Firefox 1.0 - Random Thoughts

[shawnc]

Sundays are typically slow news days so I figured I'd share my recent experience and see if I could get some insight from the community.

The problem with being a non-technical member of a technical site is that by the time I try something that I think is new and great, most folks probably yawn and think 'man, that's old news'. After reading about how IE is terribly unsafe and will likely not be secure in my lifetime, and hearing so much about Mozilla's Firefox, I finally decided to take the plunge. This was undoubtably the smoothest transition from one package to another I have ever experienced. The install was flawless as was the process of importing my previous favorites. A quick check of accessing my favorites and visiting some secure sites has revealed no problems....yet. Also, I love the layout. Much simpler and more straightforward than IE. I haven't noticed an increase in performance but I also haven't noticed any degradation.

All in all, I am very impressed so far. Any developer writing new software would be well advised to look at the Firefox model. Installation should be made for the masses, not the technical few. Any installation that involves modifying or reviewing ".sys files" or the PC "registry" has failed. Most folks have no clue about those things.

Oh well, so far so good. I'm sure many of you have abandoned IE long ago. For those who have switched, what are you using and what are your impressions? For those who haven't switched, why not?

As always, thanx in advance for the input.

[reggiebryan]

I switched several months ago and have no regrets. I find Firefox faster and more stable. I really enjoy the ability to install seemingly countless extensions that greatly extend the usefulness of it. The ones I use are:

Adblock: Blocks/filters ads- greatly speeds up surfinig. I hate it when a page 'stalls' loading some ad.
FlashGot: allows you to use a 3rd party downloader (I use Reget). Good for bulk downloading.
QuickNote: Used to jot down quick notes while surfing. I use this for studying.
TweakNetwork: Supposedly speeds up surfing by altering network settings. Might be just my perception, but pages seem to load faster.
CopyPlainText: Allows you to copy page content without formatting. Use it a lot.

In general I've found Firefox to be faster at loading and rendering pages. It's more flexible.

The only caveats are sometime certain plugins either don't work or need tweaking to make run.

Reggie

[Jason Dunn]

Adblock: Blocks/filters ads- greatly speeds up surfinig. I hate it when a page 'stalls' loading some ad.

You should be aware that by blocking ads you're hurting the site you're visiting by denying them the income earned by those ads. That includes this site.

[Jason Dunn]

FireFox has a lot going for it, but I actually went from using it for a month or so and switched back to using Maxthon (IE engine in a new tabbed shell). I grew tired of having to fire up IE when FireFox wouldn't render something properly or just wouldn't work the way it was supposed to. Oh, and it locked up 2-3 times a day for me. Some of these problems may be fixed in 1.0 (I was using 0.9), but I've never had a security problem with IE, so I think it was mostly FUD driving me to try FireFox.

[Darius Wey]

Oh, and it locked up 2-3 times a day for me. Some of these problems may be fixed in 1.0 (I was using 0.9), but I've never had a security problem with IE, so I think it was mostly FUD driving me to try FireFox.

I've been using Firefox since the early days and I know the lock-ups you've been experiencing; a lot of bugs have been rectified in the new 1.0 release. I think a lot of the past rendering problems have also been fixed - thankfully! ;)

[Jacob]

How does the upgrade work? Does it import a profile properly?

[shawnc]

Well I guess I just noticed my first 'hiccup'. My "I'm a Member" logo doesn't appear. It's requesting that I install Macromedia Flash Player. I'll probably eventually do it but I'm a little hesitant. I don't want to install so many add-ins that I go back to the unsecure environment of IE.

[SteveHoward999]

You should be aware that by blocking ads you're hurting the site you're visiting by denying them the income earned by those ads. That includes this site.


Sure, but if ads were not so flipping invasive we would not feel inclined to block them. Pop-up ads, for instance, are the spawn of the devil, as are those damned banner ads that Will Not Stop Moving.

[shawnc]

Some of these problems may be fixed in 1.0 (I was using 0.9), but I've never had a security problem with IE, so I think it was mostly FUD driving me to try FireFox.

What's 'FUD'? Is this some sort of acronym? Let me use the embarrasement emoticon in advance as I'm sure I'll be feeling silly when told what is likely an obvious answer :oops: .

[bigkingfun]

What's 'FUD'?

Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. In other words, information that is spread in order to make something seem worse than it is.

If you ever see an acronym that you haven't come across before, try www.acronymfinder.com. I've never come across one that I couldn't track down on this site.

