Firefox 4

[CaoPaux]

So, any early adopters? Sounds like they're having the usual problems re: add-on and virus-checker compatibility, but once all that gets shaken out, is it really New & Improved?

[aadams73]

I'm completely underwhelmed thus far. In fact, it's even more of a memory hog than its predecessor. Other than that, no real problems, but nothing that shines and makes me go, "Whoa! Cool!" either.

Basically, all I can say is, "Meh."

(I'm running Firefox 4 on Snow Leopard.)
(Also, it seems like it wants to be Chrome when it grows up--and I don't like Chrome.)

[Williebee]

I like chrome. Although lately chrome is exhibiting some odd issues, too. Like hesitations on first load and remote calls (like the calls to the ad servers at the top of the page here, even with a freshly cleared cache.

[Gehanna]

I have been working with it and IE 9. For me, there have been occasional issues, but I expected to encounter them and have no complaint.

For purpose of efficiency (when doing work online), I have become too comfortable with my own workarounds to notice any benefits from either browser.

Gehanna

[Haggis]

It seems to be a tad faster than the earlier version, but, yeah, I lost a bunch of add ons. No major problems with it yet.

[Snowstorm]

I'm completely underwhelmed thus far. ...
Basically, all I can say is, "Meh."

)

I agree. The only thing I noticed was now I can't use icons for "back", "forward", "stop", and "reload" without my bookmarks on the top line having only the icons. Now whatever you pick for one segment applies to all. Whoever devised this "fixed" this and it wasn't broken. "Meh" is right.

[CaoPaux]

Heh, thanks. Y'all're confirming my impression there's no good reason for tweaking the Menu and Tool bars, etc. Looks like I'll be once again waiting until they no longer support v3. :Hammer:

[Williebee]

It does seem to be a bit faster, certainly loads faster for me.

First thing I noticed was the site integrity tool? That put your mouse over the favicon (the image next to the URL, in the URL bar) that is supposed to give you a pop up window and assure you of the site's true identity. When you are on the Firefox "What's new" page, the one that tells you about this handy safety feature, the Firefox Favicon says "This web site does not supply identity information."

:)

[Jamesaritchie]

I went back to IE. For me, IE 9 blows Firefox out of the water.

[Haggis]

Different strokes, but you're welcome to it, James.

[regdog]

Still using Chrome here. I tried an older version of Firefox few years ago and didn't like it.

[Shadow_Ferret]

(I'm running Firefox 4 on Snow Leopard.)
(Also, it seems like it wants to be Chrome when it grows up--and I don't like Chrome.)

Oh, man! You have a snow leopard? I just have a dalmatian.

I still have 3.6. It hasn't told me there's an update yet.

I hope Netflix still works with it. That's the only reason I use Firefox.

[kuwisdelu]

Oh, man! You have a snow leopard? I just have a dalmatian.

If he's anything like me, he'll probably getting a lion this summer, too. :D

[BenPanced]

http://pics.livejournal.com/benpanced/pic/000gysh7

[aadams73]

Oh, man! You have a snow leopard? I just have a dalmatian.

All the cool people have snow leopards (they're GREAT at keeping those damn kids off my lawn, damn it! Also, loud neighbors? No longer a problem.)

It seems to be a tad faster than the earlier version, but, yeah, I lost a bunch of add ons.

Losing some of my add-ons makes me sad. How will I know when I have mail now? HOW? I'll have to shift my gaze all the way to the top left-hand corner of my screen (because gmail lives in my first tab).

I feel exhausted already.

[kuwisdelu]

How will I know when I have mail now? HOW? I'll have to shift my gaze all the way to the top left-hand corner of my screen (because gmail lives in my first tab).

You could always use a native client. ;)

[Kateness]

I hate that the 'home' is now on the right. I keep forgetting where it is.

[Haggis]

Losing some of my add-ons makes me sad. How will I know when I have mail now? HOW? I'll have to shift my gaze all the way to the top left-hand corner of my screen (because gmail lives in my first tab).

I feel exhausted already.
I feel your pain. But what bothers me the most is the little weather thingy I used to have down at the bottom of my screen. It would tell me what kind of crap I was facing as far as temp and weather was concerned before I even walked out the door. Now I actually have to look out the window!

[Amadan]

I hate that the 'home' is now on the right. I keep forgetting where it is.

You can move it, you know.

