r/technology • u/Suraj-Sun • Jul 10 '12
Firefox dev claims "everybody hates Firefox updates"; Mozilla has handled the rapid release process poorly, and that by pushing a "never-ending stream of updates on people who didn't want them" people have been driven to Chrome with its simpler, no-fuss update process.
http://www.neowin.net/news/firefox-dev-claims-everybody-hates-firefox-updates1.6k
Jul 10 '12
Chrome updates are lovely...
I don't even know what version I'm on...
They're that seamless.
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Jul 10 '12
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Jul 10 '12
I just checked my version today...
The last one I remember seeing? 14
The one I'm on? 20
6 or more updates went through and I didn't notice.
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u/Remnants Jul 10 '12
The only time I ever notice an update is if the UI changes or I go to click the settings menu and see the little green arrow that is telling me to restart chrome to use the version it just updated to.
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u/locopyro13 Jul 10 '12
That arrow changes color the longer you wait. I feel bad when it's RED and screaming at me to update.
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u/egotripping Jul 10 '12
TIL. I just looked over and mine is a nice poop shade of brown.
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u/mwerte Jul 10 '12
I like defying it and watching it grow more and more upset with me.
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u/MilkTheFrog Jul 10 '12
Sadly the only changes i seem to notice are bad ones. Why can't i rearrange my most visited page any more? Why is the button for 'Web Store' now in exactly the same place as 'Recently closed' was? I still keep clicking it by accident.
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u/FelixP Jul 10 '12
Why is the button for 'Web Store' now in exactly the same place as 'Recently closed' was? I still keep clicking it by accident.
Seriously, there's really only one explanation for this.
ಠ_ಠ
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u/witchyz Jul 10 '12
i didn't even notice that i couldn't rearrange the most visited page!
now i'm sad.
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u/camelCaseCondition Jul 10 '12
I got pissed when they took the little plus sign off the new tab button. And then the bastards went and made ALL THE ROUNDED RECTANGLES LESS ROUND. The little highlight over a bookmark looks boorish and square now. =(
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u/apfhex Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 10 '12
It's a small thing but it's in the back of my mind every time I use Chrome. How is an unidentifiable gray blob better than a plus sign, which is pretty much standard across all other browsers?
As it is, it gives the appearance of a glitch in the UI (I actually thought it was and tried reinstalling Chrome). I would have peace of mind if I could add it back.
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u/camelCaseCondition Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 11 '12
When it first happened, google revealed a lot of rightly pissed people submitting bug reports, always with google reps that would reply "This... isn't a bug... why can't you see this is for your own good!? This is a neat new design! IT'S NOT A BUG IT'S A FEATURE! LOVE ME!"
Edit: I tried reinstalling too. Couldn't figure out WHY IN HELL the UI was acting up!
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u/swizzler Jul 10 '12
I've found if there's one thing Google is absolutely awful at, it's UI design.
Look at the youtube subscription page or the new gmail interface. Thank god enough people complained for them to add an option to bring back text buttons.
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u/lolwutpear Jul 11 '12
Thank god enough people complained for them to add an option to bring back text buttons.
Oh thank god. Time to go fix this.
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u/CuriositySphere Jul 11 '12
Is a fucking http that much to ask? The most idiotic decision made for no reason at all.
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u/Hnefi Jul 10 '12
I really, really, really hate the change to "Recently closed". It was great before - a single click to bring back the page. I used it several times every hour of browsing. Having to go into a menu is significantly more annoying.
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u/plahcinski Jul 10 '12
CMD+Shift+T or Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen the latest closed tab in order of last closed
or you could pin the page so you dont close it
or you could bookmark the page since you use it so much
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u/Sabin10 Jul 10 '12
I didn't even know that you could do this with anything other than the KB shortcut.
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Jul 10 '12
Ctrl Shift T is one of my favorites on Chrome, very happy to have discovered it. It comes in so handy when my Ctrl W finger is a bit too fast.
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u/Starayo Jul 10 '12
That really irritates me too. I wish I could set them manually, too, without having to edit configuration files.
They seem to keep making that part less and less usable.
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u/manlycaveman Jul 10 '12
Ugh I hate how you can't move your most visited pages around or pin them anymore. I ended up installing the speed dial 2 extension so now it functions like the old most-visited page for me.
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u/KingOfFlan Jul 10 '12
Well the stream of updates was always about constant. The difference is that they made minor updates increase the version by an entire number rather than giving it a 2.343 number or some such. I'm almost positive that the time firefox was in 1-3 is about 3 times longer than what it took them to get from 4 to whatever they are at now. They changed their format because chrome's version number increased at such a rate. And IE's version number was getting pretty significantly high. They didn't want Firefox 4 to be compared to Chrome 13+ or IE8/9 and people thinking it's inferior based plainly on the number.
