MSCL.com

So I finally jumped on the bandwagon yesterday with the release of the latest build.

Anyone else here using this browser? Or have used it but didn't like it? I was strictly an IE guy before, but I am liking the flexibility of Firefox the more I use it. I never cared for Netscape, Mozilla or any of the others until now.

Yeah, I've been using Mozilla since the early Milestones a few years ago. In the beginning it was a buggy experience with lots of crashes. But now I'm using Firefox for Web and Thunderbird for Mail and no complaints anymore. I install them on every PC I come across and recommend everyone to use them. They are free, standard compliant, user friendly, fast and very flexible. I couldn't live anymore without the tabbed browsing feature, Pop-up Blocker or extensions like AdBlocker or dictionarysearch. And if one ever considers switching to Linux, it's no problem to keep all profile data and emails.

But in general, one can use any browser, as long as it isn't Internet Explorer (IE). It's so full with unfixed security holes and HTML/CSS rendering bugs that it makes my head hurt - not to mention the general ignorance towards any web coding standard. It hasn't been updated for years (except for some security fixes) and won't be updated till 2007 when Windows "Longhorn" arrives. Safari (Mac), Opera, Konqueror (Linux) are all good alternatives to IE.

Sascha (sab) wrote:I couldn't live anymore without the tabbed browsing feature, Pop-up Blocker or extensions like AdBlocker or dictionarysearch. And if one ever considers switching to Linux, it's no problem to keep all profile data and emails.

It's only been about 24hrs and I am hooked on the tabbed browsing. I love some of the extensions that are out there, right now I am using QuickNote and WebDeveloper (EXTREMELY useful!!). The themes that are out there now aren't that great, but I do like the Noia 2.0 (extreme) theme.

Sascha (sab) wrote:But in general, one can use any browser, as long as it isn't Internet Explorer (IE). It's so full with unfixed security holes and HTML/CSS rendering bugs that it makes my head hurt - not to mention the general ignorance towards any web coding standard. It hasn't been updated for years (except for some security fixes) and won't be updated till 2007 when Windows "Longhorn" arrives. Safari (Mac), Opera, Konqueror (Linux) are all good alternatives to IE.

I beg to differ about IE. Yes it definitely has security problems and lacks updating over the years but in all my years using it is the only browser that will consistently display pages correctly (or as intended). It is extremely lenient on junk code that some people use (which is double edged). On one hand it is great to be able to see a page correctly even if a TD isn't closed or whatever, but it is bad for the developer if they don't see they are making a mistake. I think a lot of people are way too down on IE just because it is the hip thing to do. Netscape was one of the crappiest browsers ever, I don't think anyone ever released a browser as bad as 4.7.2. Yet no one gets down on them for that really. Eh, guess it is a matter of taste and preference in the end.

I don't know what I did before Adblocker. When I use other people's computers, the web looks really really ugly. Ads EVERYWHERE! I see comments on Aint It Cool News about the ads that are all over the place, and it takes me a second to realize that they're all blocked for me. Its very nice.

I really do love Firefox and Thunderbird.

But I do have a question. Is there and EASY way to update Thunderbird without having to go in and make a new email account, and then point the new one to where the old one was stored? Every time I've updated, I had to do that, and its a pain, because I have like 3 email addresses running through it.

Maybe I should just search the Thunderbird message board whenever I get around to downloading the new version.

Does FF update easily? That's my main gripe about IE and other Microsoft products: endless updates and patches which often require multiple install attempts on my part.

Nostradamus wrote:Does FF update easily? That's my main gripe about IE and other Microsoft products: endless updates and patches which often require multiple install attempts on my part.

Never had any problems with FF updates. But I also never had bigger problems with Microsoft updates either (Except for that XP SP2 upgrade which is too big for my hard disk). The only disadvantage is that you usually have to reinstall all extensions everytime you upgrade FF.

so is firefox safer to use than IE? as you know I've been having trouble with spyware. and even though I did everything you guys and a friend recommended, adaware and spybot still detect crap every day. I was wondering if my browser could have something to do with my problems?

emmie wrote:so is firefox safer to use than IE?

Difficult to say. There may be as many security bugs in Firefox as in Internet Explorer but 95% of todays viruses, spywares and dialers are written for Internet Explorer and Windows based operating systems. So by using a different browser you're less likly to become a victim. And security holes in Firefox are getting fixed a lot faster than in IE. I'm currently only using Firefox, just when I'm developing/testing new websites, I start IE (and Opera) up. And I currently recommend all my friends to switch to Firefox. Apart from my personal opinion that it's safer, it's also a more userfriendly browsing experience (and it's easier to develop websites for this browser ).

And I also recommend everyone who's using Outlook (Express) for mail to switch to Mozilla or Thunderbird. That's definitely safer than Outlook.

OK, I made the switch. I'll post a mini-review after I've had more time to try it out. I did notice a few changes here on the forum; button shadows, a thicker text cursor, etc. I take it this is how the forum was meant to be seen?

Nostradamus wrote:I did notice a few changes here on the forum; button shadows, a thicker text cursor, etc. I take it this is how the forum was meant to be seen?

Yeah, FF renders some things slightly differently. The text cursor is a bit thicker in FF in general. Other than that I think the differences on MSCL.com for various browsers can only be noticed in the "high layout" parts of the site. The HTML and JavaScript code is by far not standard-compliant, so it may look different.

I'm getting the hang of it now. Some observations:

Firefox is definitely slower than IE on most sites, but not so bad as to be bothersome. One review clocked it at 30-100% slower, and this seems accurate. Surprisingly though, it does a great job with Fark.com's photoshop contest pages, not only matching IE for speed but returning far fewer broken pictures (the infamous little red 'x' on IE).

Installation and setup were (mostly) a breeze. FF imported my bookmarks from IE, but also scrambled them in the process. There was an option to automatically find and install the usual Flash plug-ins, but this got stuck, so I did a manual job from the Macromedia site. There has also been some re-education with the slightly different interface, which will improve with practice.

All in all I have very few complaints, and the peace of mind that comes with the superior stability and security is certainly worth it. I'll keep Internet Explorer as a secondary option, but Firefox is likely here to stay.

One last note: That fluffy little fox on the logo is so damn cute! They ought to make plush Firefox toys...