I'm using FF4. It seems a little faster, but I haven't noticed any new features that make it a "Must upgrade."

[cryaegm]

Firefox has been a bit more memory hoggish, and with more addons one has, the more memory it takes. Right now, there's two plugin containers in processes, one taking up well over 100,000 K while the other is taking up at least 5,000 K.

However, those are plugins and not addons. With addons, I don't really need a lot. I just need NoScript, Web of Trust, and Adblock Plus, and I'm good to go.

I have updated to 4. I'm not too used to it, but I did find that ctrl t makes a new tab, so that makes me rather happy and makes things easier.

[regdog]

I feel your pain. But what bothers me the most is the little weather thingy I used to have down at the bottom of my screen. It would tell me what kind of crap I was facing as far as temp and weather was concerned before I even walked out the door. Now I actually have to look out the window!

Oh, the huge manatee

[Williebee]

I hope Netflix still works with it.

Netflix runs in Chrome, too. just sayin'

Here's a weird thing. In previous versions of FF I could type in a URL and hit "Enter" and it would navigate to the page. Now, in FF4, that doesn't work. That's frustrating.

[Haggis]

Oh, the huge manatee
You had to say it, didn't you?

*sigh*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2640789668_48a2a84ddf.jpg

[regdog]

You had to say it, didn't you?

*sigh*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3011/2640789668_48a2a84ddf.jpg

Yes, yes I did:D

[Amadan]

Here's a weird thing. In previous versions of FF I could type in a URL and hit "Enter" and it would navigate to the page. Now, in FF4, that doesn't work. That's frustrating.


It does for me.

[shadowwalker]

I'm downgrading to the 3.6* version I had before. I suppose I could get used to this thing with time, but I was perfectly happy with the old one and it was definitely easier to use.

[alleycat]

I downloaded the setup for FF4 a few days ago but never ran it. After reading other people's experiences here, I think I'll just wait to upgrade. By then Mozilla might have 4.1.1 ready.

[Williebee]

It does for me.

Turns out, my problem was the beginnings of a failing keyboard.

(I type a little heavy.)

[Shadow_Ferret]

Losing some of my add-ons makes me sad. How will I know when I have mail now? HOW? I'll have to shift my gaze all the way to the top left-hand corner of my screen (because gmail lives in my first tab).

I feel exhausted already.

I never use add-ons. I like my security.

[EndlessDestiny]

I've been needing to delete a lot more tracking cookies. Apparently it didn't like norton as an add on. ><

[alleycat]

I've been needing to delete a lot more tracking cookies.
Have you changed the setting for how FF handles cookies? I usually keep mine set to not accept cookies except for selected sites like AW. If needed temporarily, I can always turn "accept cookies" back on.

[EndlessDestiny]

Have you changed the setting for how FF handles cookies? I usually keep mine set to not accept cookies except for selected sites like AW. If needed temporarily, I can always turn "accept cookies" back on.


I can't figure out where the settings for cookies are. I deleted a ton of cookies, but those are the only options for cookies I see.

[alleycat]

I can't figure out where the settings for cookies are. I deleted a ton of cookies, but those are the only options for cookies I see.
Tools > Options > Privacy (tab). You probably want to turn off "Accept third party cookies" completely. You can leave "Accept cookies" on, or turn it off and then make exceptions for certain websites like AW (Allow). Which is best sort of depends on your browsing habits.

[Shadow_Ferret]

The issue I'm having with 4.0 is its not closing properly. I was trying to get the App Tabs to work. Supposedly they should stay when you close. Only when I close Firefox, then restart it, it tells me Firefox is already open, then it closes it and I lose all my App Tabs.

[Tirjasdyn]

I'm pretty happy with 4. And with IE9 They both improved CSS support dramatically. I use 4 normally but have all of them installed for web design. Chrome is still too buggy imo. It crashes alot when I compare website in it.

IE9 though like to require background css tags for every element. Makes me want to kick it.

[Stephanie Golden]

For me (I'm on a PC) it's MUCH faster. The only add-on I lost was Colourful Tabs, which I missed dreadfully for 2 days until the developer issued an update.

But I HATE the fact that the 'open new tab' button is no longer next to the last tab opened. I keep moving it around my toolbar and haven't found a good place for it.

And I miss the drop-down menus on the 'back' and 'forward' buttons.

And I couldn't stand the tabs above the toolbars. I moved them back below it.

