Mozilla FireFox

[SecretMethod70]

Well, the next version of the Mozilla Foundation's stand-alone browser is out, and with it, a name change (again)!

Mozilla Firebird is now known as Mozilla FireFox. Long live respect for fellow OSS projects. From the Mozilla Foundation's webpage:

Why change the name?

To avoid overlap. The colloquial name "Firebird" is also in use by another open source project. While we don't believe our use of the Firebird name infringed on their trademark, we wanted to be responsive to the concerns of fellow open source developers.

AND

Will this name be permanent?

We sure hope so. We've learned a lot about choosing names in the past year (more than we would have liked to). We have been very careful in researching the name to ensure that we will not have any problems down the road. We have begun the process of registering our new trademark with the US Patent and Trademark office.

So, it looks like they've settled on a name that is good AND doesn't conflict with anything. Pretty awesome news, and I love the new logo too.

Anyways, I'm going to install FireFox 0.8 now and check it out. I'll be back with initial reactions.


Oh yeah, for those interested:

Mozilla Firefox - Brand Name FAQ:
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/fire...-name-faq.html

Press Release:
http://www.mozilla.org/press/mozilla-2004-02-09.html

And as a side note, Thunderbird 0.5 was released today too.

[Latch]

Just today I saw a thing at OSNews talking about Firebird Database software. I thought "jeez.. mozilla already changed the name once.. either they or the DB software will have to do it".. and then I came home and read this haha.

I'm looking forward to installing it, but will wait till it hits Portage.. which will probably be tomorrow

[Latch]

Links!

FireFox homepage:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Thunderbird homepage:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Enjoy!

[Redlemon]

Time to go tell everyone that I've converted that the name is different... again... (*sigh*). At least it is a great browser!

[nukeu666]

woohoo!!
go mozilla go
kick m$ butt

[JStrider]

seems to be pretty good.... the name might take a lil while to grow on me... the symbol is super cool tho.....

the firebird seems quick and responsive always a good thing.... i liked unzipping it better then the installer... dont have to delete the 2 icons it makes... ohwell...

the thunderbird seems to be taking up a little less memory... and i can see right off that they fixed the msg counting bug

[HeAtHeN]

I just downloaded this and I love it. Great work from the developers.

FireFox is a great step forwards in browsers.

Screw Micro$oft and get Firefox.

[yakimushi]

Me likes! I've been using since 0.5 and I don't think I'll ever go back!

[nanofever]

I have been using Mozilla for about a month and I can't imagine going back to IE.

Now if only I could delete IE *damn you microsoft*

[thencrow]

I've made the switch from firebird to firefox.. and I cant tell too much of a difference. Webpages do seem to load quicker than with firebird and I like the new icon, it looks much better than the old one.

[flamingpeach]

I usually check on mozilla's page a few nights a week since i was expecting this release anytime. I went there last night and everything was the same, i refreshed a little later (just for kicks ) and firefox was up. It was a great surprise

[Redlemon]

Originally posted by thencrow
I've made the switch from firebird to firefox.. and I cant tell too much of a difference.

Well, since you asked...

Here are the news in this release of Firefox:

* Windows Installer

Firefox now comes with an installer for Windows. Aside from making the installation process smoother, the installer also solves some common plug-in problems.

* Download Manager

The new streamlined download manager keeps your downloads organized without getting in your way. Select Tools > Downloads or press Ctrl+E to see it or change its behavior.

* New Add Bookmark Dialog

The Add Bookmark dialog has been enhanced and now allows the creation of new bookmark folders.

* Work Offline

It's now possible to view Web pages you've previously visited without being connected to the Internet.

* Better Handling of File Types

Binary files (e.g. .wma and .rar files) served by servers incorrectly sending text/plain should no longer be displayed as garbage in the browser, rather they should be appropriately handled.

* New XPInstall Frontend

The dialog that appears when installing themes and extensions has been redesigned and is easier to use.

* New default theme for MacOS X

The Pinstripe theme integrates better on MacOS X than the Qute theme, used on Windows and Linux.

* Lots of bug fixes and improvements

Disabling of form auto-completion is now working, the address bar now remembers the edited text across tab switching, among many other bug fixes.

[Jeff]

Not ThunderFox? What's the difference in the update to 1.5?

[kel]

But does it render pages faster?

[propaganda]

I must say that logo is enticing me to try this out... I'm so easily manipulated ::sigh::

[SiN]

the new logo is teh sexy, indeed.

still waiting for it to do a couple things to replace my Opera though.

[Redlemon]

Originally posted by SiN
still waiting for it to do a couple things to replace my Opera though.

Which couple? I know a bunch of workarounds.

(Or, just keep using Opera, some people like it better. As long as people keep moving away from IE...)

[SiN]

Originally posted by redlemon
Which couple? I know a bunch of workarounds.

(Or, just keep using Opera, some people like it better. As long as people keep moving away from IE...)

yeah, I tried it last week or so, and I tried to like it...

but..

1. the theme I wanted to use wouldn't work
2. finding the rite plugin/configuring the few mouse gestures i use was a pain in the ass
3. and one of the most important ones - with a plain text url (not! a link) with opera you can highlight it and in the contest menu it recognises that it's a url and you can choose to go to url. (and i think, but cannot find one to test at the moment, that you can also just double click it)..

and i can't remember what else but something with opening links in a new tab not a whole new broswer window (which seems so simple maybe i jsut overlooked that..)

dun remember what elses..

I *wanna* be a convert...but I need to be able to browse the way i want.

[propaganda]

That whole new tab thing about Opera makes it an awsome browser and it saves up RAM for more useful things

[SecretMethod70]

http://66.90.75.92/torrents/1130/Fir...exe(5).torrent

There's a torrent link for those who have BitTorrent. The servers have been hit pretty hard, so if you do have BitTorrent I recommend using it.

