[Cailean]

Just curious...

[edit] I just realized that I should have made a multi-choice poll... oh well, choose you default browser, I guess.

[dewy]

ph34r me for I am Firefox, ruler of all, protector of innocent eyes(1), helper of those who want info now(2), protector of computer secuity. The only program that should be installed on a pc. Now distributed with iPod Shuffle, the Apple mp3 player smaller than a pack of gum (3)

1: Requires optional adblock plugin
2: Requires optional mouse and keyboard.
3: Do not consume firefox and/or chew/eat iPod shuffle

[shuttertalk]

Firefox is my browser of choice, though I still need IE to access our project intranet (must be some of the dumb ActiveX plugins they use).

I still test out the sites I develop in IE though... so it's useful for something.

[Cailean]

ph34r me for I am Firefox,

Just in case anyone else has trouble translating Leet on the fly,
ph34r=fear

(I had to look it up... )

[EnglishBob]

Been Firefox for quie a while now... only time I open IE is if I have to access work from home, the dumb Honda Interactive Network is an IE only item.

[dewy]

Firefox is my browser of choice, though I still need IE to access our project intranet (must be some of the dumb ActiveX plugins they use).

I still test out the sites I develop in IE though... so it's useful for something.

But if every one actually worked out all the virses/spyware etc firefox saves you form and buildt in tabs/popupblobker etc and ad blocking then they would all switch to Firefox and therefore testing in IE would be useless!

[slejhamer]

Just in case anyone else has trouble translating Leet

Thank you.

"Graffiti for geeks" imho.

[Cailean]

Have you ever thought you posted something, and then can't find it?? I could've sworn I already posted this...

Anyway, I've just recently switched from Netscape to Firefox and I love it... nice and light and worry-free.

I would love to be able to convince everyone to switch away from Internet Exploiter but I think as long as Hotmail is the 'freemail' of choice, we are stuck with it.

[EnglishBob]

I check my hotmail through Firefox.... no issues.

[slejhamer]

Okay, based on the recommendations here I've downloaded Firefox and am giving it a whirl.

My initial comment is that the vast majority of users will not really see a reason to switch from IE. In fact, I'd say most will not like it. Why?
1. Images take longer to load.
2. Things like buttons, emoticons, etc., take longer to load.
3. The scroll wheel on my MS Intellimouse loses some functionality when I'm in a text entry box (like the one I'm in now.) When you scroll to the top of the text box in IE, it then scrolls the page itself, whereas that does not happen in FF and I have to then click outside the text box to scroll the page.
4. It was supposed to import all my bookmarks, passwords, cookies - it did not, and now I need to reenter everything. PITB.
5. It sorta looks like NTSC Mosaic. Anyone remember that? How retro...


But there are certain things that I absolutely love about it:
1. The built-in ad blocker - not just pop-ups, but banners too. Whoo!
2. The google search bar also lets you search amazon, ebay, dictionary - now that is smart!
3. Tab browsing is much better than having a half-dozen separate windows open
4. The interface for viewing cookies, saved passwords, etc., is much more user-friendly than IE's.

Also it seems very doubtful that Firefox will remain spyware and virus free forever. People attack MS because they are Goliath; if Firefox had the same dominant position they would probably be under attack too.

I'll probably become a Firefox convert despite its shortcomings. It can only get better, right?

[Petographer]

I keep using IE because I have no issues with it. I have Mozzila and Firefox on my computer and never use them. Granted, they are ok but I see no reason to change. Also. when I change something on the computer that my wife is used to it causes kaos. I'll never forget the grief I got when switching from cable TV to satellite.

[Irma]

I use IE and I have Netscape and Mozilla just to check my website and see how it looks in those browsers. I still use IE because my knowledge about PC's started with this browser... and somehow I feel at home with it... I don't doubt that new browsers have great tools, but I sense I will be sort of lost....

However I don't agree with people that design their websites just for IE or any other browser... sure it is very difficult to design a website that pleases most of the browsers but if people want to be seen by the internet comunity, they need to work for that...

