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narco

macrumors 65816
Dec 9, 2003
1,155
0
California.
Until my dad switches, I told him to only use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. So far so good.

Fishes,
narco.
 

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!!

Is it just me? Am I the only person in the world who just doesn't see the benefits of Firefox? Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that everyone else is happy with it but so far I haven't seen a need to change over from Explorer in XP. I don't use Windows all that much so I admitedly don't have a huge wealth of experience but still...

Ahh well, as long as SOMETHING erodes Microsoft's market share!
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,755
1,927
Lard
mad jew said:
Is it just me? Am I the only person in the world who just doesn't see the benefits of Firefox? Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that everyone else is happy with it but so far I haven't seen a need to change over from Explorer in XP. I don't use Windows all that much so I admitedly don't have a huge wealth of experience but still...

Ahh well, as long as SOMETHING erodes Microsoft's market share!

Maybe that Firefox embraces web standards rather than eschewing them? That is my reason for using it.
 

Mav451

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2003
1,657
1
Maryland
Alot of IE users wonder what's so hot about tabs, and I think tab-browsing, ON TOP of the various extensions (adblock, ForecastFox, etc.), is the reason I use it.

No spyware. Another reason I use it. Since 2003, my spyware influx went from alot (from IE) to 0. Seriously. 0. I don't know how IE users can argue against that. IE loses. Plain and simple. Unless IE7 proves to be a new wheel, I doubt this will change.
 

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Jul 11, 2003
27,397
12,521
mad jew said:
Is it just me? Am I the only person in the world who just doesn't see the benefits of Firefox? Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that everyone else is happy with it but so far I haven't seen a need to change over from Explorer in XP. I don't use Windows all that much so I admitedly don't have a huge wealth of experience but still...

Ahh well, as long as SOMETHING erodes Microsoft's market share!

I switched at work a few months ago. Tabbed browsing alone was worth it (regularly need 5-6 work related sites open, not to mention my personal stuff) let alone the speed and pop up blocker.
 

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
rdowns said:
Tabbed browsing alone was worth it let alone the speed and pop up blocker.

Thanks for the advice all. I suppose I don't really use Windows for web browsing enough to bother changing my ways and using Firefox (yes, I do have it downloaded and yes, I am very lazy). I haven't noticed a speed difference on the sites I regularly visit and the pop-up blocker is pretty adequate. I use Safari on Mac, so it's not like I don't know what a great browser is like.

Back on the topic, I'm glad the Firefox phenomena is growing so rapidly, if only for its ability into scaring Microsoft into making something even better (which may or may not necessarily happen - IE 7.0 looks like it will be exactly the same, more of a marketing scheme IMO). :)
 

SiliconAddict

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2003
5,889
0
Chicago, IL
mad jew said:
Is it just me? Am I the only person in the world who just doesn't see the benefits of Firefox? Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that everyone else is happy with it but so far I haven't seen a need to change over from Explorer in XP. I don't use Windows all that much so I admitedly don't have a huge wealth of experience but still...

Ahh well, as long as SOMETHING erodes Microsoft's market share!


The reasons are long and varied depending on who you talk to. Mine are simple:

1- Since IE 6 was released in 2001 there have several dozen security patches released for IE. Each containing one or more security updates. If I had to get probably 12 individual patches per year since '01. IE is the most insecure POS ever to grace the face of planet Earth. It makes Windows look secure in comparison.

2 - IE doesn't play well with est standards.

3 - Its not integrated into Windows. I've seen patches for IE go south. When they do they break the browser. Since the damn thing is integrated into Windows you can't simply uninstall the app and reinstall it to start over. I've actually tried working with MS on a broken system last year to get it up and running after a combined IE sec patch made IE blow up on certain pages. In the end after an hour on the phone with them they recommended redoing the user's system. :rolleyes: With FireFox if I want to start over I simply uninstall the app and reinstall. I don't even need to reboot! So lets see. A 5 minute fix vs. a 2 hour fix. Which would you prefer?

