FireFox is an OpenSource browser. As such, it is changing almost daily. It is a moving target for site developers and application developers. In fact, it is such a moving target that many developers have just given up on being able to update their sites and/or software to mesh with FireFox.

Furthermore, FireFox is touted as the browser that does not have all the security issues that IE has. What they don't tell you is why. Part of the answer to "why" is that it is crippled software. It is not a fully functional browser. There are many things on the internet that FireFox just cannot see--therefore, you do not see them. There are many other things that it sees, but cannot handle properly. In particular, FireFox does not handle javascript well. Javascript is a mainstay of many of the most sophisticated sites on the internet.

If you want to see what a complete difference there is in the way FireFox handles web pages as compared to IE, just view the Kevin Smith Show web site using Internet Explorer, then use FireFox. What you are seeing in Internet Explorer is what we designed. What you are seeing in FireFox is its failure to read what we designed.

Now, be aware that we designed the site using Dreamweaver, the ultimate standard in web site development software. We did not use some half-baked HTML software. We use the best.

Could we make our site FireFox compliant? Yes. Will we? Not likely. Why? Because FireFox is the new kid on the block and represents only a fraction of internet browsers in use. Whether one likes Bill Gates or not, whether one likes Microsoft or not, the fact is they represent the lion's share of internet browsers in use around the entire world. That is what sets the standard.

FireFox developers are aware of the fact that the software is crippled and barely functional. Therefore, they offer a ton of plug-ins for FireFox. If you download all the plug-ins, your FIreFox will increase its functionality to near IE standards. But then, you have turned FireFox into essentially Internet Explorer. Why bother? Why not just use a fully functional browser to start with?

Yes, we know that the OpenSource community rants and raves, and rails against anyone who puts out information like this--we get their e-mails frequently. Ranting and raving notwithstanding, FireFox is still a barely functional browser that does not meet the minimal standards for most sites. If you are using it, you must know that you are missing up to 30% (our estimation) of what is available to be seen on web sites, and you are losing a lot of functionality. Emotional outcries against this information does not change the fact that FireFox is crippled.