[TopDog]

You should be aware that by blocking ads you're hurting the site you're visiting by denying them the income earned by those ads. That includes this site.
I never block ads that are javascripts, flash, images, etc. on the pages, but popups are a real pain, they've outlived themselves!

I've used Firefox since 0.8 version, and loved it always. It's just a great browser. The only time I've had to fire up IE is when I'm using Windows Update, or some portal-products using ActiveX.

I had some lockups from time to time in 0.8 and 0.9, but 1.0 seems pretty perfect.

[Jason Dunn]

Well I guess I just noticed my first 'hiccup'. My "I'm a Member" logo doesn't appear. It's requesting that I install Macromedia Flash Player. I'll probably eventually do it but I'm a little hesitant. I don't want to install so many add-ins that I go back to the unsecure environment of IE.

I don't think I've ever heard of an exploit that came via Flash, so I think you're safe there. You'll definitely need to install a few things to get back to basic Web functionality - Flash is one of those things.

[Jason Dunn]

Sure, but if ads were not so flipping invasive we would not feel inclined to block them. Pop-up ads, for instance, are the spawn of the devil, as are those damned banner ads that Will Not Stop Moving.

Sure, I think it's fair to block pop-ups because, in my opinion, they cross the line between reasonable advertising and annoying people. I was thinking only of banner ads being blocked (even if they're moving).

[Jacob]

Sure, I think it's fair to block pop-ups because, in my opinion, they cross the line between reasonable advertising and annoying people. I was thinking only of banner ads being blocked (even if they're moving).

On this topic. People might want to check into the extension "Nuke Anything" - it's one of my favorites.

It allows you to remove any part of a web page. So you can let the ads load and then if it's flashy and distracting - then remove it from the page.

The ad was loaded so Jason gets his ad revenue and you don't have to see it while you read the article/forum postings.

With the adblock functionality of overlaying flash elements - this would allow you to remove any flash element too.

I personally don't block banner ads myself - but I use adblock just for that one option.

[shawnc]

What's 'FUD'?

Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. In other words, information that is spread in order to make something seem worse than it is.

If you ever see an acronym that you haven't come across before, try www.acronymfinder.com. I've never come across one that I couldn't track down on this site.

Good lookin out Bigkingfun. Never heard of www.acronymfinder.com. Thanx for the info.

[reggiebryan]

Adblock: Blocks/filters ads- greatly speeds up surfinig. I hate it when a page 'stalls' loading some ad.

You should be aware that by blocking ads you're hurting the site you're visiting by denying them the income earned by those ads. That includes this site.

I do support your site by purchasing through the vendors. However, I have blocked the vibrantmedia.com ads as on more times than not, your site will not load completly. Firefox stalls- with vibrantmedia's ads loading. This is not a 2-3 second delay- it does not load.

I don't mind waiting a few seconds, but I don't think you'd want a reader to wait longer than that for an ad....

Reggie

[Myrddin]

I use firefox as my only browser. I do block ads (popup and inline), but one sites i regularly visit or get something out of regularly I use a whitelist and allow their ads (for example, I view the ads on PocketPCThoughts)

[koro]

I'd just like to share a couple of views of my favourite news site, The New Zealand Herald (online edition of a NZ daily newspaper). First, the ad-infested version seen in I:E. 6.0.
http://www.scottcarpenter.com/images/herald_with_ads.jpg



Next, the Firefox version with all ads blocked.



http://www.scottcarpenter.com/images/herald_no_ads.jpg

The difference is amazing - I can see much more of the LHS menu without scrolling, my weather report is visible and I'm not being assaulted by some marketing genius' idea of a "catchy" ad.

I get bombarded by enough ads as I go about my business, so it's refreshing that the web is one place where I no longer have to deal with that. I say, if technology to block ads means website owners have to change their business models, then bring it on.

Firefox Rocks! :D

[Jason Dunn]

I say, if technology to block ads means website owners have to change their business models, then bring it on.

Interesting statement. So let's say, for example, that 100% of the sites that you visited went ad-free, but also put their content behind a subscription wall and you had to pay for it like you pay for a newspaper or magazine. Would that be preferred over seeing some banner ads and having the content be free? You'd be willing to pay out of your pocket rather than see a few banner ads? I think it's great that you're a subscriber, so I don't mind you turning off the ads at this site, but I've unfortunately found that most people don't want to pay for anything on the Web.

[jweisz]

I have little problem with ads in general, since I'm such a fan of not paying for content. I do, however, have a problem with animated ads and popups/pupunders. So I have popups and flash disabled and hit <Esc> as soon as the page finishes loading to stop the animated GIFs.

