Initally, this post was intended to broadcast "Firefox Flicks" - a contest calling for the ultimate firefox video. (FYI - submissions are only accepted until May 1st, so if you are interested in competing in the contest, you best get a move on!)

In doing a little background research on the contest, though, I realized that while I am a semi-regular user of Firefox, I really didn't know very much about this web browser.  I figured since 99.9% of teachers and schools tend to lead with Internet Explorer as their standardized internet browser of choice, I'd take my new found knowledge and share it with all of you!

Admittedly, I'm a huge advocate of Google Chrome, and tend to lean towards it as my main browser...buuuuut...that comes with some issues.  One of the main ones being that some websites do not run properly in Chrome, or have features that cause problems for the use (Westjet checkin being one of them; certain features using Joomla for my blog posts being another).  As such, I turn to Firefox as my old, trusty stand by.  It never seems to fail me in terms of viewing a website, nor causes issues when I'm fiddling around with blog features.  Excellent.

Besides all the mumbo-jumbo IT lingo floating around about Firefox (which I'm sure is REALLY fascinating to those who understand it), I found a couple little tidbits of info that you might find interesting:

1. Firefox has a mobile version (known as Fennec...which is a small fox.  Get it?) It's not currently available for Blackberry or iPhone, but supports Android devices and bunch of other devices I've never heard of.

2. Mozilla is proudly non-profit.  Interesting, as it's main competitors are both driven by profit.

3. Firefox Aurora is a pre-beta version of the next version of Firefox...and if you're geeky, you can download it to test it out before mass adoption.

4. The Book of Mozilla is a tongue-in-cheek rendition of Firefox's rise up against Netscape, and contains 5 official verses that are reminiscient of the Book of Revelations.  Interested in this "hidden Easter egg"? Read them here.

5. Control over privacy issues is something that Mozilla continues to address.  *ahem* Google Chrome.

6. There are a bazillion features and add ons that I can't even begin to cover them here.  Check out their full list of features on their website.

Do you use Firefox in the classroom? Any reasons why you find it fantastic? Share your experience in the comments section.

Vanessa