I’ve been using Firefox since it came out in late 2004. One of the major plus points of Firefox is that you can install plugins or add ons, much like you can with WordPress.
For me, the gmail notifier plugin in Firefox was probably the sole reason why i stuck with it. To this day, the gmail notifier (imo) is probably the greatest online plugin/add on of all time. Whenever i get an email, a message will pop up instantly on my screen alerting me i’ve got mail – no matter what i’m doing.
As far as i know, Firefox now comes built in with that option, but there are LOADS of other useful and not so useful add ons and even themes like that which can make a huge difference to your daily browsing.
At the minute, i currently have 28 different extensions installed and 20 plugins. So basically, my Firefox version at home is pimped out to the max. Here’s how it looks at present (click to view full size);
As you can see, it doesn’t look all that cluttered considering i’ve got almost 30 different tools going on in the background 
With a single click, i can whip out a measuring tape, live edit css or html, switch to IE, fill out a form automatically, pull up whois address or server info, see what time it is in ‘x’ country, add a site to a social bookmarking profile, download a video etc…
That’s the beauty of Firefox and that’s why we love it… Internet Explorer simply can’t do that. Google Chrome can’t do that (yet). The reason i’m talking about Firefox and add ons is due to the fact i’ve only recently discovered you can kit out Firefox Portable as you would at home and carry it about on a memory stick.
That opens up a whole new world to me at college. I can now get *some* of the frills i have at home. I do have quite a bit of free time during college. 10 hours minimum in breaks to be exact, so an average of at least 2 hours per day. Having a pimped out Firefox on my memory stick is much more satisfying than a standard version of FF or IE… it might encourage me to do some sort of work or if not, at least it’ll save me loads of time.
I’m only a recent convert (about 4 weeks) to Firefox and IE is already a distant memory.
I converted to Opera last week =P
@Lord Bloggit: yeah it’s amazing the amount of tech savvy people who insist on using IE, despite being tech savvy… i really don’t get it. Using IE for me now is like going back to 2000 or something – that’s why i would never do anything productive at college last year as all PC’s had IE installed and if we were lucky Firefox. Even the standard Firefox browser though is nothing without some add ons and customization 🙂