Mere absence of support of developers does not imply you have to stop using Mozilla Firefox 1.5!!
If you have not a switched over to Mozilla Firefox version 2.0 yet, then it is imperative that you do so now. The developers of the Firefox web browsing software application have fixed the date of 24th April 2007 as the last date till which the developers of the web browser would offer support for Mozilla Firefox version 1.5.
What this implies is that the end users of Mozilla Firefox version 1.5 would not be enjoying the support of the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application as far as security updates and security patches are concerned. As the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application release newer and newer versions of the web browser, it is but obvious that they would be forced to shift their focus from the previous versions on to the newer versions. Hence, if you plan to continue using version 1.5 of the Firefox web browsing software application beyond 24th April 2007, then please keep in mind that you would be doing so without the support of the developers.
If the web browsing software application in question had been any web browser other than Mozilla Firefox, then the end user of the web browsing software application would have been forced to switch to the latest version of the web browser whether he likes it or not. However, in case of the Firefox web browsing software application, the end users not required to switch. At least not immediately!!! Why is that so? Well, the end user of the Firefox web browsing software application is not dependent on the developers of the web browser alone for web browser support. The huge Firefox community available on the internet can always provide alternative support to the end users. Further, since the source code of the Firefox web browsing software application is available on the internet for free download, any and every end user of the Firefox web browsing software application who is knowledgeable in matters related to the functioning of the web browser can make the necessary changes in the source code to enhance the security measures in the web browser.
Of course, there is no doubt that the assistance of the Firefox community and the knowledge of the knowledgeable end users would be slightly inferior to the support offered by the developers of the Firefox web browser. However, at least it offers a reasonable alternative to the end user of the Firefox web browsing software application who does not want to switch from Mozilla Firefox version 1.5 to version 2.0. As compared to other web browsing software applications where the end users are rendered completely helpless, the Firefox web browsing software application offers choice and independence hitherto unheard of. Of course, as Mozilla Firefox version 3.0 is released, it would make sense for the end user to switch over to the latest version. However, if the end user is unable to switch over to the latest version of the Firefox web browsing software application for a particular reason, he or she can still make productive use of the older versions because of the support and assistance provided by the millions and millions of end user of the Firefox web browsing software application who are members of the Firefox community.
Of course, the role of Firefox extensions cannot be ignored. Although finding extension that are compatible with version 1.5 will become difficult as more and more versions of Mozilla Firefox are released, there are many Firefox extensions that they are compatible Mozilla Firefox version 1.5. The combined support of the Firefox community, the knowledge of the end users and the Firefox extensions will be sufficient to enable the end user to continue using Mozilla Firefox 1.5 for some time to come.
Technorati Tags: Mozilla, Firefox, Firefox web browser, Firefox features, Firefox end user, Firefox versions, Firefox extensions, Firefox support, Firefox 1.5, Firefox 2.0, Firefox 3.0, Firefox community, open source Firefox
Tags: Firefox Browser, Mozilla