If it weren't for the extra speed, I'd go back to 3.6.

[Anaquana]

Stephanie, if you click and hold the back and forward buttons, it activates the drop-down menus.

My biggest gripe with FF4 is that the drop-down choices in my Google search bar don't work. Instead of typing in just several letters or a couple words, I have to type in the whole word or search string. If I just click on the drop-down choices, they aren't selected. :rant:

[alleycat]

My biggest gripe with FF4 is that the drop-down choices in my Google search bar don't work. Instead of typing in just several letters or a couple words, I have to type in the whole word or search string. If I just click on the drop-down choices, they aren't selected.
Have you checked whether "Remember search and history" is turned on?

I'm not using FF4 yet, so I'm asking blind.

[Anaquana]

Yep, that's turned on. It'll *show* the drop-down choices, I just can't click on them to activate the search.

[Williebee]

Not sure it is what you are talking about Anaquana, but it sounds like you are talking about Google Instant (http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=186610)

[Stephanie Golden]

Stephanie, if you click and hold the back and forward buttons, it activates the drop-down menus.

Thank you, thank you!

My biggest gripe with FF4 is that the drop-down choices in my Google search bar don't work. Instead of typing in just several letters or a couple words, I have to type in the whole word or search string. If I just click on the drop-down choices, they aren't selected.

Funny, mine does work.

[Tirjasdyn]

For me (I'm on a PC) it's MUCH faster. The only add-on I lost was Colourful Tabs, which I missed dreadfully for 2 days until the developer issued an update.

But I HATE the fact that the 'open new tab' button is no longer next to the last tab opened. I keep moving it around my toolbar and haven't found a good place for it.

And I miss the drop-down menus on the 'back' and 'forward' buttons.

And I couldn't stand the tabs above the toolbars. I moved them back below it.

If it weren't for the extra speed, I'd go back to 3.6.

That button is still there. The IF you click and hold the back and forward buttons you still get the drop down.

Tabs above is hard to get used to but I'm dealing :)

[Anaquana]

Not sure it is what you are talking about Anaquana, but it sounds like you are talking about Google Instant (http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=186610)

This is exactly what I'm talking about! :)

It works when I'm on the Google homepage, but it doesn't work on my search bar. :(

[Shadow_Ferret]

Gah! Just what I worried about. Firefox 4 doesn't work with netflix! I get some Silverlight Application Storage Error and can't correct it. :(

[alleycat]

Gah! Just what I worried about. Firefox 4 doesn't work with netflix! I get some Silverlight Application Storage Error and can't correct it. :(
Thanks for the post. If you get it to work, come back and tell us, or send me a visitor's message please. I depend on Silverlight to watch Major League Baseball online. I buy a full subscription every year.

[Williebee]

Not much help, but Netflix ran for me in FF4.

[aadams73]

You could always use a native client. ;)

I could, but that would involve going to all kinds of effort trying to find one I like. And...I can't be bothered. I want my add-ons to spoon feed me.

Now I actually have to look out the window!

Woe is us!

Also, having the reload button all the way over there -------> is driving me nuts.

[Stephanie Golden]

I hate that the 'home' is now on the right. I keep forgetting where it is.

You can move it. Mine is back on the left side, where it belongs. You have to right click on an emply part of the toolbar, click Customize. When the customize dialog box is open, you can move all the buttons.

[aadams73]

You can move it. Mine is back on the left side, where it belongs. You have to right click on an emply part of the toolbar, click Customize. When the customize dialog box is open, you can move all the buttons.

I love you right now, in a purely platonic, utterly grateful, kind of way. Order is now officially restored in my browser world. If only I could prevent FF 4 from eating so much memory....

[muse]

For me (I'm on a PC) it's MUCH faster. The only add-on I lost was Colourful Tabs, which I missed dreadfully for 2 days until the developer issued an update.
.

Hadn't heard of Colourful Tabs - very cool add-on. :D

Thanks for mentioning it.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Thanks for the post. If you get it to work, come back and tell us, or send me a visitor's message please. I depend on Silverlight to watch Major League Baseball online. I buy a full subscription every year.

Nope. Didn't get it to work. They tell you to right click, select such and such, do this, and it's supposed to work. It doesn't. So I'm supposed to call Netflix support number. Don't have time for that. I'll just use another browser.

I've never even HEARD of Silverlight before this. What the hell is it?