I'll stop blocking ads completely as soon as they stop being obnoxious.

[koro]

Interesting statement. So let's say, for example, that 100% of the sites that you visited went ad-free, but also put their content behind a subscription wall and you had to pay for it like you pay for a newspaper or magazine. Would that be preferred over seeing some banner ads and having the content be free? You'd be willing to pay out of your pocket rather than see a few banner ads? I think it's great that you're a subscriber, so I don't mind you turning off the ads at this site, but I've unfortunately found that most people don't want to pay for anything on the Web.

Looking at a slightly higher level, for me it's about the fascinating impact new technologies have on established orders, and the way those orders dig their heels in at the prospect of change. I see parallels here between this topic and the music industry faced with P2P downloads, etc. Though - would you like to see ad-blocking software banned? That's what is being proposed for DVD machines by the US Government!

I'm a firm believer in capitalism, and that the market will find a solution. I don't know what that solution is, Jason, to (not) answer your questions! Maybe all I'd really like to see is a rationalization of the web - there are millions of pages of absolute rubbish on the web, a lot of it supported by ads, that I would not be sorry to see disappear.

I am happy to pay a little each month for quality content - thats no different than subscribing to a newspaper or a magazine.

Ultimately, more substance and more style is what I'm after. (and this site has both)

[TheOrange]

I say, if technology to block ads means website owners have to change their business models, then bring it on.

Interesting statement. So let's say, for example, that 100% of the sites that you visited went ad-free, but also put their content behind a subscription wall and you had to pay for it like you pay for a newspaper or magazine. Would that be preferred over seeing some banner ads and having the content be free? You'd be willing to pay out of your pocket rather than see a few banner ads? I think it's great that you're a subscriber, so I don't mind you turning off the ads at this site, but I've unfortunately found that most people don't want to pay for anything on the Web.

Just an observation...

Advertisements still exist in traditional media - even if you are paying a subscription, etc. I pay like $2.50 for a Sunday paper and its full of ads. I purchase a magazine at the stand and notice that a good chunk of it is devoted to advertising. I pay for my digital cable, it too is full of ads. As long as we are consumers, we will be advertised to - I'd rather keep as much of it subscription free as possible.


...oh yeah. I've been using Firefox for a few months now. I have relished every second.

[Roosterman]

Advertising aside, I have resently gone to FireFox and so far am loving it. I really like being able to have multiple tabs for each internet session but all in on browser. Probably takes up as much memory as individual browsers, but I find it much easier to know whick page I want to go to. Back to advertising, FireFox's pop up/under blocker is far and away the best I have seen. I have been using IE's SP2 verion and it would still allow some. Added the Google and they still would show up.:evil: FF has completly stopped them. 8)

[RD100]

I still use mostly use IE, and only recently begun using FireFox.

But I just tried the Ad Blocking in FireFox, and WOW !!!! I love it !!! :mrgreen:

Thanks for the tip !!!

[RD100]

I also went to this website (https://update.mozilla.org/extensions/showlist.php?application=firefox&version=1.0&numpg=&category=All) to get more FireFox extensions, and I found some other really good ones, which include a few mentioned in this post:

GooglePreview - shows thumbnails of webpages found in Google search

StockTicker - shows a stock market ticker on your status bar.

CopyPlainText - (love this!) copies webpages in a "text only" format.

CopyURL+ - copies the URL, Title, and website description to clipboard.

DefineWord - Looks up definition of selected text on Google

Dict - looks up word definition

DictionarySearch - looks up word definition

ImageZoom - zooms in on picture files in webpages

MapIt! - if you highlight an address on a webpage, you will instantly be shown a map with it's location in MapQuest.

FireFox is AWESOME !!!! :mrgreen:

[Jason Dunn]

But I just tried the Ad Blocking in FireFox, and WOW !!!! I love it !!! :mrgreen:

Keep in mind that if you're blocking banner ads (not pop-ups, but in-line banner ads) you're directly hurting sites like this one and our ability to stay online...

[shawnc]

I gotta admit that I was very nervous about trying anything other than IE, me being a non-techie and IE is all I have ever known. It's been about 3 weeks since I started this thread and I can say with certaintly that unless something dramatic happens, I will never go back to IE. Firefox is just so much more advanced that IE, and it goes beyond the tabbed browsing. Microsoft's total lack of attention to such an important piece of software, all in the name of money of course, is very evident after a couple of weeks with Firefox. Competition is such a beautiful thing. Bet MS starts putting some resources into IE now.

