View Full Version : Firebird Web Browser
Vulcan
12-17-2003, 12:01 PM
I have been hearing a lot about the Firebird web browser being very fast to load pages....I downloaded it and gave it a try...very slow compared to IE6. I cleared my IE6 cache and loaded some pages.....IE6 is at lest twice as fast....Not sure what is up with that. Firebird does have a bunch of nice features....popup blocker, tab browsing etc.
IntegraPrelude98
12-17-2003, 04:36 PM
have you tried using MyIE2 at all?? It is quick and has all the nice features. I think, but I could be mistaken, it just basically works on top of IE.
Janak Parekh
12-17-2003, 05:25 PM
I have been hearing a lot about the Firebird web browser being very fast to load pages....I downloaded it and gave it a try...very slow compared to IE6.
Where do you notice the slowness? Also, what kind of machine do you have? IE & Firebird feel very similar to me performancewise -- I choose Firebird not for speed, but for the other features...
OTOH, if you're happy with IE and want a just tabbed-browsing/popup-blocking experience, try Avant Browser (www.avantbrowser.com) (an alternative to MyIE; both wrap "new user interfaces" around the IE rendering engine). Amazing tool, and my officemate is completely hooked on it. The developer releases new versions all the time as well.
--janak
Kevin Remhof
12-17-2003, 05:29 PM
Vulcan, what are the specs of your PC? I run a 1.7 GHz Celeron at home and a 2.6 P4 at work. Mozilla Firebird runs great on both. But, I will admit, I don't really pay attention to load times. Since 90% of my browsing is via tabs, I just let them load in the background.
Besides, most web pages load in about a second or two for me. I guess 2-4 seconds really isn't much of a slowdown.
Personally, I can't live with out Mozilla Firebird. It's my browser-of-choice and has been for some time (0.7). It's fast, has great tab support, and just plain works. There are very few sites that I can't use with it (Microsoft Outlook Web Access is a prime example, but that's no shock).
Plus, with the built-in pop-up blocking, pages just seem to be faster. I save a lot of time not having to close pop-ups.
Just my 2 cents.
CTSLICK
12-17-2003, 10:08 PM
I have become a big fan of Mozilla/Firebird and even the Thunderbird email client. My only knock on Mozilla/Firebird is that the start up time is a little slower the IE. I run it on a AMD 450 laptop and an Intel 450 desktop without issues. Once its up and running I find very little speed difference between Mozilla/Firebird and IE.
My opinion is that pages that have java applets or things that require a plug in like Flash or open Acrobat Reader take a little longer with Mozilla/FIrebird. But I'll gladly take that small hit for all the other features it gives me...plus there are some really nice skins out for Mozilla/Firebird.
Vulcan
12-17-2003, 11:45 PM
My PC is PIV 3 ghz with Hyper Threading, 1 Gb of PC3200 ram runing id dual channel 800 Mhz mode, a pair of Western Digital 120 Gb 7200 Rpm running Raid 0 and an ATI 9800 Pro video card.....I should be able to run anything out there! As for the pop up blocker my ISP (Telus) offers free ad blocking and free popup blocking.....Very nice as I have not seen an ad or a pop up for as long as I can remember! I like to try new things and have experimented with Mozilla and now Firebird....It would be nice to dump IE will all of its security flaws.
Kevin Remhof
12-18-2003, 12:33 AM
My PC is PIV 3 ghz with Hyper Threading, 1 Gb of PC3200 ram runing id dual channel 800 Mhz mode, a pair of Western Digital 120 Gb 7200 Rpm running Raid 0 and an ATI 9800 Pro video card.....I should be able to run anything out there!
No doubt. Darn, I was hoping you were running a clunker like my kids' PC (400 MHz Celeron). Mozilla Firebird is a bit slow on it. I guess I'm stumped then. I'm with you on trying out new tech products. That's how I stumbled on Mozilla and eventually Mozilla Firebird. At work, we fight with Netscape everyday but I still prefer the Netscape variants at home. IE is a rock-solid browser (at rock-solid as browsers can be, of course). But, Mozilla really pushes the envelope.
Janak Parekh
12-18-2003, 02:42 AM
My PC is PIV 3 ghz with Hyper Threading, 1 Gb of PC3200 ram runing id dual channel 800 Mhz mode, a pair of Western Digital 120 Gb 7200 Rpm running Raid 0 and an ATI 9800 Pro video card.....I should be able to run anything out there!
Yes, and Firebird should fly on it. I have a 3GHz HT + 9800 setup at work, and I love Firebird's performance.
I have two pieces of advice:
1. Make sure you're running the latest version of the ATI drivers.
2. In the URL bar, type about:config, and search for the preference labeled nglayout.initalpaint.delay. Change that to 0. By default, it's set to 250ms -- what it does is to wait that long before showing anything on a page -- this is useful for slower computers to prevent rerendering a page as more of it is downloaded. By changing it on a fast computer, it gives the browser a little extra "oomph".
--janak
Janak Parekh
12-18-2003, 02:44 AM
No doubt. Darn, I was hoping you were running a clunker like my kids' PC (400 MHz Celeron). Mozilla Firebird is a bit slow on it.
I've had similar issues until I upgraded the video driver -- then Firebird runs fine on my old 500MHz Athlon. :) I particularly noticed this as the UI itself acting a little laggy...
At work, we fight with Netscape everyday but I still prefer the Netscape variants at home.
Which version? Please don't tell me it's 4.7x... 8O
--janak
Vulcan
12-18-2003, 03:15 AM
[
1. Make sure you're running the latest version of the ATI drivers.
--janak
I run the Omega drivers rather than the ATI ones.....I get much better performace with them (Yeah I play a lot of games!)
Janak Parekh
12-18-2003, 03:17 AM
I run the Omega drivers rather than the ATI ones.....I get much better performace with them (Yeah I play a lot of games!)
Interesting... never saw them before. I'd suspect that they're already optimized as far as optimization will go, then; I'd assume the Omega drivers won't slow down the 2D GDI interface. ;)
--janak
Vulcan
12-18-2003, 03:20 AM
The Omega drivers are cutting edge and have included a "tunner" to let you adjust your memory and core Mhz....On the ATI 9800 cards there is not much headroom for the memory but the core can be turned WAY up 8) . I currently run my card at stock 9800 Pro specs.
How did I miss this thread?!
Anywho, Firebird is great, IE is a piece of worthless trash.
That's all.
IE is a rock-solid browser (at rock-solid as browsers can be, of course). But, Mozilla really pushes the envelope.
Uhm. No. There are soooo many ways to crash IE.
Kevin Remhof
12-19-2003, 03:52 PM
IE is a rock-solid browser (at rock-solid as browsers can be, of course). But, Mozilla really pushes the envelope.
Uhm. No. There are soooo many ways to crash IE.
Yes, it's easy to crash. But, you can view any website with it. Plus, you can pretty much guarantee that anyone using Microsft Windows has IE. From a web development standpoint, it makes IE a great browser.
It is a pain to make sites work in IE 5, 5.5, and 6.0 though...
Yes, it's easy to crash. But, you can view any website with it. Plus, you can pretty much guarantee that anyone using Microsft Windows has IE. From a web development standpoint, it makes IE a great browser.
It is a pain to make sites work in IE 5, 5.5, and 6.0 though...
Right - except sites with malicious code. And no, IE is not a "great browser" from *any* standpoint, especially that of a web developer.
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