Mozilla Firefox 3 Challenges Windows Internet Explorer 7 For "My Default Browser" Title

For Internet navigation, I've only been familiar with Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer (currently, version 7). Since it's always been good enough for me, there was never a need to look around for something better. However, these days I've been feeling more confident about exploring options outside of my "stock" set.
I've heard people talking about Mozilla Firefox for a long time now, and I can't remember exactly where, but I recently saw a discussion that made me decide to give it a try. I followed that up with a search of comparison reviews Firefox 3 (latest version, available since July) starting at CNET, which also has Firefox 3 available on their Download.com page. There are loads of other places to find great practical reviews, so I won't list them here, because you have a search box too, and I can only assume you know how to use it.
There were three basic points in the comparison reviews that gave me the green light to try it out.
Number one: Firefox 3 is FREE...ya gotta love Open Source software (you're more likely to try if you don't have to buy).
Next was the comparison of browsing speeds/page load times, which I think is touted as the main attraction.
The other was the user interface (UI), described as more intuitive and VERY customizable.
I also suggest a full exploration of the feature set on Mozilla's Firefox 3 info page.
After downloading and installing the correct version for Microsoft Windows Vista, off I went.
Note: Firefox 3 runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux Platforms (as if anyone running Linux wouldn't already know this), but is not supported by some older versions of these OS's...so you'll want to verify that.
I'm not going to go into detail on those custom options; there are so many choices, and you can explore that on your own. What's important is that Firefox 3 offers tons of add-ons and plug-ins (both useful and just plain fun), available through the Tools menu.
For me, the biggest attraction is the "Awesome Bar," search box located conspicuously at the top center of the browser. It remembers all sorts of keywords/tags from every page you've visited in the Firefox 3 browser (as well as the bookmarks automatically imported from your default browser when you install Firefox 3). As soon as you start typing a relevant keyword (a site name, a subject, a title, etc.) in the "Awesome bar" you see a drop-down menu below the box listing the most likely options. This feature gets more and more useful the more you browse. I consider this very intuitive to the way we all think in keywords. This also means you don't have to clutter up your bookmarks with a lot of obscure pages you don't visit often.
The browsing speed also impressed the pants off me. All this time that I've been using Windows IE, I assumed the sometimes painfully slow page load times to be the fault of my Internet connection alone (Sprint Mobile Broadband USB Card). Oh, sure, the bandwidth doesn't offer as much love as, for example, a high-speed Internet connection...but it was NOT just my Aircard. The Firefox 3 browser showed me just how fast I can go with my little Sierra Wireless 595U friend. I can only assume that Windows IE, as great as it may be, is probably bogged down with all sorts of redundant program codes (a mystery to the average user like me) that Microsoft feels is necessary. I'm not hating....remember, I'm on Windows Vista.
I should also mention that there's a fair bit of security goodness built in to Firefox 3, with plenty of additional advanced security options available. These options are every bit as good as (maybe better than) what's available with Windows IE.
Another selling point (for me) is that the Google integration on Firefox 3 is giving me a new place to combine my development of writing (can you say: Blogger and GoogleDocs?) with general life stuff...in a more user-friendly way than Windows IE.
Now, since I've only been rockin' the Firefox 3 for a week or so, this is not the last you've heard about my experience. And yes, when I come across something in the browser that I want to compare to Windows Internet Explorer, I'll check it out. So, I'll be bringing it up from time to time.

Coming Soon: Which smartphone will I marry? Also, my days and nights with Open Office...