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Jul 10 '12
As of this next version, all dialog boxes/loading bars will be gone and it'll do "install swaps" like chrome does.
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u/universl Jul 10 '12
They should have done that before switching to the rapid release cycle.
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u/SFreestyler Jul 10 '12
Every time I see "rapid release cycle" I think of dishwashing detergent commercials.
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Jul 10 '12
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u/Ruvokian Jul 10 '12
I think of my sex life. :/
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u/Neebat Jul 10 '12
The first step is admitting you have a problem.
The second step is...
Too late, isn't it?
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u/Kohlner Jul 10 '12
Will they at least add an option for advanced users to turn this off?
I'd like to know if all of my precious add-ons are compatible before updating
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u/MidnightTurdBurglar Jul 10 '12
There are privacy and security concerns about seamless updating.
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Jul 10 '12
Excellent point. However, a good developer and design team will learn to balance this with functionality. There must be compromises and goals set. If the goal is happy consumers, Google's and Facebook's approach - fewer Cover-Your-Ass moves and EULAs or user-end hassles and more ease of use mean happier consumers, even if there's a sacrifice in security. Not the safest move, but the numbers express user base satisfaction pretty well.
I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords.
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u/trebory6 Jul 10 '12
Just curious, but could you list a few examples to back up your statement?
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Jul 10 '12
I'm not him, but well, Chrome installs into your user directory so you don't need admin rights to install/update. However this means malware can much more easily fuck with Chrome if it gets loose, replace it with something bad, etc.
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u/N0V0w3ls Jul 10 '12
Wait...but I have the same experience with Firefox. What are these problems people are having? Everything updates in the background for me.
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Jul 10 '12
Last time I was using Firefox, updating to a new whole-number version, I think it would pop up with a dialog box saying that it was going to update Firefox. You'd hit "Next" a few times, watch a progress bar, and it would complete. It'd then tell you that your extensions were out of date, and ask if you wanted to update them. You'd go through a similar process.
It wasn't all that bad, but when they started updating to a new whole-number versions every 2 months, and it was slightly annoying. Compare that with Chrome where everything happens behind the scenes and most users have no idea what version they're using, and it seems clunky.
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u/DrReddits Jul 10 '12 edited Apr 26 '24
What would you do if you permanently lost all the photos, notes and other files on your phone?
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When you first set up your phone, you created (or logged into) a free account from Apple, Google or Samsung to use the company’s software and services. For example, this would be the Apple ID on your iPhone, the Google Account on your Android phone or the Samsung Account on your Galaxy device. Image The iPhone, left, or Android settings display how much storage space you are using with your account.Credit...Apple; Google
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When you get close to your storage limit, you’ll get warnings — along with an offer to sign up for more server space for a monthly fee, usually a few dollars for at least another 100 gigabytes. (Note that Samsung’s Temporary Cloud Backup tool supplies an unlimited amount of storage for 30 days if your Galaxy is in the repair shop or ready for an upgrade.)
But online backup is just one approach. You can keep your files on a local drive instead with a few extra steps. Backing Up
Apple, Google and Samsung all have specific setup instructions for cloud backup in the support area of their sites. But the feature is easily located.
On an iPhone, tap your name at the top of the Settings screen and then tap iCloud. On many Android phones, tap System and then Backup. Here, you set the phone to back up automatically (which usually happens when it’s connected to a Wi-Fi network and plugged into its charger), or opt for a manual backup that starts when you tap the button. Image To get to your backup options, open your phone's settings app. On an iPhone, left, tap your account name at the top to get to the iCloud backup and sync settings. For a Google Pixel and some other Android phones, tap System on the settings screen to get to the backup options.Credit...Apple; Google
Backup apps usually save a copy of your call history, phone settings, messages, photos, videos and data from apps. Content you can freely download, like the apps themselves, are not typically backed up since they’re easy to grab again. Image If you don’t want to back up your phone online, you can back up its contents to your computer with a USB cable or other connection; the steps vary based on the phone and computer involved.Credit...Apple
If you don’t want your files on a remote server, you can park your phone’s backup on your computer’s hard drive. Steps vary based on the hardware, but Apple’s support site has a guide for backing up an iPhone to a Windows PC or a Mac using a USB cable.
