Explorer vs. Firefox

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A...anguage=printer

Firefox is awesome. I've been using it since 0.6 and even back then it trumped IE. How anyone can use a non-tabbed broswer is beyond me (now that I've used Opera, Firefox, etc.)

I was skeptical but I've switched over too and am very satisfied!

Yes Firefox gets my vote too.

I also recommend the following extensions
AdBlock
Tabbrowser Extensions
Googlebar
Download Statusbar

switched a month ago and Firefox is so much better. it didn't take too long to download even over my slow home phone line

l used to get popups appearing every few minutes when l was using Explorer - after getting Firefox l don't get any at all

also seems to be quicker at downloading and the tabs functionality is excellent. l wouldn't swap back

l'd say to everyone - give it a go - l don't think you'd go back to explorer

it also copies your favourites / cookies etc from explorer so you don't need to copy these manually

This dinosaur uses Netscape 7.02

I absolutely could not live without tabs which Netscape has, however it sounds like I really should check out Firefox instead.

IE is a four letter word

favorite extensions

Dictionary Search - I use it to pull up translations from dict.leo.org and defintions from dictionary.com with a simple right-click.

context highlight - select a word and then firefox will highlight every occurence in the page - great for power googling.

context search - search more than just google.

bugmenot - no more creating accounts on sites requiring registration.

gmail notifier

sage - an rss reader

tabbrowser preferences - optimize tab behaviour

super drag and go - drag a link to open in a new tab, drag a file to download.

I have used Firefox for awhile. I find it lacking and still "Betaware"...

I have sinced moved on to Opera 7.54, which is 100x better than Firefox
and 100000x better then IE.

@Iceberg Nice list of extensions, I shall devote some time to trying them out, some of them sound like things I need.

@Darkknight Can you please summarise some of the advantages of Opera over Firefox. I did try Opera a while ago, and it had a big ad on it, that you had to pay to get rid of! And no source was available either! I take it those issues have been taken care of now? Also what did you find lacking in firefox?

I'm downloading firefox right now but can't wait to find out what

bugmenot - no more creating accounts on sites requiring registration.

means!! Somebody explain, whatever it is it sounds too clever to be true.

No contest - Firefox by a mile

I think that that's what still is the main gripe with Opera - you get nailed with banner ads if you don't pay for it.

Opera is very nice, imho, but I don't like adware and Firefox is long since past the beta stage. I would suggest trying it out.

@MAM
BugMe Not allows you to right-click on a registration field (say at washingtonpost.com) and it pops up somebody's already existing, fake account log-in info. No more Free Registration Required sites.

Firefox was past the Beta stage when they were around 0.6 or 0.7. 1.0 is out and I see no significant improvements over previous recent releases. Opera is good but bloated in my opinion.

1st tip for Firefox newbies: add a "New Tab" button by right clicking on the toolbar and hitting customize. Then just drag the icons you want to where you want them.

Also, update the boring default theme. I like the Mostly Crystal and Noia 2.0 eXtreme myself.

I used to use BugMeNot, but when I upgraded to 1.0, Firefox said the extension didn't work with the new version. Now I can't find anything about BugMeNot on the Firefox extensions page. Where are you getting it?

Bug-Me-Not homepage

Tip: If the automatic extension update doesn't work, open the extensions window from Tools->Extensions, right-click the extension and select home-page. It seems to take a bit of time before the updated extensions show up in Firefox's list.

@Ice
Thanks!

Right, how do you import your Netscape bookmarks ?

When I try to start Nerscape I get firefox instead and I want my bookmarks.

Bookmarks->Manage Bookmarks->file->Import-> choose "frome file" select your bookmarks.html file from Mozilla/Netscape.

Thanks Ice. Done

The tabs works better than Netscape because it stays on the page from which you opened the tabed link.

So how can Firefox fit some hot code into 4.7M when IE is up around the 100M mark. Stupid question I know but a good opportunity for some Microsoft bashing.

I think firefox is great. I'm using the extensions

linkification
nuke anything
mouse gestures
googlebar
adblock
tabbrowser extensions

Also the LEO option for the search box is very useful. This option adds the LEO English-German/German-English dictionary as an option in the search box. Just type an English or German word into the seach box and get a translation!

o yea firefox is cool... i just switched over from mozilla... the only reason i switched is cuz several sites i visit don't work with mozilla but they do with explorer and firefox too. and it hink someone already mentioned the thing about tabs...thats why i started using mozilla int he first place, much more convenient to open a new tab than to have 5 diff windows open.

o yea and i like using the personal toolbar or whatever its called instead of going through bookmarks

@madaxe -- that's a setting you can change in Firefox. Open new tabs in background is what it's called in Opera, in Firefox it's Tools --> Options --> uncheck "select new tab when opening from links"

You get a small Ad in the upper/right corner, cause you didn't pay for it.
The code isn't avail. to you cause it's not OSS...

The price is only around 30 Eur. If you like it buy it...
Otherwise look on the net for the Keygen to get rid of the Ad. Which
by the way is the only thing they add/remove from the "Non-Paying"
version.

As mentioned before, Firefox is still "Betaware" quality and still has
many stability problems.

I'm really not sure what you're talking about. I will freely admit that opera is a great browser.

What I can't figure out is your beta and stability claims. I use firefox exclusively and it's rock-solid with no stability issues. Any examples?

I have been using it for a while now, but then I am a bit of a Linux nerd...

