Checking Out the Next Firefox
Posted by Harry McCracken | Sunday, March 19, 2006 10:30 PM PT
Wanna try an early-but-intriguing browser upgrade? You're in luck:
Head here, and you can download Bon Echo--or, as we'll eventually call it, Firefox 2.0. (In the real world, by the way, Bon Echo is
a park in Ontario.)
News of this early version of Firefox 2 hit the Web today, but it doesn't seem to be an official release. In fact, Asa Dotzler of Mozilla
says it isn't one, and he should know.
By the time I'd read Asa's blog posting, I'd already downloaded and installed the Mac OS X version of Bon Echo, which I'm using right now. There's nothing about it that instantly screams "massive makeover!" Dig in, though, and there's some new stuff, including a new History menu item that lets you do searches in Web pages you've visited in the recent past. (Am I the only person who tends to waste time recreating my tracks to find things I already located once?) I also notice some tweaks to the tab interface, including little X icons on the tabs for easy closing. (One reason to be cautious about the alpha: If your favorite Firefox extensions are anything like
my favorite Firefox extensions, they aren't compatible with the new version yet.)
If you want more info on what's in store for Firefox 2, take a gander at this
extremely detailed document, which is actually a wiki used by the Firefox development team. From my quick parsing of it, it looks like Firefox 2 will be more evolutionary than revolutionary...but there will be a fair amount of evolution.
When will the final version be available? All I know is that they're aiming for later this year. It seems entirely possible that it'll meet or beat the release of
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7.
If so, that would mean that Mozilla will have released two meaningful upgrades to Firefox (1.5 and 2) in the time since Microsoft started making noises about finally updating its browser. IE may not be
dead like a dinosaur, but its development schedule is still lumbering along like one. (IE 7
was announced back in February of last year.)
Anyhow, we're currently awash in early versions of next-generation browsers: The IE 7 beta 2 is also
a free download--as is the
Preview 2 version of Opera 9.
The conservative among us should stick with the shipping versions--for instance, I've had some trouble with sites and services that didn't seem to like the IE 7 beta (most recently
AOL's In2TV). But if you've got a gambling streak, you can compare and contrast where Microsoft, Mozilla, and Opera think the browser is going.
Speaking of which: Which browser and version are you using--and why? (Today, incidentally, about 68 percent of PCWorld.com visitors were using IE 6, 21 percent used Firefox, and a tad under 6 percent used Opera. No other browser was used by as much as 1 percent of site visitors.)
I use firefox not as a fanboy its just that on my system It's more responsive has tabs and does, well at least for me, not crash like IE6 sp2 has a habbit of, there are some glitches like empty downloads!! come on guys sort that out, I have 2gig ram and a AMD x2 4800 cpu so maybe im a bit spoilt as there are complaints about firefox 1.5 hogging ram, horses for courses considering the multitude of machine setups just stick with what works for you.If IE7 proves to be better then I'll consider moving maybe, untill then having two browsers is an advantage in my book, as for Opera i liked it alot but since my internet bank won't accept it here in the uk there is no reason to have yet another browser.Hopefully in Firefox 2 alot of the bugs will be ironed out the fact that they are pushing a new version so quickly does make me wonder though! But competion is good news we all win when companies are forced into looking at what the user actually wants not what they pervceive we need. With Vista out it will be an interesting year for inovation, bugs crashes and headaches all round, and yes i will upgrade from xp but I'll wait a few months to see the potential carnage unfold.
At home Firefox - tabbed browsing is a huge plus, as is better security.
At work - we also switched to Firefox - the IT people were terrified of the security holes (and the long time to release patches) with IE. I understand that their long term goal now is a Microsoft free company, and that they hope to implement it in 2 years.
At home, Firefox.
At work, managed to persuade one of the IT guys to accidentally log in on my desktop and install. He swears he doesn't remember doing it and I don't know who did it, it was just there one day. Since it requires admin access to properly install, it must be a program I (as a non-admin) am allowed to use :). Very handy for preventing toolbar clutter, considering the number of programs and windows I typically have open. Still need IE for one of the sites I'm required to work in though.
For Killhippie: There's a reason Firefox can be a memory hog. It has a lot to do with how many webpages you have open at any one time (you think FFox doesn't need more memory to hold each new page you open? Shame on you ;)
I use mostly Firefox on Ububntu/GNU/Linux 6.04 both at home and at work. It just works, and it has some neat configuravle features (like built-in wikipedia search) and it has plenty of extentions to install.
Both work and home - Firefox. Except when I am *forced* by vendors who only develop for IE. And who have now been informed (like the dinosaurs) evolve or be replaced.
Microsoft Free company ? I run a small WISP that is Microsoft free - but a non-techie company w/o any Microsoft ? I agree it is in the future, but not sure I would want to try that in an inertia-laden, non-technical, can only point and click organization right now.
Opera FTW! i have used opera since version 7. it just keep on getting better and better. soon they're going to release v9! it's going to rock!