SiN, can't speak for your first two, but the second two things you mentioned I know for a fact are very easily arranged. I know, because I use them Not positive that the extensions have been updated for 0.8 quite yet but I know they will be any time now.

[flamingpeach]

Sin, middle clicking a link will open it up in a tab, not a new window, or you right click and choose to open it that way.

I have my laptops touchpad set up so i just tap the bottom right corner and my links will open in a new tab. Pretty handy

[ToolBag]

Just downloaded it, Im not that big into development and do not see a huge difference other than just having the latest thing but hey, its worth without a doubt!

[Jesus Pimp]

It's very fast but where the heck did my scrollbars go? I have to use my mouse to scroll.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally posted by Jesus Pimp
It's very fast but where the heck did my scrollbars go? I have to use my mouse to scroll.

They should be there. Don't see any reason they wouldn't be

And, yes, you can middle click or right click, but there is an easy extension (that everyone should have anyways) that can make it the default

[cub4life78]

I like it. It does seem a bit faster...

[ToolBag]

now that I have ran it for an hour or so it does seem faster. I would love the extension to make the tabbed browsing the default but last time I checked the extension page was down.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally posted by ToolBag
now that I have ran it for an hour or so it does seem faster. I would love the extension to make the tabbed browsing the default but last time I checked the extension page was down.

yeah give it a few days due to server load and the extension needing to be made for 0.8

It should be out fairly soon though.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally posted by Jesus Pimp
It's very fast but where the heck did my scrollbars go? I have to use my mouse to scroll.

did you use Firebird previously? I saw this on another site:

I know that some people are having problems with the scrollbar not appearing after you install Firefox. What I did to solve the problem was that I removed the old Firebird file (depending on the location of the directory in which you installed Firebird) and it worked. Also, the theme was messed up before I removed the Firebird file, but after I got rid of the file, the themes was back the way I had it before I installed Firefox.

So, if you have the same problem, try what I have suggested and see if everything is back to normal.

Also, a thread on the subject over at Mozillazine: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewto...0b98fba2164612

[dnd]

installed it but hated having to set up a profile...why can't i just use the default profile? :s

sticking in firebird for a while longer

[SecretMethod70]

Originally posted by dnd
installed it but hated having to set up a profile...why can't i just use the default profile? :s

sticking in firebird for a while longer

???? Odd...I didn't have to set up a profile. What are you running it on? And did you remove Firebird first?

[Redlemon]

Originally posted by SiN
1. the theme I wanted to use wouldn't work
2. finding the rite plugin/configuring the few mouse gestures i use was a pain in the ass
3. and one of the most important ones - with a plain text url (not! a link) with opera you can highlight it and in the contest menu it recognises that it's a url and you can choose to go to url. (and i think, but cannot find one to test at the moment, that you can also just double click it)..

and i can't remember what else but something with opening links in a new tab not a whole new broswer window (which seems so simple maybe i jsut overlooked that..)

1. Yeah, they keep tweaking the base code, which f's up the themes. Fortunately for me, I like the default theme well enough, so I just stick with it. Once
2. I don't use mouse gestures, so I can't advise you. However, by the time Firefox 0.9 is released (target March/April), it will have "extension packages", and this is expected to be part of it.
3 and 4. There's an extension, TBE (Tabbrowser Extensions), that makes absolutely everything available. The dev's don't like it, since it often breaks things. I can't live without it, personally. If you don't want to risk TBE...
3. the Text Links extension.
4. Tabbrowser Preferences (which is different from TBE) does this simply.

By 1.0, there should be some better-integrated TBE-type preferences built in, so they become less hacky.

So, SiN, you may want to wait until the next point release, or continue to enjoy Opera.

[ToolBag]

Yeah, dnd, I dont know if this has anything to do with it but they did suggest to disable all plug ins and stuff before switching, or easier yet, just uninstall Firebird first if you were using it.

[SiN]

thx for the excellent reply, redlemon.

I've downloaded it, and will try it as soon as I have time to config it.

I want to like it, it's the sexy browser, so i'm not gonna give up on it..just trying to be patient

[iamii]

Using to see this right now. EXCELLENT browser, definetly like it better then firebird. Still have yet to convert to thunderbird though, still usiing outlook.

[Rawrr]

hehe been using it for a few months and I love this browser it is excellent

and I had trouble with my back / forward arrows disappearing and no scroll bar as well.. I had to uninstall my old theme I was using and use the default them and everything worked (and is working) ok.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally posted by iamii
Using to see this right now. EXCELLENT browser, definetly like it better then firebird. Still have yet to convert to thunderbird though, still usiing outlook.

You may or may not want to hold off on Thunderbird (wonder what they'll change the name too?).....it's v0.5 so it's technically not as polished yet, but I will say I've been using it for the past few days (I was using the Mozilla Suite before) and it's worked great for me thus far.

[soopafreek]

firefox is great.
firebird was too.
earlier versions of mozilla, i didn't like too much....

but how come they can't put "print" or "print picture" in the right-click context menu???? is this passe'? am i missing something?

[deepinjello]

Like SiN, this is starting to tempt me away from Opera but I think I'm too lazy and too addicted to mouse gestures built-in. I'll wait till they wrap them all up in a new release.

[SecretMethod70]

Originally posted by soopafreek
but how come they can't put "print" or "print picture" in the right-click context menu???? is this passe'? am i missing something?

Heh, I'll agree with you there.

[digby]

I had been using the mozilla suite, but I thought I'd give FireFox a try. Downloaded it yesterday, and I love it. It feels a little faster and and a little cleaner too. No complaints here.