Firefox

[BuzZz]

Been thinking of this for awhile, but the talk around here lately has really got Fred and Barney(my 2 braincells) talking.

How friendly is Firefox going to be to me, a crazy donkey Windows-cause-that's-what-the-comp-came-with breastfed websurfin' recreational idjit as compared to I.E.6? Is it hard to change over? I can follow basic instructions onscreen, but not much else. Code is like looking at Japanese writing to me.... I don't mess with that stuff.

I don't have problems with I.E., but I am starting to get more concerned about the security lapses I keep hearing the system has. I know alot of you are closet computer-nerds, those that aren't outrightly so anyway , and I gleen the odd refereance to Firefox around here. And from other, un-related sources.....

What's your thoughts about this? Go ahead, feel free to make fun of my poor compu-retention abilities, but help me out please.

Use small words.....

[poppygene]

I'm no geek by any stretch, Buzz, which I admit is stating the obvious, but I'd say you'd really like Firefox. If I can use it, you know it's a doofus-friendly load package, so you Einsteins sure won't have any troubles with it. It's one of the fastest browsers I've ever used, has a nice pop-up blocker and I've grown to rely on tabbed browsing, too.
The only problem I've had is that there are some pages that absolutely will not load properly in Firefox. Don't ask me why - I have no idea. I almost hate to mention this, though, because they're so rare, but you may run into one sometime. There's an easy fix for this though in the form of an extension which will load that page quickly in IE for you.
I've been using Firefox for around 8 months and I ain't goin' back!

[scan]

My firewall kept getting killed by Firefox, so I never got to use it, since I won't run my Internet connection without a firewall. Everyone and his brother seems to recomend Firefox. I listen to these idiots on the radio with a computer advice show, and they recomend it blindly to everyone. Try it out and let us know Buzz. You seem like the guinea pig type.

Also on the Firefox not working on some pages - Some pages are built to function with one browser and not another. You might have seen a thread talking about this elsewhere. Basically I keep IE on my home computer for this reason. When Netscape won't work, I will try IE. I never use IE expcept to do that. On my work computer I'm only allowed to use IE - it is required by my company. If you go with Firefox, just be aware you may need to load pages from time to time with IE.

[totalmotorcycle]

Personally, I will not use Firefox at all today as my main internet browser. It just is not 100% internet compatable nor sadly will ever be 100% compatable with everything on the internet. The majority of websites on the internet were designed and built with IE in mind (positives and negatives).

I want to see it all and do it all, I do not want to be limited to what Firefox can't do or can't show. Like it or not, Microsoft (IE) is what the internet is and is built to. 94% of all internet users (that's billions) use IE and like Netscape, Firefox is, sadly, just a passing fad used by a few like IBM OS/2 was over Windows 3.1

Also there is a growing increase of websites that are blocking Firefox users for accessing their sites because Firefox does not display their sites correctly.

There may not be a lot of malware, hacks, holes or viruses for Firefox yet, but I'd just give it a few weeks.... Firefox cannot possibily have the research and development Microsoft has to combat this common problem.

My advice, Firefox is nice, but just too late to do anything as the internet cannot "reprogram" itself overnight to conform to Firefox over IE. Maybe in 3-6 years from now if Firefox is still around it will be more of an option to try out like Linux is today.

Mike.

[muz]

It just is not 100% internet compatable nor sadly will ever be 100% compatable with everything on the internet.

Now this is pure FUD (fear, uncertainty, & doubt). IE isn't 100% compatible with everything on the internet either! Remember, Netscape was around long before Bill Gates decided the internet wasnt just a passing fad after all.

I'm in the IT industry, and I've been using Firefox exclusively for web browsing for almost a year now. Almost every site I visit looks identical to using IE (including TMW!).

The only problems arise when I try to view a site that uses IE-specific javascript. In the last year or so, I've found less than a dozen of these, during constant daily use. Most often it is a Microsoft-allied site, or one created by amateur programmers. Most of the professional programmers I know still follow W3C standards, and avoid the IE-only extensions to HTML and javascript unless absolutely required by the customer.

I've also been using Firefox at secure shopping sites (Amazon, Chapters, Sears, Dennis Kirk) and banking/brokerage sites (TD, BMO, Royal, ETrade) with absolutely no issues.

Firefox has gained enough important market share, many companies (including the large Canadian oil & gas one I work at) are starting to re-test their sites on it to ensure compatibility. Any companies serious about doing business on the web realize that they have to allow non-IE users to use their sites. Firefox is not just a passing fad!