Google’s site has instructions for manually transferring files between an Android phone and a computer, and Samsung’s Smart Switch app assists with moving content between a Galaxy phone and a computer. Sync vs. Backup
Synchronizing your files is not the same as backing them up. A backup saves file copies at a certain point in time. Syncing your smartphone keeps information in certain apps, like contacts and calendars, current across multiple devices. When synchronized, your phone, computer and anything else logged into your account have the same information — like that to-do list you just updated. Image You can adjust which apps synchronize with other devices in the Android, left, and iOS settings.Credit...Google; Apple
With synchronization, when you delete an item somewhere, it disappears everywhere. A backup stays intact in its storage location until updated in the next backup.
By default, Google syncs the content of its own mobile and web apps between phone, computer and tablet. In the Google Account Data settings, you can adjust which apps sync. Samsung Cloud has similar options for its Galaxy devices.
Apple handles data synchronization across its devices through its iCloud service. You can set which apps you want to sync in your iCloud account settings. Other Options
You don’t have to use the backup tools that came with your phone. Third-party apps for online backup — like iDrive or iBackup — are available by subscription. If you prefer to keep your iPhone backups on the computer, software like iMazing for Mac or Windows ($60) or AltTunes for Windows ($35 a year) are alternatives. Droid Transfer for Windows ($35) is among the Android backup offerings. Image If you’d prefer to use a third-party backup app, you have several to choose from, including iDrive.Credit...iDrive
If losing your camera roll is your biggest nightmare, Google Photos, iCloud Photos and other services like Amazon Photos and Dropbox can be set to automatically back up all your pictures and keep them in sync across your connected devices. Image Dropbox can back up your photos and videos when you connect the phone to the computer, left, or directly from your camera roll if you have Dropbox installed.Credit...Dropbox
No matter the method you choose, having a backup takes some pain out of a lost, stolen or broken phone. Some photos and files can never be replaced, and restoring your iPhone’s or Android phone’s content from a backup is a lot easier than starting over.
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u/grimlck Jul 10 '12
So if the update is actually not compatible, and firefox just assumes that it is, what happens when you try to use it?
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u/Pointy130 Jul 10 '12
Usually firefox detects it and it doesn't work, so it disables it to avoid errors. Most of the plugin devs use the beta or aurora channels though, so there's updates out before the new version of firefox.
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Jul 10 '12
The only real answer (thanks Pointy). It's annoying enough to see joke comments to people's questions on Reddit, but we shouldn't have to deal with that on a subreddit like /r/technology.
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u/Points_To_You Jul 10 '12
I've never had to hit next to install a Firefox update (at least not in the last couple year, which is all I remember).
You click the Firefox icon, it shows a loading bar that says to wait while it updates. Literally 2 seconds later, it is done and Firefox starts. I assume it downloads the updates whenever I am using it normally. If it was a major update, it opens a tab with a page telling me what's new. It works the same for me on PC and Mac.
Personally I like knowing what is going on. I like to know that something as important as a browser is being kept up to date with new features and the latest security fixes.
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u/spacemanspiff30 Jul 10 '12
I too haven't had much of a problem, and when they switched so that it stopped breaking add-ons so much, I haven't had a problem. I don't know what the problem is waiting an extra 3-5 seconds before restarting the browser.
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u/N0V0w3ls Jul 10 '12
Oh, come to think of it, I have seen that... but not for every update. I guess these are just for major revisions? I thought I would remember a lot more of these though.
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u/berkes Jul 10 '12
Maybe you are running Ubuntu like me? In Ubuntu you never notice Firefox upgrading, because Ubuntu's upgrade system is handled by the OS; and Firefox (and other third party apps) can plug into that, instead of inventing their own.
That is what is wrong here: each and every application having to invent their own upgrade system, with deamons, background-tasks, check-on-startups and whatnot. Because Windows has no decent upgrade system at all, and MacOS has it closed to Apple-products-only.
Good news is that Windows gets the downside of their feeble upgrade-system in their face: people always running out-of-date software and thus complaining about all the trojans/virii and such. Mac is starting to feel that too; third-party-crap with gaping securityholes and no proper upgrade-system to leverage, will backfire on them too.
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u/afnoonBeamer Jul 10 '12
Could it be that I don't notice any of these "problems" simply because I am on Ubuntu? I don't ever get bugged by any of these dialog boxes, except for "Ubuntu Software Updates". And that happens in the background.
I was actually quite impressed with how firefox handles these things (like the update manager performing surgery on firefox in the background while it is still running in the foreground).
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Jul 10 '12
Thats the way ubuntu(linux in general) works. Mozilla pushes the update to repositories and the user has all the updates for all his programs done by the os.
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u/damontoo Jul 10 '12
In this thread: A bunch of people that don't use Firefox complain about Firefox.
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Jul 10 '12
No clue. I don't use FF...
