I HATE Firefox

[john_childs]

I am getting really irritated at some persistent bugs and just weird behavior in Firefox. I'm tempted to give up on using Firefox and go back to IE or just try Opera instead. Unfortunately I've got all my bookmarks in Firefox and a system for organizing them that relies on Firefox (I have lots of bookmarks in addition to my big list of unicycling related bookmarks). A changeover might not be so easy.

Big problem right now is that I cannot type a "/" character in a forum message using Firefox right now. I'm using IE to type this in otherwise I would not have been able to type in the "/" character. When I type the "/" character in Firefox it brings up the find toolbar. All well and good. The "/" key is supposed to bring up the find toolbar, but it's not supposed to do it when you are in an edit control. Unfortunately Firefox sometimes gets confused and can't figure out when you're in an edit control or not. I could probably get it working properly again by closing all the Firefox windows and restarting Firefox, but why does it get out of sync like that to begin with?

I also have big problems with using ctrl-c and ctrl-v to copy and paste things from and to Firefox. Sometimes ctrl-c just plain doesn't copy what is selected. It is a Firefox bug. It has been a bug for a long time. It is very irritating. You select something, copy it, go to paste it and find that the clipboard is empty. Grrrrr! This one really really bugs me. Why hasn't it been fixed yet (it is a well known bug)?

Firefox also has a habit of using an obscene amount of memory. It's just a browser damnit. It's not the primary application that I run on the computer. It should behave well as a background application. But nooooo. Firefox likes to gobble up 256MB or more of RAM. If you're on a computer with only 512MB or RAM to begin with, well, it's just very bad form for the browser to gobble up more than half of it. That causes excess swapping and decreases the performance of other applications that are running.

Firefox sucks more and more. It's to the point that I'd rather use IE even though IE does not currently have tabs. Once IE 7 is out I can't see myself using Firefox.

[milk]

I've never had any of these problems with Firefox - maybe you could do with a fresh install? You can export your bookmarks and add them again after the install. Never, ever, go back to IE.

[forrestunifreak]

I just use IE. Never bothered with firefox, but I suppose I don't care either way. I wouldn't even use tabs.


(plus this is my parents computer, and they're afraid of change)

[john_childs]

I've never had any of these problems with Firefox - maybe you could do with a fresh install? You can export your bookmarks and add them again after the install. Never, ever, go back to IE.
I do have a fresh install of Firefox on both computers (Windows 2K and Windows XP). Both suffer from the same bugs and annoyances.

I'm getting really anxious for IE 7 to be released. I could also try Opera, but last time I tried Opera 8.5 it was not an easy transition (Opera does things differently). Maybe Opera 9 will be better.

[harper]

I found OPERA somewhat bothersome to use. I'm using Netscape 7 (don't know enough people who have tried 8 yet to get reliable reports) and have very little trouble with it. I understand your aversion to IE. I thought that bookmarks, address books, and all sorts of stuff move easily between Firefox and Netscape. I mean, Firefox used to BE Netscape, didn't it?

[Jerrick]

I have never cared for tabs, I like all my windows to be shown in my toolbar at the bottom of the screen, as long as they dont get bunched together so where its like, internet explorer x8, but i set it not to do that, so it looks like this.
13726

I have also never had the need for any of the extra features that firefox or some other browsers come with, all i really need is the address bar and im good.

[phlegm]

I have my find set to ctrl-f. Why must you use / ? I like / for vi editor, but find is always ctrl-f in windows. It's all your fault for changing things around. Don't you know that Bill knows what is best for you? ;)

[Spudman]

I also have big problems with using ctrl-c and ctrl-v to copy and paste things from and to Firefox. Sometimes ctrl-c just plain doesn't copy what is selected. It is a Firefox bug. It has been a bug for a long time. It is very irritating. You select something, copy it, go to paste it and find that the clipboard is empty. Grrrrr! This one really really bugs me. Why hasn't it been fixed yet (it is a well known bug)?


I've been having that exact same problem lately. I've also had some problems when typing in windows like this one, and I couldn't quite figure out why. At least now I know that there is a problem with firefox and I'm not just going crazy.

Also, firefox likes to update itself sometimes. It gives me a popup window with something to the effect of "Would you like to upgrade to the new version of firefox?" If I select no or try to close it with the "X" in the corner, it gives me another message that says: "The new version of firefox will be installed next time you run the program! HAHA SUCKER!!!*" Has this happened to anyone else?

* It doesn't really say HAHA SUCKER, but it seems to be implied.

[Gilby]

Wow... your computer appears to be messed up... you must be using windows. Go figure. No problems on my mac or ubuntu boxes, but then again they both have plenty of ram to not have any problem with memory issues.

[Catboy]

I have had all of the same problems that you've had John, but FF is the best... no doubt.

[john_childs]

The rant was prompted when I tried replying to Dustin's NEW world hour record (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50179) thread. I tried to type in "km/h" and couldn't. I tried to copy and paste the answer from Google Calculator for the conversion from 16 mph to km/h and couldn't. Everything was going wrong. I couldn't type in my reply because Firefox was borked again. Grrr....

Problems like that happen all too frequently when using Firefox.

The copy/paste problem affects all operating systems that the Mozilla project supports. That means Linux and Mac are affected by that bug just like Windows. It is a random bug and doesn't affect everyone. Consider yourself lucky if you have never experienced it.

Here's one blog about the bug and a premature claim that Firefox 1.5.0.4 fixes it (http://neosmart.net/blog/archives/141) (it doesn't). Here's another blog entry (http://neosmart.net/blog/archives/111) by the same person complaining about the copy/paste bug.

A Google search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=copy+paste+bug+Firefox&btnG=Google+Search) will find many many more posts about the same bug. It is a very well known bug and has been well known for several years with no fix. I thought open source was supposed to magically fix bugs like this? Certainly four years is enough time for Mozilla to figure out what is wrong with all of their software (it affects all Mozilla products).

[john_childs]

Has this happened to anyone else?

* It doesn't really say HAHA SUCKER, but it seems to be implied.
Yes, that is the default behavior now for Firefox. You can change that behavior in Tools>>Options>>Advanced>>Update. Change it from automatically download and install to ask me what to do.

[jake_amos]

hey i just realised all the things you pointed oot happen on my firefox aswell lol

[Spudman]

Yes, that is the default behavior now for Firefox. You can change that behavior in Tools>>Options>>Advanced>>Update. Change it from automatically download and install to ask me what to do.

Thank you muchly.

[squirrel]

Thank you muchly.

you could have asked me, I would have showed you how to fix it :)

I use mozilla suite instead of FF, for several reasons....first, I don't use tabs, which seems to be the main thing FF offers. Also I despise animated gifs, such as spudman's cute avatar that he uses on the robotics forum, riding a uni around inside a box...FF does not allow you to turn them off that I know of, but Mozilla does. Also I use composer to do quick web page updates, and FF does not have composer.

I wonder if I can type in a slash? ////// yeah, no problem. how about copy and paste? how about copy and paste? yup, that works.

spudman has mozilla on his computer, maybe he should start using it.

[GizmoDuck]

Go Opera- I love it. I find Firefox can make some websites look funny with words on top of each other. I had major problems with the Laos Unitour website looking scrambled on firefox.

[forget_your_life]

I hate Firefox

me too, it was one of Clints worst moves..."think Russian"

[john_childs]

Well, I have installed Opera 8.5 on my new computer. I'll be giving it another try. I'll have to hunt around to find out how to do spell checking and some of the other goodies that I like and need.

Firefox is evil because it gets you addicted to extensions. Once you're addicted it makes it hard to give them up. And the way the Google toolbar does spell checking...

[monkeyman]

(plus this is my parents computer, and they're afraid of change)

Story of my [computer] life...they won't let me do anything on this computer

[skrobo]

what about the AOL explorer ... it seems to take up very little memory and it has tabs, but it has a bug so that if a new tab is opened in a email window you cannot access one of the tabs ///// i don't have a problem w/ that ... i never even knew that there was a find thingy on here, but is there a way to change the keyboard shortcuts??

[unisteve]

what about the AOL explorer ...
That's what.

I would like to add that I have always thought that tabbed browsing is overrated. Just buy a cool widescreen monitor like me--then you can have a bunch of little programs open in your taskbar without running out of space; alternately, you can change the size of the taskbar by clicking and dragging the top of it up.

[theanswerisnt42]

I've been using Opera (don't know what version, the latest i think) and my biggest problem is that google doesn't like it and makes alot of gmail features not work in it, so I use IE for my gmail. The thing I like about opera is it has alot of things semi-built in, but it's not a huge browser, like you can set up nicknames for your favorites, and then just type that name into the address bar and it brings the favorite up. It also has some gestures built into it also, which I mostly just use for back and forward. I know I can probably do that with Firefox or Mozilla, but I didin't feel like taking the time. I found this http://operalover.tntluoma.com/day_1_general_preferences and it helped me to get used to the basic opera stuff, and it let's you know all of the nice little things about it. I'm probalby going to try the new IE when it comes out, but I'd perfer not to use firefox, just because.

[iridemymuni]

WHOA MY GOD

i'm using opera version 8.5.2 or something

and i just figured out, if you hold down the right clicky thingy on your mouse and press the left one it goes back a page, and if you hold down left click and tap the right click button it goes forwards a page.

that is so cool

[Jerrick]

On IE, you can still have your google toolbar, with the spellchecker and all, =p

[tomtrevor]

i hate firefox, we are made to use it at school on the computers in the music rooms, pretty much everyone in the class hates it.

[Brian MacKenzie]

No problems on my mac or ubuntu boxes, but then again they both have plenty of ram to not have any problem with memory issues.


Luckily, using Windows, I don't need too much RAM to type a /

[Brian MacKenzie]

me too, it was one of Clints worst moves..."think Russian"


something tells me 'Stealth' is the new Firefox, but the commercials have scared me away from watching it

[siafirede]

I've tried the beta verison of IE7 and it's copying the good features of FF. I use IE most of the time b/c I usually program pages to display correctly in IE and there are certain javascript methods I use that I know only work in IE, and I am too lazy to make a page display correctly in most other browsers. This laziness sort of explains why some people say that some pages look weird with FF.

[ntappin]

I am having the same problems you are, plus the fact that I have to open certain things up in IE to download links, its all rather annoying, still with no tabs in IE I can never go back to it.

[wobbling bear]

I am having the same problems you are, plus the fact that I have to open certain things up in IE to download links, its all rather annoying, still with no tabs in IE I can never go back to it.
I have none of those on my Firefox ....
the only things is when sites are messed up with wrong javascript then firefox doest not accept faulty javascript.
I am also jumpy with sites that declare faulty charset (microsoft tools pretending to be ISO8859-15 and aren't)

[johnfoss]

I usually program pages to display correctly in IE and there are certain javascript methods I use that I know only work in IE, and I am too lazy to make a page display correctly in most other browsers. This laziness sort of explains why some people say that some pages look weird with FF.
Pretty much. If you coded your pages to follow W3C standards they would actually display fine in nearly all browsers. Until then, your pages might get ignored by people who can't see/read them.

My favorite thing about Firefox is that it displays things exactly the same between its Windows and Mac versions, to the extent of the testing I've done. You don't generally get this. Plus if you code your pages to work on Firefox it seems to cover nearly all the bases with the other major browsers. Coding for IE is going to always be a mistake unless Microsoft someday decides to be interested in compatibility with other browsers, rather than thinking the world should be compatible with them.

My slashes work too. Not sure what's up with that bug. Maybe there's a way to type them in by character entity? Like holding down Alt and typing 0153 on your numeric keypad in Windows for a trademark symbol. I think I have noticed the copy/paste bug as well, but not realized it was a Firefox problem.

Truly, if those bugs are things that stop you frequently it's time to consider the pros & cons of the other browsers out there. Microsoft no longer makes a browser for the Mac, so I don't have to make excuses for not using IE anymore. Camino is pretty good; fast and low memory but no-frills. But FF works fine for me.

[maestro8]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... RAM is cheaper than bottled water. If you've got memory complaints, upgrade! If one app is dogging on your system (there are many offenders worse than FF), it's likely that others will as well, and your "multi-tasking" abilities are hog-tied... a small investment in hardware yields a big savings in time!

Big problem right now is that I cannot type a "/" character in a forum message using Firefox right now...I also have big problems with using ctrl-c and ctrl-v to copy and paste things from and to Firefox... Once IE 7 is out I can't see myself using Firefox.
I'm not having any problems with slashes, but I am with copy and paste. I run FF on three boxes (Win2K + WinXP) and its behavior is the same on all three. The copy and paste bug, to me, seems inexcusable... it is functionality that everyone needs, and I use it quite often (when it works)... how can it be left in through so many versions? It is quite aggravating when I lose connectivity with the system clipboard, and there's nothing that'll tip me off to the loss, just that I have to restart / reboot / something to finish my task. Yuck.