Don't succumb to hearsay and FUD, try it for yourself and make an educated judgement.

[totalmotorcycle]

Ah, it is wonderful to see a real ongoing Soap Box discussion!

I have had my own IT consulting company since 1989, so I'm not bad at IT.

Yes, Firefox has it's boosters, IE has it's boosters. IE is the standard, the mainstray, the ONE. So there will be a few (about 3%) of users who try it out, either like it or don't like it. TMW even gets visitors using Netscape 2.02!

But there are true facts that any user or IT department must remember:

- IE has been around for a very very (x3) long time and while the internet started before IE, IE has shaped the internet to what it is today... good or bad.

- Microsoft (like it or not) has the money, resources and developement to fight off browser attacks, release critical upgrades faster and to continue to create the "internet standard" we enjoy today.

- I take back that IE is 100% compatable, but it is the most compatable brower out there by far. Internet sites ARE blocking the use of Firefox, and it is a growing trend due to incompatability with Firebox. No large company wants their site displayed not as intended. www.gibsonusa.com is an example. Yahoo.com won't support Firefox either*

- I would caution any company, large or small on the quality of their IT department on embrasing an unproven technology over a proven one. Rash decisions are never safe.

I have seen so many trends come and go. Firefox is just one of them, right now. Only time will tell if Firefox is not a fad.

This reminds me of when Windows 3.0 came out and it was "DOS vs. Windows" and then "Win 3.1 vs. OS/2" and "16 bit ISA vs. PCI" ....



Remember, don't make it personal, everyone has an opinion, that's what the SoapBox is all about.




Mike



-----------------------------
*Yahoo not to Support Firefox
NEWS


The search firm has said that while it thinks the open source browser is important, it can't promise its services will be fully compatible with Firefox.

Yahoo said that a statement from the company’s Australian office on Tuesday, which claimed that all future products would be compatible with both the Firefox and Internet Explorer (IE) browsers, was inaccurate.

In February, Yahoo launched a search toolbar for Firefox, but users of the open source browser were forced to switch back to IE when accessing some Yahoo services. Following communications between Yahoo and ZDNet UK sister site ZDNet Australia , Yahoo issued a statement saying the company would not launch any new products or services in the future without ensuring they work on both IE and Firefox.

However, a Yahoo representative from the US admitted that the original statement was 'factually incorrect' because, although Yahoo realises that Firefox-compatibility is important, it is not in a position to promise all future products would be both Internet Explorer and Firefox compatible.

[muz]

well, statistics can be manipulated to show either side of the picture, so here's a sample of stories I found by searching for 'Firefox' on google news:

"Firefox users better protected than Internet Explorer users" - The Inquirer, UK.

"Firefox and Open Standards the Way Forward" - Slashdot

"Firefox pushes IE market share below 90%" - Computer Weekly News

"Mozilla: We're more secure than Microsoft" - ZDNet

"IE users "unsafe" for 98 per cent of 2004" - The inquirer, UK.

(actual links removed, you'll have to look these up yourself)


so BuzZz I guess the answer to your question is...

a) yes, Firefox is easy to use, even for a guy like you, and
b) dead simple to change over - download it from the Firefox website, install and start surfing. It even imports your IE bookmarks automatically.

but also
c) you'll still need to use IE occasionally...if you want to buy pipes from the Gibsons website, or use Hotmail.

hope that helps

muz

[Toyuzu]

My experience - I was beginning to have some serious problems with IE. The most annoying was that animations would not work. (No animated smileys.) I changed settings, fixed (or tried to ) everything a computer tech friend told me to do, to no avail.

Then Jeff (Sevulturus) told me about Firefox, so I decided to give it a try. I've been using it for about four months now, and I'm happy for the most part. My only complaint is that for no reason that I can tell, Firefoc will periodically "forget" all of my settings, along with my bookmarks. I keep a copy of them on the desktop now, to take care of that problem.

Firefox is definetely a user-friendly program. I have yet to find a site that won't load with Firefox.

[BuzZz]

Oh Boy, do I feel smarter now...

Thanx for the replies, guys. Sounds like I will try it and see what it's about, if I don't like it, or feel uncomfortable with it, I can always switch back, right? Some very interesting pionts were made, and I even grasped some of them.

Don't let me stop you, anymore thinks or gripes about one or the other system?

Just one thing.... If I choose Firefox, am I for or against gay marriage?

[muz]

hey man, you told us to geek out, that's what we did
It's easy enough to switch back to IE if you don't like firefox.

as for the gay marriage...hmm good idea for another soapbox post