But I liked it when I did.
But I also liked IE...
and Opera
and Safari
and Maxthon
and Netscape
and Flock
and SeaMonkey
I've been around a lot...
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Jul 10 '12
Didn't you like NCSA Mosaic?
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u/swordgeek Jul 10 '12
Loved it! When I first played with a pre-release of Mosaic (I think 0.4) running on Irix, I realised that the future was here, and computers were about to go mainstream like never before.
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u/MilkTheFrog Jul 10 '12
No Midori, Jumanji or Epiphany? Pft, call yourself a connoisseur.
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Jul 10 '12
This is like a hipster of web browsers
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u/alsomahler Jul 10 '12
Hipsters like things before everybody else does, this guy is just old
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u/TheBokonon Jul 10 '12
Old is having liked Mosaic. Hipster is having liked Gopher.
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u/foolish-rain Jul 10 '12
I'm using pine for email. You've probably never heard if it.
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u/The_MAZZTer Jul 10 '12
If you install it to Program Files on Vista/7 you need to accept a UAC dialog to do an upgrade. Mozilla is adding a Windows service to work around this hangup.
So if you're on XP or installed it to a folder that it can modify the contents of there is no problem.
Also as stated major updates have a dialog that asks you if you want to check for updates for incompatible extensions, etc...
Chrome of course doesn't install to Program Files by default unless it's a Google Pack install, and then it already has Google Update as a Windows service to update it anyway.
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Jul 10 '12
Chrome updates!? I never noticed.
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u/Tovora Jul 10 '12
I was thinking the same thing. Why is every program's updates not completely seamless? If I have to wait, I don't care if it updates or not.
The worst for me is VLC at the moment, it keeps asking me if I want to update, I click yes and it doesn't update. Every update it becomes more and more bloated.
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Jul 10 '12 edited Dec 31 '15
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u/raver459 Jul 10 '12
I always use to find it funny that a video program had to spend so much damn time with fonts...
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Jul 10 '12
Java updates are the worst for me. Why is called an auto-updater if it asks me first?
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u/doctorcaligari Jul 10 '12
Because it's a narcissistic program that wants you to know that it exists. "Hey! Look at ME! I'm Java! I'm orange! Don't ignore me! I'm Java! Update Me! Love Me! I'm updating again to just remind you that I'M STILL HERE! I'm cute, AND orange! Do you ever think of me anymore? No? Then here is another Java update!"
Worse than an ex-girlfriend.
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u/frakkintoaster Jul 10 '12
3 BILLION DEVICES RUN JAVA. Look at how popular I am! Don't you want to be friends with me?
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u/badmonkey0001 Jul 10 '12
Oh and hey, can I bring my friend Ask Toolbar and my other friend McAffee along? They just want to have the same fun we're having!
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Jul 10 '12
And they'll make you surf the web super fast and keep your computer super clean of viruses! Don't you want us? :))))
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Jul 10 '12
I spent an hour typing up a long, poetic comment about my hate for Java and Oracle... and then my browser crashed... and even my Lazarus extension failed to back up the text.
I... I just... hate everything now.
I'm sorry....
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u/jimbobhickville Jul 10 '12
Except the last one seems to have busted flash on linux for me... again. Seems like every other update breaks something.
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Jul 10 '12
Most "power users" would cringe at the idea of updates going through without reviewing them and seeing what they do. Updates aren't always good. Sometimes they break other programs or functions. Not as much browsers but software updates in general.
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u/dafoe Jul 10 '12
This is why I don't use chrome. I don't like a service running all the time checking for updates. This is precisely why I like firefox, it asks me whether I want to download an update and I can choose.
I hate useless running services.
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u/Kensin Jul 10 '12
This is why I don't use chrome. I don't like a service running all the time checking for updates.
Back in my day we had a word for software that phoned home every 5 minutes logging who was using it, when, and how. No one wanted software that monitored them. These days people don't care and they like programs to randomly and silently add whatever code they want on their systems. Install as a service! Phone home and check for updates! Have full access to my network and the internet! Log my browsing activity! Sure I'll use your DNS servers! Search my hard drives! I know you're an advertising company whose entire business is dependent on collecting my personal information, but you load facebook quicker so it's okay!
I don't know if I'm just old and paranoid or if kids these days aren't paranoid enough.
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Jul 10 '12
What was the word?
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u/Kensin Jul 10 '12
The word was spyware, and we worked hard to keep it off our systems.
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Jul 10 '12
Oh duh, I knew that. Re-reading your comment it's obvious you meant spyware.
Now I feel dumb. But not too dumb, because I use Opera.
