Firefox 2 overrated? Going downhill?

Is Firefox 2 overrated or firefox in general by now? I'm beginning to think so. Here are my points:

-It's slowly becoming bloated. Okay, there's no argument here. Slowly more features previously available via extensions are becoming standard. Doing this defeats the purpose of a slim browser that is extendable, and I see Firefox beginning to become Mozilla ALL OVER AGAIN. Aaah.

-Isn't it a little overhyped? There's maybe about 5 discernable changes for a release that took forever.

-No longer integrates with your windows theme. Tabs looks the same (with default theme) in any XP theme, no matter what. It's kind of ugly.

-The icons are glossier and less sharp and simple. This is more cosmetic then functional but still, come on, they're losing focus.


IMO, Firefox is getting too egotistical. Just because it's loved doesnt mean it will stay loved if they continue down this path. Plus, by now, firefox isn't even much more secure then a hardened IE7.

A frequently used anti--Opera pro-Firefox saying is "Firefox is open source". Okay, how many average users care? NONE! It's a browser! 99% of users could care less if it's open source.

 

I personally don,t like its slow start up. With about 2 themes and 5 extensions, it takes much time to lauch. It launches quickly if I remove all extensions but I can,t use it without them. Opera launches very quick and IE more than that. Just wonder if it is changed in new version.

 

i have noticed this. and i *think* one of firefox's features is conflicting with tab mix plus

thats true. my friend told me he didnt know what was so different about Firefox 2.0.

 

Firefox 2 is mostly a whole lot of bug fixes, but I would say that it is starting to develop a new feel. Personally I think this version works a little faster and smoother than before, and I'm not at all unhappy with it. Some of the new features are very nice, such as the spell check. They can't please everyone, so have to aim to please the majority, but some of these features are things I thought they should have done long ago.

 

So Tab Mix Plus extension is no longer needed anymore?

 

Personally I prefer this. Opera has a lot of builtin functions without any bloat so far. I jsut don,t like to install and try a lot of extensions, updating them and trying to find their conflicts. Extensions should be only for unusual features that mainsteam users don,t need. Restore after crash, better tab control, java script control with exclusion of sites, a good download manager etc should be provided by the browser itself.

 

well i wouldnt say that. i still say TMP offers more features and flexibility.

 

I agree. I like a lot of the features that Opera has, but still prefer Firefox. Partly because of the extensions, but also partly because it just seems to work better for me. If I could do with less extensions for the same functionality, I'd be quite happy.

 

I still love Firefox. It gets better with every version imo. Ver. 2 is faster than ever. In my computer the startup is much faster than before so is page loading. If you don't like the "bloat" you can always use K-meleon, another great browser (gecko engine) much faster and lighter than Firefox.

 

I just installed Firefox 2 over 1.5.-1 a few hours ago.

1. On my dinosaur of a computer, it definitely appears to use less resources, I felt this just in the mouse movement.

2, Alas, documentation is still lacking, one has to be online to find things.

3. I have submitted one comment this far at http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=2559301#2559301.

 

Hello,
I see no difference in speed, but I liked the feel of FF 1.5 more.
I don't like the therapeutic rounded new style. Or the spelll check.
Mrk

 

I see a marked improvement in speed, and my computer is a dinosaur.
I've not noticed any difference in style, other than tabs being used instead of windows, a big improvement.

I disabled the spell check and phishing protection and enabled image resizing.

 

I have downloaded ff 2.0 and it feels way faster than the previous one.

I like it.

 

Hello,

I feel it being slightly more smooth than FF1.5 on my computer.
About the default theme, I don't like it either, but there is beautiful themes such as Noia or Mostly crystal.
Finally, I think that the anti-phising feature is a good addition for most of the users. Anyway, you can disable any feature you may not like : spell check, anti-phising, links opened in tabs, extensions, etc...

Regards,
gkweb.

 

My impressions so far. Definitely faster, this is tested on my laptop with 512 of old PC100 and a Pent III 1Ghz. None of the tab enhacment extensions seem to work with the exception of Tab X, which should not be needed but in my case was. The other extensions I have tried seem to work, weather on their own or with the help of Mr. Tech I do`t know. May try a clean install of it later and play with it some more. For now I`m sticking with 1.5.0.7 on mine and my Wifes main PCs.

 

Hello,
Howard, good to hear.
Mrk

 

Hello,
As to phishing protection, I do not mean the suspicious sites.
I hate the little lock + domain name when I access the https sites.
Any idea how to annihilate the extra unneeded text?
Mrk

 

Not to steal away from Mrkvonics` question, but, I have one, ok two, as well. Regardless of any attempts\settings I make\use I can not get links from Bookmarks to open in new tab, same window. They will only open in the current tab. Suggestions? Fixes? Also, if I use one of the tab enhancment extensions and move the tabs to the bottom of the then the close tab X ceases to function.

 

"I can not get links from Bookmarks to open in new tab, same window. They will only open in the current tab. Suggestions? Fixes?"

Try middleclicking the bookmark. That works for me with All In One SideBar extension installed.

 

its pretty smooth so far ...waiting for extensions updates though

 

Other than a somewhat slow program startup, I still find Firefox to be the best of the big 3 (IE and Opera being the other 2.) It runs pretty well for me.

I do not like IE7's new look (although new skins will no doubt be out in the near future.) And I am not at all convinced it will make the web safer for IE users. Seems to me that while most settings may indeed be defaulted to a safer setting, they can (and will) be changed as soon as users find their browsing is not as handy as it was. Bad ActiveX is still and will remain an IE user's biggest security hole. IMO, the safety issue is certainly not improved enough to warrant forcing IE7 out via Windows Update.

And although I have tried (and tried and tried), I just do not like Opera. Cookie handling is absolutely pathetic. And it's not easy to customize like the IE clones or Firefox. And maybe I am the only person on earth that doesn't get it but I don't see the Widget thing... at all!

 

if u are referring to the status bar, u can use Organize Status Bar to hide that.

"security-button" should be the entry u want to hide.

 

Ronjor & MinceyPW

Pretty much knew about those. In 1.5 there was an extension or 2 that only required you to left click once to open a bookmark in a new tab. Was wishing it had been built in. Guess not. Waiting for extensions to be updated as well.

 

Hello,
WSFuser, you're a genius. Thanks.
As to using tabs, middle-click in my case opens the tab next to existing one. Or closes it, if clicked on top of it.
Mrk