4-Firefox extensions makes IE look like a toddler trying to go to Harvard. *pat pat pat* Isn't it so cute. Sorry did I say cute? I meant retarded. The extensions engine allows plugins that IE simply can't compete with. Couple that with the search engine that can be extended, (I use UPS all day long to track IT shipments.) and FireFox's themeing abilities and IE is simply outclassed and outgunned in features.

5- Built in popup blockers. Yes you can get them for IE. But frankly nothing is as satisfying as not having to go out and look for addins to complete your system. Popup blockers should have been added to IE years ago.

6- Cross the board OS support. Want IE 6 with built in popup blocker? Oops gotta have XP SP2. Want the upcoming IE 7? Oops gotta have XP again.
Want FireFox? Name your OS and there is probably a distribution for it.

7- Doesn't support active X. This is a bane to those who make adware/spyware and proprietary MS pages. Is this suppose to be a bad thing!?! :p

8- Patch installs don’t require reboots. Install and you are done. With IE its that whole integration thing again. The OS has dll files in use and usually will require a reboot to replace and reinitialize those files.

9- This goes back to #2 but it can’t be stressed enough. By telling IE to take a hike you are saying yes to open standards. When you use IE, website admins can see you are using IE and thus cater to it and its proprietary nature. Look at many banking institutions that are built using a quick and dirty FrontPage extension plugin or something. I’ve actually seen web sites start to change now that FF has come on the scene. They know that their visitors aren’t seeing the site right so they carter to web standards which means no matter what OS you are on you will get a working site. Think of it as building good Karma. IMHO using a browser like Firefox is like recycling. It’s a good thing.
 

Nermal

Moderator
Staff member
Dec 7, 2002
20,647
4,049
New Zealand
narco said:
Until my dad switches, I told him to only use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. So far so good.

I installed Windows on a friend's computer the other day. I made FF the default browser and removed the icon for IE. I also configured it so that you need a password to make IE the default again :D
 

solvs

macrumors 603
Jun 25, 2002
5,684
1
LaLaLand, CA
nyprospect said:
One question enable firefox to view yahoo launch videos?
I'd like to do that too, but it says it's not compatible (you have to d/l Netscape 7 or use IE it says). To be fair, I can never get it to work right with IE either. It always seems to bring up the wrong video. I actually just gave up, and no longer use that site. Here's hoping they get with the times. Maybe if enough people complain.
 

redeye be

macrumors 65816
Jan 27, 2005
1,138
0
BXL
SiliconAddict said:
3 - Its not integrated into Windows. I've seen patches for IE go south. When they do they break the browser. Since the damn thing is integrated into Windows you can't simply uninstall the app and reinstall it to start over. I've actually tried working with MS on a broken system last year to get it up and running after a combined IE sec patch made IE blow up on certain pages. In the end after an hour on the phone with them they recommended redoing the user's system. :rolleyes: With FireFox if I want to start over I simply uninstall the app and reinstall. I don't even need to reboot! So lets see. A 5 minute fix vs. a 2 hour fix. Which would you prefer?

hear hear!
 

dornoforpyros

macrumors 68040
Oct 19, 2004
3,070
4
Calgary, AB
Nermal said:
I installed Windows on a friend's computer the other day. I made FF the default browser and removed the icon for IE. I also configured it so that you need a password to make IE the default again :D

haha good job. I did a similair thing to my room mate. When I set up the pentium II she got for $40 I simply set fire fox as the default browser and hid IE from her. About a week later she was like "wow, fire fox is awsome!"
 

wdlove

macrumors P6
Oct 20, 2002
16,568
0
Nermal said:
I installed Windows on a friend's computer the other day. I made FF the default browser and removed the icon for IE. I also configured it so that you need a password to make IE the default again :D

Did your friend realize that they are no longer using IE? Have they commented on Firefox? It's a good idea that Windows users have alternatives. My wife download Firefox on her PB, because a lot on the forum that she visits recommended Firefox. She still uses Safari more.
 
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