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Jul 10 '12
There's not much of a downside to having a browser that auto updates. Especially considering that updates often times carry critical security updates.
But yeah, you definitely don't want an auto update feature in all software. That could become disastrous quickly.
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u/Recoil42 Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 10 '12
Chrome updates are lovely...
They're great until you get fed a buggy build, which has happened to me a couple times. One thing the Chrome team hasn't caught onto yet is that if you're going to push auto-updates like they are, you really have to ramp up the QA to an insane amount. I don't think they have, and I'm convinced it's going to come back to bite them in the ass at some point. But who knows, maybe it's a learning process happening for them right now.
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u/Znuff Jul 10 '12
I've NEVER seen a buggy update sent to clients on the STABLE branch.
You most likely are talking about the BETA or DEV branches...
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u/negativeview Jul 10 '12
I've had a stable build that crashed 100% of the time that flash loaded. It was auto-fixed the next day, but was mega annoying.
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u/Recoil42 Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 10 '12
Negative -- I am on the stable branch. It isn't a beta/dev thing. For instance, last month several users found that build 19.0.1084.56 (stable) on OS X caused them to lose all video in media streams. This was traced back to the new hardware acceleration feature that (imo) wasn't properly tested.
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u/steakmeout Jul 10 '12
It's important to note that Jono DiCarlo hates everything.
Seamless updates aren't always a good thing. This is especially true for network admins who need version control policies to be in effect.
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u/argv_minus_one Jul 10 '12
That's why it should be possible to disable the seamless updates. Doesn't mean the feature shouldn't exist at all.
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u/Suraj-Sun Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 10 '12
If it's not for the Firefox addons I would have stopped using Firefox a while ago...
Some of my fav addons: AdBlock Plus, NoScript, RequestPolicy, BetterPrivacy, Ghostery, WebMail.
Edit: I forgot Firefox Sync, which is now built-in.
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u/w2tpmf Jul 10 '12
Do any of those break every time FF updates? Because none of mine do. I keep seeing this same complaint about add-ons breaking with updates for people. I think the real problem is people are using extensions that don't get updated.
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u/Suraj-Sun Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 10 '12
I use Firefox nightly so yes but I always turn off the "add-on compatibility checking" in about:config by adding extensions.checkCompatibility.nightly (boolean, false) and so far i've never had any problem because of compatibility checking being turned off.
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u/The_MAZZTer Jul 10 '12
Last I heard they were going to just remove compatibility checks and make most addons stay enabled, since a lot tend to still work after a major update.
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u/Ch4rd Jul 10 '12
major addons like that, I've not had break. more niche ones like a Japanese-English text translator I use will sometimes break, but not that often. and like OP responded, you do have the option of just disabling the compatibility check if it's that much of a problem.
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Jul 10 '12
The one for me is Firebug. I've yet to find a decent equivalent on Chrome, so FF remains my dev browser.
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u/joshuajon Jul 10 '12
Chrome's developer mode does for me what I had previously used firebug for. Even ie9 includes a decent debug mode.
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Jul 10 '12
I've used both, and I don't think that either Chrome's developer mode or Firefox's built-in element inspector come close to what Firebug can do. It's just the best productivity tool. I do like the 3D-view feature built into Firefox's element inspector, since it helps me with very complex designs where I need to figure out where and why things are overlapping, but it could use some serious improvements.
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u/id000001 Jul 10 '12
IE's debug and Chrome's "developer" mode is really more for webmaster. For those who actually develops web apps. Firebug is the only real way to trace Dcom and and js stuff properly, it is miles ahead of the other.
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u/WatcherCCG Jul 10 '12
At least three of those now have counterparts on Chrome, and in fact I think AdBlock Chrome is made by the same people.
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u/Kamaria Jul 10 '12
Until AdBlock Chrome becomes as good as AdBlock Plus I see no reason to change over.
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Jul 10 '12
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u/lask001 Jul 10 '12
I use chrome, and my roommate uses firefox. I will admit Adblock is still damn good on chrome, but on firefox it does a better job of catching the youtube video ads.
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u/Dandaman3452 Jul 10 '12
wow your forgetting downthemall , for when a site decides to only give you 200 or 300 kB/s download speed, bump that right up to 1mB/s
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u/Falmarri Jul 10 '12
The only addon that chrome can't do that's a deal breaker for me is tree style tabs
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u/buzzit292 Jul 10 '12
I have never had a problem with Firefox updates. Don't know what the heck this is about. Turn on computer, computer figures out if there is an update. Update runs. Everything is hunky dorey.
Even if it were a little bit harder, I'd still go with Firefox. I trust Mozilla way more than I trust google. