FireFox 2 is in alpha

According to Cnet firefox 2 is in alpha testing. The link to cnet's article can be found here. It is avalible for download from Firefoxes wedsite. However, currently there are risks that Firefox 2 could be unstable in alpha stage and not work with extensions properly .

One of the new features would be the ability to restore your tabs from after a system crash.

What do people think about this. Are you going to wait until beta or get it now?

Tim

 

my system almost never crashes, if it does then its got problems. I'm using IE7 beta2 and i'm very happy with it. Couldn't have asked for a better browser.

 

I know a better browser, IE7 non-beta version



or lets just say firefox 2 for me.

 

My friend has come across an extremely fast firefox build, it renders faster than any build we've used to date (even faster than the nightly builds of DeerPark, which is surprising ) I have not tried the FF2 alpha yet, I probably would wait until the beta comes about. If you guys have a little time I do suggest you guys try/test out the nightly builds of various FF variants from Mozilla, some are surprisingly good

Anyway here is the link http://www1.plala.or.jp/tete009/en-US/software.html

You need to choose the build for your CPU, then choose a dll that is compatible with your CPU and replace the one in the Firefox folder you extracted. http://www1.plala.or.jp/tete009/en-US/software.html#TMOZDLL_BETA

Also download the module binder at the bottom it binds the build to your system and decreases load times even from a cold start http://www1.plala.or.jp/tete009/en-US/software.html#TMOZDLL_BETA

Secondly there is a new session manager in town that is better than sessionsaver. Its leaner smaller and rather than filling up your pref.js with loads of saved sites it uses its own file to store. You can even rename and delete sessions. Its very fast and can save postdata, so for example you post on here before hitting submit and it will save the text and position on restart. Also acts as a crash recovery. Get it here http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=380534

 

Why should I choose FF above IE? And how easy is it to get ride of IE?

 

Empulse,
One word, Tab browsing. Instead of having multiple windows open you only need one window. Also FF has tons of addons and extensions. It also helps that it is more secure. Just go to mozzilas website to download it. You might want to wait on the alpha version though. Wait until they get rid of some of the bugs.

DON'T get rid of IE. First off it is very hard to do as it is intergrated into windows. Plus somesites won't work with FF. The main site that won't work with FF is www.microsoft.com lol. I can see why they don't want to support the opposition.
Tim

 

And generally encouraging the softwared competition. there's no reason for Msoft to own this space, as Mozilla has proven.

And Firefox doesn't work with Quickbooks online, either, so i have to keep IE installed. but that's the only one i've come across.

 

well, I hate tabbed browsing, and I won't use an inferior product just to encourage competition. The main attraction of Firefox for me is the adblocker with updates extensions.

Anyone know how to get Ctrl+N to work properly in FF? Whenever I hit it, it opens a new window to my home page, instead of an exact copy of the window I was in.

 

hm.. i'll assume you mean internet explorer and ctrl+n?

firefox opens an empty new window when you do that,
internet explorer by default opens the same page you
were on already in a second window (wastes bandwidth,
but oh well)

 

I wouldn't call FF an inferior product just because it isn't made by a conglomerate. Where do you think MS came from anyway?? That's right Steve Jobs ripped off Xerox and Bill Gates ripped off Steve Jobs.

Anytime you find a product that takes an existing product, expands upon it, and perhaps improves it...it is a great thing. Obviously MS doesn't think FF is inferior, they are looking HARD at it for IE7.

 

yeah, what's inferior about FF? not being critical, but i work in web development, haven't come across any problems, and i never use the identical window i'm in anyway, so the ctrl n feature in FF makes more sense for me.

what can IE do better?

 

Beta products are unstable enough, you won't caught me dead with an alpha release. hahaha

 

It'll get spyware a lot quicker.

 

I was not saying FF was inferior. just saying I won't use an inferior product just to prop up a small company. For example, I use Photoshop, because it is better than GIMP.

and I only use ctrl+N when I want to keep one form open, but open another page I was recently at. it is annoying in FF to have to get a fresh window and navigate the whole way to the page I want again, instead of IE where I open the new window and then click back once or twice.

 

Thank You.

I cant belived that is 2006 and people still using IE. in every computer magazine review FF crushed IE. but, i personally think only those who dont know much about computer still in love with IE.

 

Ok, with browsers your argument works, but not with the software you described. I think there is a VERY significant difference between GIMP and Photoshop.

If FF (or another small-name software title) charged up the arse for their product (like Photoshop), I would expect them to be far superior.

And as a side note, I do agree with you. Why risk your machine on extremely unproven software...like something with "alpha" or "beta" in the title. I'm not one to talk, though, because I use NHC Beta and it's GREAT! And there might be a couple others too....

Small developers are what spurn creativity and innovation in this environment. Keep those new releases coming.