One big plus that FF has over IE (and correct me if I'm wrong) is the amazing range of plugins available, all for free. I've got the local weather forecast in my status bar, and scrolling live bookmarks in a toolbar. I've got plugins to block ads and customize web pages to my liking, plugins to "linkify" and "searchify" URLs and keywords on web pages, a plugin to automate and manage downloads, as well as plugins that get me through most "registration required" sites without typing in a single bit of info. This stuff rocks! It's like I've got my own personal power-browser that gives me the web the way I want it!

My favorite thing about Firefox is that it displays things exactly the same between its Windows and Mac versions
For the uninitiated, this can be one's first experience of "web developer hell". My condolences, John. Whatever MS thinks they're doing, they're hurting the community of web developers through inconsistency... Mac IE and Windows IE, version for version, do not treat web pages equally. Granted, they've got the basic tags down, but once you use fancy techniques such as layering or scripting, you're in for a world of hurt.

One company I worked for had to develop two sets of web pages and buy some server-side software to serve up different pages based on the visitor's platform. Yikes! All because MS can't play nice with the rest of the world... I'm glad to hear the Mozilla developers are acting professionally and following standards.

[john_childs]

My slashes work too. Not sure what's up with that bug. Maybe there's a way to type them in by character entity? Like holding down Alt and typing 0153 on your numeric keypad in Windows for a trademark symbol. I think I have noticed the copy/paste bug as well, but not realized it was a Firefox problem.
The "/" bug is a weird one. I has happened a couple of times to me and on different computers. But it's not very common in my experience. Just very weird when it happens.

I didn't try working around the bug using alt keys or copying the "/" from notepad. It was easy enough just to switch over to IE at that point to write the forum reply.

[johnfoss]

Whatever MS thinks they're doing, they're hurting the community of web developers through inconsistency... Mac IE and Windows IE, version for version, do not treat web pages equally.
You must be talking about IE 5.2.3 for the Mac, copyright 1995-2001? Like I said, they don't make a Mac browser anymore, or in other words, they've stopped developing IE for the Mac. But it was still better than Safari at rendering lots of pages, but that's another story...

One company I worked for had to develop two sets of web pages and buy some server-side software to serve up different pages based on the visitor's platform. Yikes!
More companies than you think. Like Intel. Complex navigation systems often have two or (usually) more separate versions, with browser sniffers to tell your browser which one to use. Massive Javascript or other code-load overhead!

[iridemymuni]

i stopped using IE on my xp about 2 months ago? something like that, and i found firefox to be the sh*t :P for lack of a better word, i loved it compared to IE. In the last 3 days i've converted from firefox to opera, and i found opera to be even better, i love opera and i'm never going back.

however there is one thing i do prefer about IE, and that it is so simple.

anyway, OPERA is the best, just my 2c

[siafirede]

More companies than you think. Like Intel. Complex navigation systems often have two or (usually) more separate versions, with browser sniffers to tell your browser which one to use. Massive Javascript or other code-load overhead!

I had to do this recently for a site I was designing because IE and FF render their images differently. It was a pain in the ass making two different stylesheets and positioning the images differently.

[Borges]

If you use the "search as you type" feature the '/' won't start the search, but sometimes the search just starts and I'm unable to type anything before I've restarted the browser.
If you can't decide between FireFox and IE, there's an plugin (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/) that enables you to open an IE browser in a tab in FireFox.

[forget_your_life]

i have desided that i no longer hate Firefox and it is a "cult" classic...i thought in Russian and just ordered the DVD (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006RCOB/ref=pd_cp_d_title/104-5840930-8515132?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130)

[Eddbmxdude]

Nooooooooooooo, Dam you! Just as i was going to stand up for firefox and defend it as the best browser avaliable, Something like this happens!

I have used firefox with no problems, whatsoever for six months. As soon as i read this thread i cant type an apostrophe without the search bar comming up!

Dam this thread! I must be just really unlucky!

Rock on!
Edd

[Eddbmxdude]

And now its gone back to normal! I haven't done anything!

Rock on!
Edd

[john_childs]

There is speculation that Opera will release Opera 9 on Tuesday the 20th (http://operawatch.com/news/2006/06/opera-9-just-around-the-corner-grand-marketing-campaign-in-the-works.html). I'll wait for the release and then give Opera a spin.

[forget_your_life]

Opera will be coming to the Nintendo DS (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144345.html) as well HURRAH!