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Browsers: FireFox Hype
FireFox Hype
by BrenBart - 11/18/04 10:26 AMI recently started using FireFox and it has some very nice features. Quick page load, tabs, etc.
However, I noticed the other day when checking my Yahoo! Mail that it wouldn't display the RTF editor for sending HTML mail.
As Yahoo is my main email account, I started looking around for a way to get this back. What I found in my various web searches was helpful advice like "HTML mail is bad. You shouldn't send it anyway." Use a screenscraper client like Mr. Postman or Yahoo Pops to get your yahoo mail.
Ok, so the Yahoo mail works just fine so long as you just send text. I'll admit, I'm lazy sometimes and just want to past a picture into an email without having to save it as a file and attach it. Often because I'm sending it to relatively non-literate computer users. I can live with that.
Apparently the reason it is not accessible is because that code is written in non-standard HTML that only IE uses.
OK..... So this leads me to wonder, How many of the features of FireFox are 'great' because they've chosen to exclude features that are standard in IE?
Don't get me wrong, plain-vanilla IE is a kludge and aside from security updates they don't seem to have done a thing with it in years. However, there are browsers based on the IE model such as Maxthon that have most if not all of the features of FireFox, offer additional features, are more customizable and work perfectly with IE-centric web pages.
It just seems to me that if you are trying to draw IE users away from IE then you would make a product that does everything IE does and more.
So far, the only thing I see about FireFox that I like over other browsers is the slightly improved load speed of web pages. Ok, and the find bar...
Re: FireFox Hype = Use IE for what doesn't work.
by R. Proffitt
- 11/18/04 1:39 PM
In reply to: FireFox Hype by BrenBart
That advice is all over and your post reinforces it.
On the other hand, IE is still letting SPYWARE onto a persons machine without notice. If you don't mind such, then just use IE.
Let's not talk about the latest exploits or that Microsoft has decided that patches to IE will only be available for the current XP OS.
Bob
Re: FireFox Hype
by Rake - 11/18/04 3:59 PM In reply to: FireFox Hype by BrenBartThose great 'MSIE features' like e.g. the Outlook winmail.dat etc. are a huge annoyance for people who don't use MS products e.g. because they don't have MS operating systems and MS doesn't port, or are simply a bit more security conscious.
FWIW: what you call 'excluding features' is called 'adherence to standards' elsewhere.
And as for hype - ignore it. Simply acknowledge the facts. E.g. would you still miss 'MSIE features' if it turned out every time you use them you attach a virus to your e-mail message simply because 80% of online bots are simply waiting for someone with MSIE to turn up and create them a medium for their payload? (rhetorical question, not based on facts in its setup. hopefully.)
If the only thing you like about FF is it's load speed ....
by trytohelp - 11/18/04 4:22 PM In reply to: FireFox Hype by BrenBartYou have not played with it very much. You could try here for well over 200 extensions that do all sorts of stuff. Might I suggest the Adblock extension, it will change the way you view the web. Not only does it block the ad but it also collapses the spot where the ad was so you don't get an empty box. If you put filters in the preferences like
/doubleclick/
/fastclick/
/counter/
/tracker/
it will, for instance block every ad that has the word doubleclick in the url.
Did you know that you can drag and drop everything on the toolbars wherever you want, even take them off if you want by going to View > Toolbars > Customize
Did you know that if you middle click a link it opens in a new tab, if you middle click the tab it closes.
Did you ever get a page that open and it doesn't have toolbars on it or you can't resize it or minimize it because it is java script, you can control that. Some settings in the preferences and some advanced in the about:config.
There's lots of little extra's with Firefox so many that you don't notice them right away, give it a little time and you will see it has a lot of features that are not up front right away because they wanted to make it simple at first for beginners. But if you play with it a lot you will see.
Re: FireFox Hype
by Brainz1980 - 11/18/04 10:28 PM In reply to: FireFox Hype by BrenBartI can't believe some of the posts that I read and comments made in general about a lot of products. One of the biggest problems that face 100% of every internet user is Spyware/Adware and Viruses. Internet Explorer is Spyware/Adware/Virus's best friend. So many things that only work in IE and are not stanards, ActiveX controls are the biggest problem of all. FireFox has plenty of functionality and it is by far a much more secure and more versatile web-browser then internet explorer. Look at the size of the file! IE is too integrated into Windows and that offers even better chances for hackers and viruses and spyware to conflict pc wide damage or annoyances instead of just a single program annoyance. You can't talk negatively about software you have not completely tested all of its features. Sure there will be some websites you cant go to or some applications like Citrix, Microsofy SUS, etc. that won't function but that functionality will come and it will come when people aren't forced to use Microsoft standards but instead the standards laid out for the world. The reason Mozilla FireFox is not more IE friendly is because IE is the very reason it was created. IE has flaws, it is too easy for anyone to install anything on your computer. It's nice to be able to leave your doors unlocked when you leave your house but there is always a chance someone can just walk in and leave behind some bugs, steal your money, etc. Same thing here. IE is wide open! And even when you tie it down, its still open. IE was designed to be secure and anti-attackable. It was designed to be easy to use like AOL. AOL lost 2.5 millions subscribers this year alone. People are tired of the same old problems and issues. FireFox is a step in the right direction. Support it and the community will give support back where needed. I can't believe anyone would support Microsoft! It is very clear they are struggling right now. People are getting smarter and starting to realize that the internet isn't AOL and a computer isn't Microsoft. Linux is coming on strong and in a few years, you will see those users that were once under educated in computers, becoming smarter and starting to understand the concept of "There is more to computers then AOL and Microsoft". People catch on! AMD caught up to Intel. People don't care. They just want what works and doesn't take advantage of your wallet.
If you can use FireFox for a day to 2 weeks and think you've mastered it and hate it, I'd have to say you are misguided and need direction, perhaps from FireFox browsing and not using the IE browser as it may guide you to Spyware or Adware sites that will lead you to believe that HookedOnPhonics.com is really a Sex Site and spyware related. People want change! FireFox is change in a good way. Use it and you will see the internet change.
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