Like everybody else, I gave Firefox a try and, yes, it’s very nice. Unfortunately, it has a very strong competitor, which is probably the reason why I won’t switch. This competitor is Mozilla.

I have been using Mozilla for quite a while now and I like it a lot. While I like the idea of these various browsers spinning off the main branch, I have to say I’ve been very disappointed by the lack of innovation they typically sport. Firefox might be snappier than Mozilla, but as far as I can tell, it’s pretty much the only added feature. Everything else is just what Mozilla already has but repackaged (different bookmark management, more centralized preferences, etc…).

Actually, it’s even worse than that: Firefox doesn’t even offer 100% of the features that Mozilla has, like for example Ctrl-Return to open a link in a new tab, a feature I didn’t realize I was using that often until I tried Firefox.

Why do so many people bother branching off the Mozilla line if it’s not to offer brand new features?