 

Beta testing is great, it'll let companies get away with everything because the software is still in beta. Just like how google has beta everything !

 

Yeah I am not getting the alpha version. Just wanted to let you fellow forum members know that the people at FF are working. lol I might download beta though.
Tim

 

He's right. ctrl-N in firefox opens a new window to your homepage, with no history. And there is no option that i could find to change it.
Ctrl-T opens a new blank tab, but you've already said you don't like tabs. And it doesn't really help anyway, because the new tab doesn't keep the history either.
Maybe put in a feature request to the dev team?

 

i browse lots of different sites at one time. so i actually would put in a request to microsoft to make the fresh homepage window an option. because i can control n to google, which is nice. quicker than pointing my mouse at the search bar, which is another sweet feature. oh, and see how fast the msoft dev team gets back to you.

 

It does work with M$

 

midkhan,
Sorry, I should have clarified what I meant when I said the website won't work in FF. You are unable to download any updates off of Microsofts site without using IE. I have tried to download updates and I wonder why they are not working. Then I relize I am in FF. lol
Tim

 

Two extensions: the firefox IE tab will render IE only pages within firefox on a dedicated tab- including win update.

Firefox preloader: OK, so I have a duo core, but i noticed a MAJOR difference in FF's start time after i installed it.

Both available from the extensions site.

 

This feature is available in Firefox (not sure if you have to use an extension or not, but it is possible). Also, you can middle-click the homepage button, opening a new tab with your homepage in it.

Also on the topic of new windows and history, in Firefox you can right-click the 'Back' button, showing you your recent pages, and then middle-click any history item, opening it in a new tab.

Yes these are both solutions that use tabs, but frankly I don't see why anyone would not like them, and it is obviously more convenient for the vast majority of people and one of Firefox's most loved features, not to mention the fact that IE7 will be integrating tabs as well. An extension even allows you to position tabs at the bottom, so it is more like switching the application windows. But hey, to each his own; nobody is going to force to you switch to Firefox.

Also, it's not that FF doesn't work with MS Updates - it's MS Updates that don't work with FF, no doubt intentionally.

 

the middle-click thing does not work with my MX1000

and I don't like tabs for 2 reasons: 1) they take up screen real estate, and 2) I can't use my mouse application switch to switch between them.

I do use FF for default though. Adblocking is more important than opening new windows as I like them.

 

Sorry asking kind of an off topic question. Do any of you that regualarly use firefox see a speed boost over IE. When I first used FF I could definately see a speed improvement and I was wondering if others see the same.
Tim

 

Strikeback03,
I found the extension that allows you to open a new tab with the same starting spot and history! The link is here I knew it was out there somewhere just couldn't find it. lol
Tim

 

Yes I did. But when I installed the FasterFox plugin, the speedboost was negligible.

Ok, just to avoid confusion,

Internet Explorer <-> Firefox = speed boost noticeable
Firefox <-> FF + FasterFox = speed boost was ngaay-hay [negligible ]


Is there any major risk if you are using Bon Echo?

 

I got two questions as well.
Currently using 1.5 (since a few days)

But how do you improve the scroll speed of the vertical bar?
And are scroll menus fixed in 2.0? For instance on www.mobile.de the sroll menus don't seem to be working.

 

Here's an Updated link to the Duplicate Tab extension.

 

That is because Firefox purposely does not natively support ActiveX. And yes that is why I keep IE around, but I just use the extension that opens a link in IE. (I prefer this one over IE Tabs)

 

When I discovered Firefox a month ago (and although it took me some time to learn all the tricks) I was hooked with it. Fast, reliable and oh so many handy entensions!

Not ads, no more flash spam jumping before what I really want... the list keeps growing everyday.

Tried Opera but although it looks a little better (after removing garbage I don't use) I'm very pleased and used to my dear foxy browser. Never going back to the years of ignorance and darkness of IE.

That being said, I'm going to wait for the most stable version of FF 2 and maybe try it for a while. When the final product comes out, count me in

PS. Has anyone tried SeaMonkey? I did but didn't like as much as FF.

 

Sadly Y! Launchcast aint compatible with FF. IE tabs don't do the trick

 

thanks for the duplicate tabs extension guys

 

Your welcome strikeback03.

Amol,
Click here. It walks you through how to play yahoo music on FF 1.5. That's what you need to do.

Yeah there is no way I will go back to IE. I just like everything about FF. lol
Tim

 

Empulse, make sure you touchpad drivers are up to date. I had to update my synaptics (sp?) drivers before the scroll worked with firefox. I tried your mobile.de link and there was no problem with the scroll on my system. Driver update should take care of yours.

 

Since you mentioned you aren't very interested in tabs this extension might be up your alley as well.

https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=2062&application=firefox