Damian: There is a version of Firefox that doesn't require installation. Check out http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/browsers/portable_firefox It is meant to be copied to a usb key for portability for times when you can't install the software on the local system.
On my imac I use ALL of Safari, Firefox(Deerpark), and Camino. I've tried Shiira but don't like it.
Camino is by far the fastest, but is plain.
Safari is the best for RSS.
Firefox has Adblock, Tab Mix Plus, and other great extensions.
I often have all of them open at once!
I have been using Firefox for over a year now. Got tired of those confusing IE patches and got concerned about the security of IE. Opera is also great and would be my alternative browser.
Firefox on GNU/Linux (Ubuntu is my distro of choice). Though I'm taking a look at Epiphany. Epiphany doesn't have as many features as Firefox, but it's quite nice too. It still has all the must-have ones (pop-up blocking, tabs, bookmarks toolbar, etc).
The main thing that keeps me on Firefox instead of Epiphany is RSS. I like reading RSS news.
At home: Firefox (on FreeBSD). IE is not an option. Even if I still ran Windows, I would not use IE.
At work: Firefox. Recently Firefox was endorsed as a standard across the entire corporation by those up-on-high. I am the IT admin for our remote site and have pushed it under-the-radar for years though. It was nice to be finally vindicated.
Firefox is faster, more-secure, has more features (meaning people save time and are more-productive), and allows for less work by IT staff since a Firefox user is exponentially less likely to get viruses, spyware, malware, and other similar infections than an IE user. It's really a no-brainer. Sometimes I wonder if people who still use IE to browse also use Notepad for their word-processing.
We work from home as freelancers and maintain sites for our own small publishing company as well as a couple others... first choice is Firefox, but frqunetly run Seamonkey, also run Opera ... moody, I guess. We Have to have IE6 but it's for test purposes only... I;d say it's Firefox/Seamonkey 75%, 22% Opera, and 3% IE on the on the computers here -- 2 linux and 3 WinXP.
Right now, I'm on firefox. I like opera most though. Some compatability issues. I don't like the fact that saved sessions in Opera don't automatically update when a new session is started. Probably something I need to do though...
If I could just get Thunderbird mail to work with t-mobile air card. IE ads drive anybody nuts!
Firefox. I only use IE if I absolutely have to; primarily for Microsoft's update site. I am happy not to use non-essential webpages that aren't usable under firefox.
Home: Firefox. Work: IE. Much prefer Firefox - small, fast, customizable, stable, secure. Each version improves on the previous. I just hope that as time progresses, Firefox doesn't get bloated. Mozilla - keep the core program lean and mean and let me customize it with plug-ins. Beware of feature and size bloat.
At home it is always Firefox, had to get my family members to move to Firefox since I could not keep their browsers and PC's working right, what a blessing that was, at work they worry about all the in-house programs built under IE and rather not chance the move. thus corporate america's slow pace to migrate has allowed Microsoft to keep a buffer in the browser wars tally.
home, work - firefox. every time my wife (she is in IT too) starts IE on my computer it freaks me out. why would anyone still use it? tabs and extensions - key features in firefox.
I have been using Opera since V3 and I stick with it because it is fun to have such early previews of Firefox's next "new" feature.
Personally, netscape. Tiny things I prefer about it over firefox (the IE/mozilla rendering switching is nice), but I try to get everyone at work to use firefox.
I use IE mostly, and Firefox on a very rare occasion. I don't see a huge difference between them, really. Somtimes Firefox runs better, sometimes IE runs better. I use IE as default, until something happens and it doesn't load right.
I have used Firefox for the past two years. I now have switched to Netscape 8.1; Firefox froze up too much and my wife hated it. Netscape 8.1 with the site controls is very nice, I don't use many extentions because everything I used in Firefox is in Netscape 8.1. I will look at firefox 2.0 when it comes out, but as of right now Netscape 8.1 is right on target.
I use Internet Explorer and I have never got any viruses/spyware/worms get into my laptop. When surfing the web properly and not opening e-mail attachments, security in Internet Explorer is as good as Firefox as I can't tell the difference in security when I use Internet Explorer or Firefox. So I stick with Internet Explorer and won't move to Firefox. I configured my firewall, anti-virus, and a couple of spyware programs (Webroot and Windows Defender) and a very good configuration can help keep my computer secure. Thus, ActiveX is not a problem. I have to click in ads or any ActiveX controls to activate ActiveX, but it's no big deal because I don't make a habit of clicking those ActiveX controls.
I use firefox because of the speed, ease of use, and security. I used to have loads of spyware on my system when using IE6. Now with firefox I am spyware free and going at extremely fast speeds. I also like how firefox can change to themes you like, not just what microsoft likes. I am going to wait for the final version of Firefox 2.0 because the betas usually has some problems.
Firefox all the way, at home and school! Fast. Secure. Extendable Functionality. Themes. What else can you want.
If a site really needs IE, like Windows Update, then I use the IE Tab Firefox extension!
Opera at work and Opera at Home!
