My thoughts on…Firefox 2
The hype surrounding the release of Firefox 2 has long died. Understandable, since it was released on the 25th of October. But being the creature of habit that I am, I didn’t upgrade. That is until yesterday, after I got frustrated when most of the extensions and themes I wanted were being updated to fit the latest version, leaving my busted, obsolete version unable to be customized the way I wanted. Naturally I expected it to be better. I read the reviews over at CNET, and they were good, but to me, they didn’t warrant the trouble of an upgrade. That is until I tried it, and let me tell you, it exceeded expectations, something that software rarely does for me.
The browser has a polished, metallic look, the tabs now have individual close buttons (something that took me a while to get used to), built-in spell check, which comes in handy when you’re posting on your blog or message boards, session restore (eliminates the frustration of backtracking when you restart) and anti-phishing, making it even more secure. Plus it has a search engine manager, search suggestions, a “Go” button for the search bar which eliminates the trouble of hitting “Enter” when you enter your search term, an add-ons manager for extensions and themes complete with a restart button, just to name a few. The new History menu really does nothing for me, but it’s nice to have nonetheless. And it may be just me, but it seems faster as well.
When I started using it, I felt as happy as a kid in a candy store. I felt the same way when I first used the browser years ago. I truly rediscovered the web. And adding my favourite themes, Macfox and Noia, and my favourite extensions, Fasterfox and Mouse Gestures, made my experience even better. After that, using IE6 feels like going back to the Stone Ages. You may think it crazy that I’m acting like this over a simple web browser. If you do, you’re probably using Internet Explorer. I invite you to experience what the Internet truly has to offer. Break free from the oppression and mediocrity of Microsoft. Join us.
You know, I felt exactly the same way once I got around to installing Firefox. (My enthusiasm was only hampered by the fact that suddenly I saw that my website rendered HORRIBLY in firefox, so I had to re-jig my template). However, shortly thereafter, my IE 6 was upgraded to 7. And I have to say, I think I prefer IE 7. I like the tab feature in IE 7 more. And I don’t like how firefox manages downloads.
I upgraded the minute the upgrade window popped up the day I logged on. It is sweeeeeetttttt. I absolutely love it. IE can go to hell.
I don’t know what upgrade issues people are talking about, you just upgrade its not like you wrote any custom software for it just upgrade - its the same dam thing. Its not like upgrading from windows 95 to Xp.
Owen, Yuh late mi yute! I thought you would have updated ages ago.
well dude…. firefox according to me is the best.. prevents alot of crap that IE cannot… plus its open source ..that makes it even better. Unfortunately i think its gotten abit bloated up of late n is too heavy on system resources bt still nothin beats Firefox
I disagree Owen. It’s not the same thing. It’s an improved version, so in fact, it is like upgrading from 95 to XP. I thought a techie like you would know better.
You’re now “it”! You’ve been tagged!!
Instructions on my blog:-)
Cheers
Tisha
mozilla added newfeatures and changed the theme. they didn’t re-build it. 95 to Xp is not a improvement of 95 - its a rebuild.
Touche sir.
i didn’t upgrade my Firefox to the latest version right away due to the fact that i had many extensions installed and i wanted to make sure that each one was compatible to the browser version i was using. however, just a few days after i did install the upgrade and was happy to find out the about 95% of my extensions were compatible.
call me a troll, but who actually moves their hand off the keyboard to the mouse to click the “go” button when they can just hit enter?
how is it “eliminating the trouble of hitting enter”? what trouble?