar and tells you the corresponding Firefox names for those functions. At the top of the screen, you'll find the Awesome Bar (a space for typing in Web addresses), a small search panel and a row of buttons -- the typical tools for common Web-surfing activities.

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