Is Firefox really that good?

[Trisha Takanawa]

Theres something you hear all the time from people into computing, oh use firefox [insert random reason here] etc.

But is Firefox really that good for now days use? Mozilla are so bloody slow! Lets think, Windows 7 with Aero Jump. IE8 has it (though they had an unfair advantage), Google Chrome has it, Opera has it. (Heck, even Steam, MSN, Winamp and others have it now) Mozilla? There still debating what to do about it. How can you trust a web browser maker who is so slow to do anything?

In the time they made the jump from 3.1 to 3.5, Google released Chrome and made 3 major versions, Opera jumped up two major versions. Mozilla these days seem to be the most useless bunch of programmers who take forever to do stuff.

 

[BonezOz]

Trisha, honestly, I can't stand FF anymore, not due to it's speed, or the version increments, but to issues that I experienced both at home and at work and have never found a solution for. I tested the Private browsing function once at work and once at home and now FF never stores cookies. First I thought the private browsing had gotten stuck in an "on" state, but couldn't find anything anywhere to turn it "off" Even an uninstall/reinstall on both PC's failed to resolve the issue. So I said "stuff it" and someone suggested Google Chrome, but with Chrome I don't like the fact that it tracks your browsing history in order to send you targeted ads, but I did like the interface. Well to make a long story short, I've switched all my browsers to SRWare Iron, a Chrome like browser that's open source, and has an ad block function, though it is a bit cryptic to set up the ad blocking.

So to answer your question, No Firefox isn't that good, but neither are any of the other mainstream browsers. There are alternatives out there that do the job and do it well.

 

[Titcher]

What is this aero jump? Google isn't turning up any useful results about that. Mozilla aren't exactly as slow as you think, they just prefer incremental releases to holding back then jumping to new major versions. That's why every so often firefox asks you to restart to apply updates. And if things are so slow to come along, go code the features yourself and submit them.

Also, remember Firefox is designed as a multi-platform browser, they don't want to branch off and create operating system specific versions, so any windows only features could cause unnecessary bloat and potentially break firefox for other platforms.

 

[InsaneNutter]

What is this aero jump? Google isn't turning up any useful results about that.

Google jumplists, it’s basically a menu you get when you right click on running programs in Windows 7.

Very useful for MSN, I don’t really use it on any web browsers that support it though.

 

[KillerWhiteMan]

I used to used FF but once I found IE8, I never went back. I switch between Google Chrome and IE8; haven't really decided which one is the best, but IE8 is my primary use.

 

[Puff3r]

I stick with IE8. Why bloat the system with more applications for the same purpose. All browsers have their issues, that is a given. Chrome has been proven to be the fastest at rendering Java on web pages, FireFox has plug-in's that make it extrememly functional, IE8 is built in and functional. It really just boils down to your prefrence. I probably would have stuck with FF if there was no browser included with my OS. But, as it's already there, and is functional, again why bloat the system?

 

[BSmith]

I've never had an issue with Firefox, it works very well and has all the functionality I require. I've yet to see anything in any of the other browsers that makes me want to switch.

 

[z3ddrocksz]

I use Firefox because of all the plug-ins it has and everything else I can do with it. It also came installed on Ubuntu so like Puff3r said why bloat the system?

 

[BrandinA]

It is but it isn't. I have 2 choices for browsers ATM because this computer is really not happy with me for some odd reason. xD I either use Internet Explorer or Firefox. Firefox is great but Chrome is better. Beyond Chrome, nothing beats it. Its fast, great, compatible, and an easy interface.

Firefox crashes a lot and it takes a lot to keep it running for more then 5 hours straight. Usually coders, streamers, etc. would need to keep their browser opened for quite a bit of time.

When I was over streaming at Ustream and they were doing upgrades, Firefox didn't work, what so ever with Ustream. I tried using Internet Explorer, didn't work either; thats when I switched to Chrome. After I started using Chrome I switched up to Windows 7. A bunch of my drivers and things were lost, but, I am happy I upgraded. Something went wrong during Maintenance on this PC and I can't use Google Chrome anymore. Anyways,I went back to Firefox and I have been on it ever since. I don't like the fact on how it just DOESN'T listen sometimes or messes up.

Sometimes Firefox is worth it, sometimes its not. I can tell you, NEVER TEST THEIR RC'S/BETA'S. NEVER. I did once and yah, not worth your time. Stick with the stable versions.

Anyways, thats all I have to say.

 

[InsaneNutter]

Each of the popular web browsers has its pros and cons, you should use which ever you feel most comfortable with aslong as you have the latest stable release installed.

I used IE for many years until switching to Chrome recently, From a users point of view IE just worked and i never had any problems with it.

Firefox - Again nothing wrong with it as a browser I just didnt see the point in switching to it as IE did all I wanted. I never really got caught up with the hype.

I personally find Firefox to be slow and think it looks pretty dated without installing plugins and themes. Also considering Windows is the most used platform for the browser Mozilla seem to be reluctant to support windows specific features... like jump lists or even just a modern theme that fits in with Windows Vista / 7.

Chrome - over the last few months I found myself using it more and more, its very minimalistic, and most importantly fast. I also really like how it will sync all my bookmarks to Google Docs out the box, for some one who might access the net from several different computers that is a really nice feature to have.

Im not going to rant on about chrome as it up to you what browser you use, maybe have a read of this comic if you have 10-15 minutes free and see why chrome has a lot of potential: Google Chrome

 

[MasterChief]

I was a diehard Firefox fanboy, I would like to think ive grown up now and have a more open minded view. Like other have mentioned Chrome / webkit has improved in leaps and bounds over the last few months. I find myself enjoying chrome more, especially now it has extensions.

 

[BabaJaga]

It's the addons that make FF so popular. I.e. AdblockPlus. It's OSS too. IE sucks and always will. Chrome is for early adopters. Maybe I'll take a look someday. But FF works fine without problems. You can get millions of addons for every purpose. So, no need to switch.

 

[Hoffman]

Chrome is for early adopters. Maybe I'll take a look someday.

It was at the time and ill be the first to admit it had initial problems,Ii would say its improved to the point where its better than FF now. The extensions have gone from a few buggy ones to some fantastic ones in just a few months.

Chrome extensions are sandboxed, there for carn't interact and modify each other, where as on Firefox any extension can do anything to the browser

Chrome Extension Gallery

 

[Nimrod]

I need to revive this old post as I was thinking about it today:

Mozilla really are bloody useless. New features to expect in V4? Multi-process tabs and plugins as well as more HTML5 support. Great, shame Chrome and other browsers have done this for almost a year already. I used Firefox today with a proxy, and my god it was so slow.

Firefox has become the new IE in my eyes, they take so bloody long to release updates and are about a year or two behind other browsers in terms of features. I use to use Fox as it was the best alternative to IE and IE was years behind, it appears the Fox is the new IE. Most Firefox users use it because its features and improved speed, but even the new Opera release a few days ago has more features and is much faster than Firefox. Chrome on the other hand is still lighting fast, so much faster than any other browsers, and its plugin extension section has grown massively, bringing it up to par with Firefoxs extensions.

Why do people still use the Fox now? Its so outdated and slow.

 

[Titcher]

Where are you getting this slowness information? My firefox browser renders pages instantly. And more HTML5 features is a good thing, firefox were the first to rush to get HTML5 features in.

 

[Dark Scyth]

I can't really agree with that one, for me Firefox takes 1 - 4 seconds at most to load a page and I must say it looks quite nice.