Ok, i downloaded this browser today to see if it was as good as some of you claimed.

WOW - it loads FAST! I may make this my normal browser... Only thing that's missing is the 'links' tab - I don't like how they are in the one toolbar, I always move this over in IE to take up less space, but still be convenient.

Firefox is very customizable. It is possible to get it looking something like this once you get to know it a bit (note the shortcuts up the top, you can even place dividers in between them). This is mostly done by going to the View Menu - Toolbars - Customize. Also the tab colours can be changed (blue and orange are just my preferences) and a whole host of useful extensions added.

The Firefox forum is a very good source of information about the browser. A good look around the entire Firefox site will also be helpful. If you have any specific questions, the Firefox users here should be able to help.

I downloaded and installed Firefox,Avant and Opera recently and of course I have the Microsoft browser.
From the start I prefered the look of Firefox. I have the Firefox modern as my theme and find it so easy to look at. I tried a couple of others and regretably also tried the "smoke" theme. It made it impossible for me to open the browser properly, so I wouldn`t recommend that particular theme but the others are good.
Accessing the internet from a dial-up modem makes it fairly easy to observe which browser is the fastest. I have found Firefox to be fastest, though Avant is close with the standard Microsoft browser coming in third and Opera[freebie version, I don`t know how quick the paid for version is] slow.

I use the Firefox default theme but have modified it a little. In the Tips & Tricks page under the 'Browser Appearance' heading, there two options I use.

1. Change the width of the Search Bar (the built-in Google search entry box). This because the default width is a bit too narrow for me.

2. Use your own background image for the toolbars. I created a small graphic that has alternate light and mid-grey stripes. With the script and instructions provided by Firefox, the graphic makes the toolbars appear as shown (follow the link in my post above).

Also, I don't like too much of the screen being taken up with toolbars, so the bookmarks from the 'Bookmarks Toolbar' have been moved to the empty space next to the File, Edit, Help menus. The Bookmarks Toolbar can then be switched off, so providing more screen space for web pages.

There will always be differing opinions on which browser is faster. Firefox pretty good as regards speed. Opera is fast too but with my liking for minimal toolbars, I find it slightly annoying that the space next to the File, Edit, Help menus is not available for favourite bookmarks. Another slight annoyance is that the text on the FunTrivia Forum Index displays centred instead of on the left as other browsers show it. All trivial I know but it's enough to tip the balance in Firefox's favour for me.

Avant, MyIE2, and SlimBrowser all use IE as their engine rather than them being stand-alone browsers. They add a number of enhancements such as: some security measures, tabbed browsing and a new visual look. Basically though, they are Internet Explorer under the bonnet (hood).

Edit: typo

Ok, I imported my bookmarks from IE when I installed the thing.. But I accidently deleted them. So I tried re-importing them, but it won't let me import them into Firefox... How do I do it I checked their website and they don't say anything about how to do this...

If the Import options (in the File Menu) won't work for a second time then perhaps a way of getting it to do so would be to delete the Firefox 'Profiles' directory in Windows Explorer (without Firefox running). A new Profiles folder will be created when Firefox is started again.

The bookmarks (stored in a single file called 'bookmarks.html') are stored within this folder, so a fresh start would take place when the new folder is created. The Import command could then be tried again. You would lose any customizations and extensions you have installed by deleting this folder but these can be easily reinstalled when the browser is working properly again (complete with bookmarks).

I remember you saying that you are using Windows ME? In this OS, the location of the Firefox Profiles Folder is:

C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox.

Delete the entire Firefox folder found at this location, then restart the browser and try the Import options again.

When you have the bookmarks back again it would be best to make a copy of the bookmarks.html file. If accidents happen in the future you can just put your back-up file in the C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\Default folder in place of the existing one. This would restore the bookmarks.

Ladymacb, glad you tried Firefox ... hope you have good experiences with it.

Oops - haven't tried what you suggested yet... got sidetracked by reality tv, trying to find a new host for my site, and..um...downloading old Nintendo games onto my computer. (Yes, that's what I learned to do yesterday - and maybe I'll be playing at work when there's only 4 people left in the officer... Actually, I might bring in my regular Nintendo for us to play...