[Tirjasdyn]

Silverlight is an MS plugin similar to Flash. Did you try updated Silverlight? I've never got netflix to work in anything besides IE because it wants to use media player.

[alleycat]

Silverlight is an MS plugin similar to Flash. Did you try updated Silverlight? I've never got netflix to work in anything besides IE because it wants to use media player.
Silverlight is suppose to work on most versions of Windows using Firefox and Chrome.

I was just watching an MLB game earlier this evening in a separate Media Player window on Firefox 3.6.16.

[threebluestars]

A few of the Add Ons I liked that didn't work with FF4 are now issuing updates.

The hardest thing for me to get used to was on right mouse click the "Open New Tab" was the 2nd choice in 3.6 and it's the first choice in 4. After a week or so I got used to it, and I prefer it as the first choice now.

[benbradley]

I saw something about syncing bookmarks - does that do configuration (like where the home button is) too?
A few of the Add Ons I liked that didn't work with FF4 are now issuing updates.

The hardest thing for me to get used to was on right mouse click the "Open New Tab" was the 2nd choice in 3.6 and it's the first choice in 4. After a week or so I got used to it, and I prefer it as the first choice now.
I have a Logitech MousMan (actually several from thrift stores, because they don't make them any more, and what if it breaks...) on my desktop(s). The center "wheel button" works as Open In New Tab, but it's a little inconvenient as it's not as easy as I think it ought to be to click the thing without turning the wheel. But it also has a THUMB button on the side (using it with your right hand) that does the same thing, it's great!

For my netbook I have a Logitech TrackMan (?) with ball at the thumb position and the three mouse buttons for the first three fingers. It's actually a little bigger than a (desktop) mouse but the advantage over a mouse is it sits on the table in one place. It took a little getting used to, but it works great, the center button being "open in new tab" and all.

[Stephanie Golden]

Someone on another forum said that in her FF4, the open new tab button is attached to the right side of the last open tab as in 3.6. I reinstalled to see if there was a change, but there wasn't. So I'm thinking she may be on a Mac. Do any of you Mac users have that button where it used to be?

[Matera the Mad]

Ffx is getting too Chrome-like. Give me K-Meleon any day.

[ejket]

Someone on another forum said that in her FF4, the open new tab button is attached to the right side of the last open tab as in 3.6. I reinstalled to see if there was a change, but there wasn't. So I'm thinking she may be on a Mac. Do any of you Mac users have that button where it used to be?
I'm using FF4 on a Mac at the moment, and the new tab button is to the right of the most recently opened tab, which is where I remember it always being. In any case, you can move that stuff around easily in FF4 -- for example, I moved the home button back to the left of the address bar.

[Stephanie Golden]

I'm using FF4 on a Mac at the moment, and the new tab button is to the right of the most recently opened tab, which is where I remember it always being. In any case, you can move that stuff around easily in FF4 -- for example, I moved the home button back to the left of the address bar.

Well, in FF for Windows they didn't keep it to the right of the most recent tab. It's gone, and who knows why. And I know you can move the button around, but there's no place as convenient (for me at least) as having it on the tab.

[Tirjasdyn]

Someone on another forum said that in her FF4, the open new tab button is attached to the right side of the last open tab as in 3.6. I reinstalled to see if there was a change, but there wasn't. So I'm thinking she may be on a Mac. Do any of you Mac users have that button where it used to be?


As a pc user, I can tell you the button is still there. Some themes hide it.

[Tirjasdyn]

Well, in FF for Windows they didn't keep it to the right of the most recent tab. It's gone, and who knows why. And I know you can move the button around, but there's no place as convenient (for me at least) as having it on the tab.

Here's a screen shot..this is Windows.

http://michellejnorton.com/sketch/tab.jpg

[Stephanie Golden]

Here's a screen shot..this is Windows.

Thank you so much. My theme is paler than yours, and no button seems to be hiding behind it. But I clicked in case it was invisible, and discovered that if you double-click anywhere on the unoccupied right side of the toolbar, a new tab will open. This works until the tabs fill up the whole bar. Then I'm stuck again.

So I disabled my theme and went back to no theme. Still no new tab button. Then I switched to tabs on top--still no button.

So I'm out of ideas but would be thrilled if someone else had one.

[Matera the Mad]

All I can say is ffx4 crashes more often than anything else in my whole software stable (which is mind-boggling, even to me)