Firefox for free download

Bangalore: Within weeks of each other, the most popular Open Source operating system and one of the most used web browsers for lay users have unveiled their latest avatars — and chances are they will attract millions of first-time users. On Tuesday, the third edition of Firefox will become available for free download. Such is the build-up and hype for this Open Source web browser that 1.6 million users have already pre-registered to get the software on Download Day, June 17 — and as of Saturday, 21,300 of them are based in India.Mozilla, which promotes Firefox, hopes to create a Guinness World Record for the highest number of downloads on a single day (downloads can be done from http://www.spreadfirefox.com/ /en-US/worldrecord/firefox3).Firefox has a reputation for blocking viruses and other malware more effectively than many competing offerings, and many users whose PCs or laptops run on proprietary systems still choose to browse with Firefox.The browser has ironed out almost all its minor glitches during months as a beta and what is offered now is a robust version.Going by the pre-release versions, Firefox 3 will be available in the Punjabi and Gujarati versions also.The switch to an Open Source operating system has become just a bit easier, with the recent availability of the latest version — 8.04 — of the Linux distribution, Ubuntu. A free download from Canonical, U.K., Ubuntu has become one of the most popular Linux flavours — and the latest version can be saved on a DVD and will run directly from that drive without disturbing whatever operating system one may be running. It can be downloaded from www.ubuntu.com/download but since the full software takes almost 4 GB, readers may prefer to use one of the free DVDs being offered with the June 2008 issues of the computer monthlies Digit and Chip in India. This correspondent used the Chip DVD and it opened Ubuntu in trial mode on a Windows Vista PC, allowing sampling of all its features, including the OpenOffice suite and the Open Source graphics software GIMP, which are bundled. At the end of the trial the DVD can be removed and the PC returned to the Vista desktop, without hassle.This feature alone will give many first-time users the courage to give Open Source a try.
Courtesy - Anand Parthasarathy, The Hindu, 15 Jun 2008