Asa Dotzler: Firefox and more

I just updated to RC1, I can't believe all the hard work, I use to close Firefox 2 every few hours due to the use of memory, but this version is awesome, I'm a Firefox user since the phoenix days and this is the best Firefox ever.

Google Maps is an AJAX app which was "almost" fast enough. Now it hangs Firefox for 30 seconds. I'm the one screaming.

Ah, come on, stop this marketing talking, it sounds ridiculous. Do you really think anyone is impressed by stuff like "3 years of intense development by the world's most experienced browser team to bring us the fastest, safest, most powerful, and easiest to use Web browser ever"? Let the browser speak for itself and don't treat us like idiots.

Ah, come on, stop this marketing talking, it sounds ridiculous. Do you really think anyone is impressed by stuff like "3 years of intense development by the world's most experienced browser team to bring us the fastest, safest, most powerful, and easiest to use Web browser ever"? Let the browser speak for itself and don't treat us like idiots.

Ah, come on, stop this marketing talking, it sounds ridiculous. Do you really think anyone is impressed by stuff like "3 years of intense development by the world's most experienced browser team to bring us the fastest, safest, most powerful, and easiest to use Web browser ever"? Let the browser speak for itself and don't treat us like idiots.

Asking not to be treated like an idiot might be looked upon more favorably if you did not post the same comment three times in a row.

@Simon: Although I know most of that stuff is true I've gotta agree with you.

One thing I still miss is the turbo mode from the original mozilla.

Btw, is this a real release candidate or ms release candidate? As if these bits will be released as final 3.0 if no show stopper bugs are found?

Btw, is this a real release candidate or ms release candidate? As if these bits will be released as final 3.0 if no show stopper bugs are found?

> Those Ajax apps that were "almost" fast enough? In Firefox 3 they scream

With the last beta, they mostly screamed "Crash!Boom!Bang!" I hope you guys have fixed that.

15 000 improvements? that's just bs... Not supporting most of the add-ons that makes the browser slower isn't a improvement you know?

Alex, it is up to extension creators to update their add-ons. Almost all of my extensions work fine though.

God, general users are just so stupid and uninformed. I'm so glad I don't have to develop software (for free, i might add) to cater to morons like some of you.

Real Deal: it is a real "RC". However, a show stopper has already been found, so there will be an RC2.
See: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=433340#c37

wow, it's already bad enough for browsers to constantly nag you about setting them as the default browser unless you manually untick a checkbox, and now Firefox is indeed in a league all its own for being even worse by silently setting itself the default browser during the installation. kudos to Firefox for being yet another one step closer to rougeware.

So this is what happens after Mozilla CEO complained to Apple for being pushing Safari to Winodws users: Mozilla itself just goes even more pushy. At least Safari don't set itself the default browser during install, so it won't count as market share without being manually launched by the user. This makes Mozilla the biggest hypocrite in the web browser industry right now. I hope Steve Jobs and Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner can now bash some sense into John Lilly :rolleyes:

Waleof, I don't think you're actually looking at this very closely. Either that or you're just being disingenuous and alarmist.

Firefox has always asked this exact same question in the same way but on exit after first run (something that happens automatically after install.) The question moved from the end of the experience of install+first run to the beginning of the experience. There's no "silently setting" anything here and there's really very little difference between this and the Firefox 1.0, Firefox 1.5, and Firefox 2.0 feature.

In my view, neither of these are ideal solutions but there's no real change here and suggesting that there is and comparing this to to installing new pieces of software on a user's system is the height of unserious discourse.

- A

Firefox is and will be my main browser. Just wondering though, which was first - OS X Spotlight Search Bar or Firefox Awesome Bar? It is pretty ridiculous Apple hasn't put that feature into Safari a long time ago, kudos for FF team getting it done first in a browser.

If the "awsome" bar gets mentioned every time it must mean it's the best new feature, and if that's the best new feature, well, that's pretty disappointing. The one time I tried ff3 beta the bar was the most annoying change for me, still even if I absolutely loved it, it wouldn't make me switch to 3. I'll probably do it do to the fixed memory leaks and AJAX performance, but it's still sad that it took 3 years and this is what you're highlighting.

> Firefox has always asked this exact same question in the same way but on exit after first run (something that happens automatically after install.) The question moved from the end of the experience of install+first run to the beginning of the experience. There's no "silently setting" anything here and there's really very little difference between this and the Firefox 1.0, Firefox 1.5, and Firefox 2.0 feature.

Asa, by the definition here

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disingenuous

You are the one who is disingenuous here, or you are just being intentionally ignorant. The BIG difference is that, in previous Firefox versions, you are asked explicitly whether you want to set Firefox as the default browser, and give a good prompt dialog for those who want to untick the box. but now it's just like any other rogueware out there that give a small pre-ticked box of setting itself the default application during the installation, so anyone who just press "Next" for standard installation will set it the default application wihtout any prompt. Now Firefox 3 does this with RC1, there's no prompt, just a little box pre-ticked at the corner of the page of choosing "standard installation", that's exactly "silently setting" itself as the default browser, making a system-wide change WITHOUT any prompt.

Apple "changed" much by adding a pre-ticked box at its software update, and now Mozilla "changed" even more by adding a pre-ticked box at software installation to set itself the default application without a prompt. Either the Mozilla CEO is the biggest hypocrite in the world, or Mozilla is the biggest hypocrite in the web browser industry right now.

Since I first saw Minefield ticking itself as the default browser, at the bottom of the install screen no less, I shook my head in shame at the tactic. I'd love to see the description of the bug that spawned this change.

Firefox piece of crap will not stop being the default browser. I use this POS for testing purposes but it refuses to let go of the "Default Browser" status. It is annoying the crap out of me.