[tregnier]

I would love to use Firefox; but it won't load my homepage properly (and some others as well). My homepage is http://www.msnbc.msn.com When I try to load it, I get the error: "Network Error
Unable to read URL from host www.msnbc.msn.com: Not in GZIP format"

If I hit reload about 3-4 times, it will finally load. Very disconcerting, as I'd like to use FF. Couldn't find any specific fixes on the FF Support site.

Any ideas as to what's going on? I doubt that I'm the only one encountering this issue.

TIA

[Janak Parekh]

I would love to use Firefox; but it won't load my homepage properly (and some others as well). My homepage is http://www.msnbc.msn.com When I try to load it, I get the error: "Network Error
Unable to read URL from host www.msnbc.msn.com: Not in GZIP format"
Are you using a proxy? I've never had that problem, and I do read MSNBC -- I've had zero problems with it.

--janak

[tregnier]

Are you using a proxy? I've never had that problem, and I do read MSNBC -- I've had zero problems with it.


No proxy. Just straight into cable ISP. I can't figure it out. 8O

Thanks, Janak!

[RD100]

I would love to use Firefox; but it won't load my homepage properly (and some others as well). My homepage is http://www.msnbc.msn.com When I try to load it, I get the error: "Network Error
Unable to read URL from host www.msnbc.msn.com: Not in GZIP format"

If I hit reload about 3-4 times, it will finally load. Very disconcerting, as I'd like to use FF. Couldn't find any specific fixes on the FF Support site.

Any ideas as to what's going on? I doubt that I'm the only one encountering this issue.

TIA

You're not alone. See this website (http://www.discourse.net/archives/2004/04/something_funny_at_msnbc.html).

MSNBC does load ok for me in Firefox. I have Windows XP Home Edition with SP2.

If it were me, I would just use both FireFox and IE. FireFox has so much more to offer than IE, so any pages that gave me an error in FireFox, I would just open in IE.

[Roosterman]

Keep in mind that if you're blocking banner ads (not pop-ups, but in-line banner ads) you're directly hurting sites like this one and our ability to stay online...

Jason, I get the banner ads on websites while using FF. Only blocking popup/under ads. I didn't do anything special when I set it up so I don't think it is a standard feature. Is this some kind of extension that is added? Not planning to get it if there is. I don't necessarily like many of the banners, i.e. flashing, dancing, etc., but they allow the internet to function in very acceptible way, IMHO.

Only problem I have had with FF is a banking site doesn't work with it. Have to use IE for it.

[tregnier]

I found out why I was getting errors with Firefox. I was running AdSubtract which uses a proxy server. I closed AdSubtract and changed the proxy to direct connnect. Voila! No MSNBC errors! (Damn, it's great when you get a victory) :D :clap:

[shawnc]

If it were me, I would just use both FireFox and IE. FireFox has so much more to offer than IE, so any pages that gave me an error in FireFox, I would just open in IE.

This was my strategy at first as well, but over time I found less and less errors with Firefox. An earlier post mentioned problems with their banking site and I used to have this problem also. But after a couple of weeks the issue magically disappeared. For some reason both of my banking sites load just fine. I also tried MSNBC with no problems. I was always a big supporter of MS and rooted for them during their anti-trust issues. I never fully believed that their practices were somehow stifling innovation. After a few weeks with Firefox (and using something other than WMP to rip CD's), I definitely think MS has held back innovation and we consumers have suffered as a result.

Sorry to go slightly off-topic, but since I started the thread I don't feel too bad about hi-jacking it. :D

[jbachandouris]

I'm not overly impressed with FF. If I use a 'replacement,' I want it to do ALL the things the original does. One pet peeve: when using autocomplete, if there is an entry I don't want, ie. misspelled entry, in IE I just with delete and viola, entry deleted. In FF I have to erase ALL forms entries. Anyone know a way around this...plug-in,etc.?

[Darius Wey]

I'm not overly impressed with FF. If I use a 'replacement,' I want it to do ALL the things the original does. One pet peeve: when using autocomplete, if there is an entry I don't want, ie. misspelled entry, in IE I just with delete and viola, entry deleted. In FF I have to erase ALL forms entries. Anyone know a way around this...plug-in,etc.?

I don't have specific need for such an extension but if you're after a healthy list of Firefox extensions, here's (http://texturizer.net/firefox/extensions/) a good place to start. However, I'm not sure if the extension you're after is available yet.

BTW, I recommend Mouse Gestures. 8)