One of the best features for me is that it has tabbed browsing: opening a new page in a new tab instead of a new window. A simple enough concept, but much more useable.

Wow, how do you set that up?

@bludger

click on the symbol on the top right of the firefox window (dots arranged in a circle) to open the firefox home page. On the bottom of the page there are links for various search engines, including LEO.

Downloaded and started using Firefox last night. I am almost an instant convert. It's the tabs that's a winner for me as I would normally have a number of Explorer windows open at a time.

I thought I read somewhere that IE supports tabs once you upgrade to XP SP2... I cant find anything to turn them on.

Have been using Firefox for a good few months now. Had a few probs with internet banking but now thats fine. Only thing is now is when you get to some sites that are ie bound (like needing activeX controls for example) and the odd site that doesnt render correctly (dont have any examples in my head)

On the whole, I am very happy with it, definately a convert

Firefox is the r0x0rz and if you use Opera you're a noob not 733T like me.

Tabbed porn? I'll go and try it out.

Doesn't anyone find it a bit a on the slowside compared to IE though?

I was only using it for about 2 hours or so and yes, performance did seem to be down even on simple pages. I put it down to my laptop being tired but I'll give it another go this evening and see how it goes.

My bank doesn't support Firefox

For online banking, I must use IE or Netscape. Apart from that, I prefer using Opera nowadays (not supported by the bank either, but otherwise great).

banks seem to cause the biggest problem with non-ie browsers from what I have experienced and seen online. Its bad on the website developers to do that. Hopefully they will put more effort into non-ie browsers now that more people are starting to switch to non-ie.

I got my bank (Citibank) to work with firefox, but it involved some mucking about with the settings in firefox. (Strangely the prob I had vanished with the released version of Firefox from last week.)

Firefox WILL be slower than IE because IE is embedded into Microsoft. See here:

http://forevergeek.com/windows/internet_ex...se_gestures.php

However I have loaded Firefox this morning (tried 6 months ago and it ended in tears). Seem nice enough.

I agree with Rog and most people that TABS are a near-essential these days and I assume will be added to Explorer on the next release. Personally I cannot bear the thought of anything that will slow down my browsing however so...

So I am just loading this for a test today:

http://www.maxthon.com/en/index.htm

Based on IE but adds the tab function and others.

Will report back!

@Tom17

Hey... I am w/ Citibank as well. In what way do I need to adjust/change settings to get Firefox to work?

Sorry folks but no contest!

I loaded Firefox this morning and loved the tabs - but graphics actually take time to load!!! So I have also loaded Maxthon just now.

I went to some of my favourite sites in Firefox and then also in Maxthon - and Firefox is slower to load images and pages - I hate that. Maxthon being based on IE is just as quick, plus it is only a small mental upgrade...cos it looks like IE but just with extra Tabs - I love it now myself. (but you can skin it as well).

Also Maxthon will save your exact position - so when you shut down the browser you can stay on all the same sites. So you can have Tabs open with your favourite sites every time all the time!

For those that use the Googletoolbar it does not support the very latest version, but supports the previous (which looks identical) and they give you the link for that.

So I am up and running with an improved browser which is great - just it isnt Firefox.

Being based on IE you should be fine with all your banking websites etc. You get the same Options/Internet Options as IE.

I am a sad git that this has cheered me up - but I spend a lot of time on the web :-)

@Oli

Currently, nothing, it just works... What version of Firefox did you try? Stuff before 1.0PR didnt work for me.

But even then, I just needed to add all the citibank servers into the "allow popups" part of the config. I dont have the list handy any more as i deleted them since it just works now.

I'm currently using 0.9, guess I should upgrade to 1.0 then. Thanks for the info.

Just a little update on this.

One thing I noticed is that screen tips don't seem to display when using Firefox. You know when you hold the mouse over an image and get a little yellow tab telling you something about it. Am currently looking for a tweak for this.

In terms of performance I found a few tips which really seem to light a fire under Firefox (bad English there).

Try these...

type "about:config" in your firefox address bar. The settings you're looking for are:

1.) network.http.pipelining...Set this to "True"
2.) network.http.pipelining.firstrequest...Set this to "True"
3.) network.http.pipelining.maxrequests ...Set this to "8"
4.) network.http.proxy.pipelining...Set this to "True"
5.) nglayout.ititialpaint.delay...Set this to "0"
6.) browser.turbo.enabled...Set this to "Y"

Changes can be made my right-clicking on the setting and choosing the appropriate option. Close and restart the application after doing these.

Good Luck!

Has anyone experienced any stability problems opening PDF files in Firefox?

Its an "ALT TAG" problem Roj. Solution here:

http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/popupalt

http://www.gadgetopia.com/2004/11/09/Firef...ndTooltips.html

Well looks like Microsoft are reacting.

IE 7

Can anyone tell me where the actual bookmarks are located in Firefox (ie in which directory?). Thanks.

Mine are in:
c:/Dokumente und Einstellungen/username/Anwendungsdaten/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/default.xjh/bookmarks.html

On windows 2000. I can tell you where they are on linux in an hour or 2 when I get home.

I've downloaded Forefox but it just sits there, can't get to any URLs.
Opera & IE work fine ?

The bottom left of the window says "done" but nothing happens

Ive just download a few extensions, but now i cant install them HELP PLEASE!!! Thanx saves as .xpi ???

I use Firefox 1.0 on both Mac and PC and internet banking works fine for Postbank and HSBC (UK).

KT