[Cailean]

Also it seems very doubtful that Firefox will remain spyware and virus free forever. People attack MS because they are Goliath; if Firefox had the same dominant position they would probably be under attack too.

IE is not problematic just because it is a huge target... it has to do with the fact the IE, through the use of ActiveX controls, opens a window to Windows. Mozilla browsers do not allow ActiveX controls and thus are infinitely safer.

I'm also surprised that you find FF slower... I found the opposite.

@Bob, I had assumed that as an MSN product, Hotmail used ActiveX - my bad. Now there's no excuse to use it!

[slejhamer]

IE is not problematic just because it is a huge target... it has to do with the fact the IE, through the use of ActiveX controls, opens a window to Windows. Mozilla browsers do not allow ActiveX controls and thus are infinitely safer.

I'm also surprised that you find FF slower... I found the opposite.

Thank you for clarifying about ActiveX in IE. I think IE now lets users choose if they want to allow ActiveX controls to run, but I agree that FF's zero tolerance is better.

It's not much slower, but almost every time I visit a new page it takes a second for the buttons, images or whatever to appear. But upon repeat visits the problem seems to go away - maybe it's a caching thing.

One thing I really don't like about FF is that when I open a new window it opens my home page, not the page I was on. And when I open a new tab it's a blank page. Any way around this?

[Cailean]

One thing I really don't like about FF is that when I open a new window it opens my home page, not the page I was on. And when I open a new tab it's a blank page. Any way around this?

Probably, but my knowledge is limited.

FF has a pretty comprehensive config system (type about:config into the address bar) The support forums are very useful also...

[shuttertalk]

FF seems to handle those nasty popups pretty well out of the box. In fact, I ran all the tests at http://www.popuptest.com/, and none of them showed up!

IE on the other hand, failed dismally.

[Cailean]

IE on the other hand, failed dismally.

SHOCKING!!!

[slejhamer]

FF seems to handle those nasty popups pretty well out of the box. In fact, I ran all the tests at http://www.popuptest.com/, and none of them showed up!

IE on the other hand, failed dismally.

On my system (IE 6, XP-SP2, Google toolbar) IE blocked EVERYTHING that FF blocked. Neither one blocked the "sticky" popup, but both blocked everything else.

Perhaps you are not configured the same?

[slejhamer]

Probably, but my knowledge is limited.

FF has a pretty comprehensive config system (type about:config into the address bar) The support forums are very useful also...

Okay, got it worked out. Had to install two extensions, one called "OpenNewWindowFromHere" and the other called "Tabbrowser Preferences." Now I have the functionality that I want, but it's unfortunate that these are not standard items.

[shuttertalk]

On my system (IE 6, XP-SP2, Google toolbar) IE blocked EVERYTHING that FF blocked. Neither one blocked the "sticky" popup, but both blocked everything else.

It's probably SP2 -- MS introduced a host of security features with SP2 including a popup blocker. Google toolbar also has a popup blocker..

[slejhamer]

Another flaw with FF: I can't print PDFs from within the browser, and turning off browser integration in Adobe Reader does NOT stop FF from opening PDFs in a browser window! You actually have to deactivate all of the Adobe plugins in FF to get a PDF to open up outside the browser.

For geeks who like to tweak, FF is the best. But I'll strongly reiterate my comment that the majority of web users will not see any reason to switch from IE.

[EnglishBob]

Once again, odd... I print PDF's in Firefox without issue.

[shuttertalk]

Oh by the way, I love the in-page searching feature with FF. I'm so used to it now that it's integral to my browsing.

How it works -- after a page loads, simply start typing and it'll jump to the first occurance of the word on the page. Press enter and it'll jump to the next occurrance. Is that cool or what?

[slejhamer]

ST, that is indeed very cool! One more point in FF's favor.

[shuttertalk]

Courtesy of /. here's a weblog entry of the president of the mozilla foundation, on the day FF 1.0 went live:

http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/mitchell/...aun_1.html