weblogs.mozillazine.org — Asa Dotzler is calling for the press to report comparisons between browsers that are actually available to users. Firefox 1.5 is available today, while IE 7 is scheduled for sometime later next year, but the tech press seems to be running a lot of Firefox 1.5 vs. IE 7 comparison articles.
Dec 9, 2005 View in Crawl 4
arizonagrooveDec 10, 2005
"IE7, when it is released, will be what everyone uses. Hands down, it is (rather will be) better than Firefox."Given what I've read so far regarding proposed CSS support and various other things in IE7, that they're including features like tabs which have been in Firefox/Mozilla for years (and Opera before that) so are clearly playing catch up, and the fact that by the time IE7 eventually comes out Firefox 2.0 will probably be well underway if not released, I'm very sceptically that IE7 will even be as good as Firefox let alone better than. If nothing else the ability to customize Firefox with a whole bunch of smart 3rd part extensions (made possibly because Firefox is open source, unlike IE) will always give it the edge. Also Opera seem to be making a lot of pr ogres of late. I would be very surprised if IE7 is the best available browser when it's released.
hmtksteveDec 10, 2005
Compare a great product that exists now with a crappy product that exists now? What, are you crazy?Can't do that...How long have we been seeing "Longhorn will do XYZ when it gets released..." ?????I do not mind seeing a small blurb in an article stating, "in the upcomming IE7 XYZ will be done..." But to compare software with vaporware is simply pointless.Perhaps it's time to create some awesome new web vaporware of our own? Call it "Phoenix Explorer v1.0" The ultimate web browser! Blows away Firefox and IE7 as it takes input directly from your brain! Kills all viruses on contact! Blocks all pop-ups! Very small memory ussage! To be release sometime this year....
tapoDec 10, 2005
I don't think it would be a good idea to bundle Firefox with the most popular extensions. It'll make your install act a lot differently then a regular FF install, rely on code developed outside of Mozilla, and provide little to no benefit.The genius behind the extensions system is that you don't need extensions. Firefox is a damn fine browser in it's own right, and so simple to use. After you get used to it, you may want a few things changed, or not. I've completely tweaked my Mac's Firefox install (7 or 8 extensions, changes to many of the UI settings, a theme), and left the installs on my Ubuntu and Windows XP machines as standard.
bryan8mDec 10, 2005
The beta for Internet Explorer 7 is included with the Windows Vista Beta and it is also available for Windows XP (bittorrent). So it's possible that it's a fairer comparison than you think.
worbdDec 10, 2005
More whining from Asa the troll.<a class="user" href="http://stuff.techwhack.com/archives/2004/12/10/opera-vs-mozilla-minimo/">http://stuff.techwhack.com/archives/2004/12/10/opera-vs-mozilla-minimo/</a>Here's Mozilla doing the same to Opera that Asa whines that the press is doing against Firefox.Hypocrisy anyone?
guspazDec 10, 2005
You know what? Sure, do a comparison. I'll bet Internet Explorer doesn't need 800MB of memory after a few days of use like Firefox 1.5 does for me. I'll also bet that Internet Explorer doesn't lock up for 5 to 10 seconds whenever you start a download, like Firefox 1.5 does. Firefox is a VERY BUGGY PRODUCT that I still consider to be a beta.And I'm a firefox user too. It is just a really buggy browser.The saddest part? It is only a very small handful of UNFIXED BUGS that are causing this feeling in me. If they'd fix just two of the bugs (The massive memory usage over time and the freezing when starting/stopping downloads) then I'd consider it rock solid. Amazing what a small number of HIGHLY ANNOYING bugs can do.
rmccabe916Dec 11, 2005
Have you tried Opera yet? It has pretty much all of Safari's features and more, including a really close-nit community w/ free blogs. Give it a go and see if you like it. Although if you insist on using it, Safari is a very good browser as well. Oh, and if you haven't heard yet, the ads are gone.
jasqwertyDec 11, 2005
Why was I modded down? Fear the truth I guess?Yes, the press has nothing better to do than cover who's browser they think is better. Come on now you asshat, this isn't a concern for most people.It's probably got blurbs in the Tech section of newspapers, and plenty of E-news are completely tech related AND that's where it should stay. The day I see "FireFox vs IE" with a big chart as the frontpage of the NYT is the last time I buy a NYT.Plus FF fanatics, IE7 will draw plenty of people back. FF annoys the hell out of me at times, but I do enjoy tabs. As soon as IE7 is officially out, there I go. Your reasoning otherwise is pretty ill conceived. One of them being, IE7 doesn't run on Linux? Yah, no one is worried about that market segment to be honest, even Mozilla.Here's some opinions on the rest:adblock - it willfilter.g - explain further, I'm clueless what this isthemes - um, you can skin IE right nowruns on linux - laughis open source - I rather it not betabbed preferences - It'll have tabs, which I'm sure will be configurableuser agent switching - Hmm? Probably won't, but I guess as more frothing FF fanboys make sites, it will be neededflashblock - you can do this with IE nowcustomize google - Isn't that just cookie based???grease monkey - Useful is some circumstancesswitch proxy - IE can do this now$extension_not_mentioned_but_useful - Modularizing IE has always been interesting. Mozilla has allowed people to do this using JS. I guess it is a lower barrier to entry, but if you know JS you probably at least have some knowledge with C.When it stops crashing at a rate... - yawn, FF fanboywhen it integrates a better mail client - it's a browsergets rss feeds - it willgets 2/3 less bloated- LOL, how hypocritical of an FF fanboygets more customizable - Interesting that you say thisstops fu(king installing all those damn extra tool bars - then thisgets themes - already skinableextensions like firefox's - modularizing IE is just different than FF, though possible.