Its the only brower. Its fast, and in my opinion more secure than FF. I use FF as a backup, and IE as the last resort, mainly for Windows updates only.
i like firefox very much even though sometimes i still turn to IE. The interface of IE is just too featureless.
Firefox everywhere I go.
But i DO like the idiot that wrote all about how he uses IE safely, but doesn't notice the 10 things he has to do to make that happen don't exist on firefox.
Why anyone still uses IE can only be based out of sheer ignorance.
I have used Firefox versions since 0.9x, and have always used the Mozilla Suite (up to 1.7.12) alongside, pity it's frozen now (I understand that Seamonkey 1.0 is supposed to supercede Mozilla Suite now) I have Opera just to experiment, it is a lot easier and less geeky to use now. IE is barely used but updated all the same. Never used Outlook or Outlook Express, it's been Thunderbird and Mozilla Mail&Newsgroups from the beginning. Open Office 2.0 is great, perfect for my needs. Looking into Open SugarCRM for my business's needs. If SLED (Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop) is as good as or as better than Mac OS X and and Microsoft Vista, I may say goodbye to all proprietary software forever. (I still miss BeOS, but Haiku is taking forever and Zeta is understandably not courting the North American market and has not resolved the dispute with current owners of GobeProductive to my satisfaction)
I've been using Firefox almost exclsuively for more than 18 months.
It's simply better.
Would be great to see more PC manufacturers pre-loading it as the default web browser.
I love firefox at work and home, but I do get frustrated by the freeze ups and also CTD's after I've left it on for a few days in a row (which I usually do, losing lots of tabbed pages in the process). I dislike losing the feature from Netscape where it automatically filled out the URL line though (now you have to move the cursor down to select old URL's).
Firefox rocks !!! with every new version, the simplicity and also the complexity of security hacks increases...which is a very good factor..
way to go Mozilla...
D
This portable version is much easier for testing:
http://digg.com/software/How_To_Test_Firefox_2.0_Alpha_1_Without_Installing_It
I use IE 7 - HAve never had any problems, it loads faster than Firefox and I have never used Opera but soon I will be formatting my PC and running straight linux so I will likely have to switch to Firefox full time or search around for somethign I like better.
But it has always been my experience that IE loads MUCH faster than FF or Netscape. Thats too bad because they both have decent feature I am just impatient when it comes to load times, that why I edit images using paint or microsoft image view as often as possible rather than opening Photoshop CS because it takes FOREVER! You hear me Adobe FOREVER! same to you firefox PLEASE speed things up a bit
BTW I have a good system with a 1.6Ghz Pentium M processor and 768MB of DDR ram...so I'm good
no viruses or spyware either
At home, Firefox, Safari, and Lynx. I used to use OmniWeb, but they chose to be unresponsive to my input during their 5.0 beta process on points about which I felt very strongly.
At work, Firefox, Netscape, and, when forced, IE.
At my parents, Netscape.
Of course, IE loads faster - most of the code is part of the OS. If other browsers only had to load a skin, they'd load fast also.
As Posted by James on Monday, March 20, 2006, 11:47 PM (PST):
Hey I'm not showing my ignorance. You are ONLY showing YOURS. And stop calling me idiot you stupid Firefox fanby!!!
I've been a Firefox user since 1.0.x, with the occasional IE foray for things like... well... okay, only Windows Update. Opera's not too bad, either. Downloaded it out of curiosity, and quite like the way it remembers which pages you had open when you last closed it.
My migration to a non-Windows platform continues...
I'm not a techie, but I do like to keep up with the latest. I discovered firefox when it was...gee I forgot the name, oh Phoenix, then firebird, and then now firefox. I love it. The tabbed browsing and the extensions made me an instant convert. I tried opera, but it just didn't have that cool factor like the phoenix (perhap the name?? sounded a little brokeback to me maybe), and the netscape had the been there done that feel. Firefox rocks!!!!!
Viva La Opera - Just all the stuff I want. And is not like something I don't like - have you ever wondered whether the overwhelming simplicity of IE (and likewise) interface and features are just enough for you?
For me , firefox ids the only way to go ... Its so much superior to I.E. , I don't think I'd ever go back ... it almost never crashes , and the greater security is
" A good thing " to quote Martha ... Thinking back ,i can't believe i stuggled along with I.E. for so long.....
I like firefox support for standars (XML) and try to use tit as a defaul to deploy intranet applications
I use Firefox primarily, Mozilla secondarily and IE only for those sites that have problems with Firefox.
Opera worked well as a browser, but there were problems with PhotoShop that we (Opera's tech group and I) were unable to resolve, so I regretfully pulled it from my box. [Note that this was two years ago, things probably have changed.]
I left IE ages ago, even paid for Opera before it was free because I liked the stability and love tabs. I then thought Firefox with its extensions was worth exhibiting the patience required to help software mature through its baby stages. I use Firefox solely at home and at work now. (Firefox is encouraged for use where I work... an IBM lab).