Laura

http://www.xulplanet.com/ndeakin/arts/reasons.html
The following lists 101 things that one can do with the Mozilla browser component (version 1.2) that one cannot do with IE (version 6.0). I used the Windows version of IE 6.0; the list will vary slightly for the Mac version.
Some notes about how items were selected for this list:

• The list only considers features provided in the download of IE provided directly from Microsoft. It does not include things that could be done via additional software or add-ons. If I had included such things, I would, in order to ensure an equal comparison, need to include the add-ons available for Mozilla in the list also. Since this would cause the list to grow infintely large, no such items are considered for either browser.
• On the same note, I do not include things that can be done by changing registry keys or manually modifying configuration files. IE does indeed have some features that are only enabled by modifying registry keys. Mozilla has many hidden settings as well. This list includes neither.

This list compares IE 6.0 and Mozilla 1.2
Note also that this is a not supposed to be a list of advantages of one browser over another. It is a list of features of Mozilla not found in IE. You may feel that some of the items in the list are disadvantages.
Now that is over with, on with the list!

1. Tabbed browsing
   Lets you display more than one site in a window using multiple tabs. You can open a new tab by selecting Navigator Tab from the New submenu of the File menu (or press Ctrl+T). You can also open a link in a new tab by using the right-click menu. You will find configuration options in the Tabbed Browsing preferences panel.
   Note that CrazyBrowser is a different product than IE.
2. Popup blocking
   Block all those popup ads. To disable popup windows, select Advanced and then Scripts & Plugins from the Preferences window. Then uncheck the box that reads "Open unrequested windows".
3. Prevent scripts from doing various things
   You can prevent scripts from moving windows, closing them, changing the status bar and setting cookies. To change these settings, select Advanced and then Scripts & Plugins from the Preferences window. Then uncheck the desired boxes.
4. Site Navigation toolbar
   Displays content from the <link> tags provided by a document, allowing one to navigate to various parts of a site.
5. Sidebar
   The sidebar provides a number of tabs by default, and others can be added by the user.
6. <!-- * --> Can add custom panels to sidebar
   Custom sidebars can be implemented in HTML or XUL and can be installed from a remote site without much hassle. Sites can add sidebars using the window.sidebar.addPanel() function.
7. More control over text zooming
   Can zoom text to any size. IE only supports five sizes and has no keyboard shortcut that I could determine. For sites that use fairly small fonts, having more larger sizes in necessary for those without perfect vision.
   Note that using the mouse isn't a keyboard shortcut.
8. <!-- +++ -->Can zoom any text, even that with fixed pixel sizes
   Can zoom text no matter what units were specified, an often cited issue with IE.
9. Can select from multiple stylesheets provided by page
   When a page provides multiple (or alternate) stylesheets, one can select between them by choosing from the Use Style sub-menu in the View menu.
10. Page info dialog
    Provides additional information about encoding, MIME type, referrer and meta tags. Some of this information is also available in IE's properties dialog although it isn't as detailed and the window isn't resizable.
11. Detailed form/link/media info dialog
    The page info dialog provides tabs which have lists of the form elements, links, images and other media in a page. You can even preview images and save them from this window.
12. Save plugins
    Mozilla saves plugins when saving a Web page as complete. You can also save them from the Page Info window.
13. Themes
    Provides two themes by default (Classic and Modern), but others may be installed.
    There is a theming system that is part of Windows XP, however this isn't supported by Microsoft. It also isn't part of any other version of Windows. Mozilla's themes work on all versions of Windows and on all platforms; you can change your theme by selecting Apply Theme from the View menu.
14. Bookmark window displays more detail
    Displays more information about the bookmark in the bookmark window. IE's favorites dialog is a bit awkward and is modal, which means you can't interact with the browser window while it is open. You also cannot add bookmarks from the window.
15. Bookmark keywords
    Keywords to look up bookmarks quickly. Keywords have the advantage that the part entered after the keyword is filled in where '%s' appears in the bookmarks's URL.
16. Bookmarks can be checked at a certain schedule
    One can set bookmarks to be checked at various schedules and notify when the content has changed. At least, in theory. IE has something like this, which is intended for synchronizing content for offline viewing. It can only check once per day, and provides no notification that the page has changed other than changing the icon or sending an email. Mozilla can check updates on certain days only and at any interval.
17. Cookie Manager
    The cookie manager lets you view the cookies that have been set, their values and their expiry times.
    Some people have mentioned that one can view Cookies by pressing a View Files button in the Options, but that just provides a list of all cached files. While the list does include cookies, hidden amongst the other files, it isn't tailored to cookies (it is just a generic file listing), so one cannot really view the data or expiry times easily.
18. Can delete cookies individually
    The cookie manager lets you delete individual cookies without having to search around your file system. In IE's file view, it's tricky to distinguish cookies from similar domains, and all cookies from the same domain are stored in the same file.
19. Block images from third party sites
    One can block images that come from a third party domain. This means that you can block images found on a page that come from a site other than that of the page. To set this in Mozilla, open Privacy & Security from the Preferences Window, and then select the Images panel. Choose "Accept images that come from the originating server only".
20. Can block images from certain sites
    Images can be blocked from particular domains, such as those that commonly display ads. You can disable an image from a site by right-clicking on an image, and then selecting "Block images from this Server". You can change the list of blocked images from the Image Manager, opened from the Tools menu.
21. Download Manager
    The download manager provides a tabular view of all of the files that you have ever downloaded, allowing you to open them without having to search around on your file system. It provides progress indicators in the window as items download.
    On the topic of downloading files, IE does not begin to download a file until you have selected where to save it to, while Mozilla begins as soon as the link is clicked, downloading in the background while you are selecting a place to save it.
22. Can pause downloads
    In Mozilla, one cause pause downloads. Some people may find this useful during long downloads.
23. View Source
    View the syntax coloured source of a page, without having to view it in Notepad.
    Some people have mentioned that one can edit the page using Notepad (or at least a copy of it). True, but that's what Edit in the File menu is for. Some people like a simple source viewer for viewing content.
24. JavaScript Console
    The console displays a log of errors that you can easily scroll through, or ignore if so desired.
25. <!-- +++ -->JavaScript Console displays script warnings
    The console separates warnings and errors. The warnings allow you to see obsolete script usage and so forth.
26. JavaScript Debugger
    This is a utility for debugging JavaScript.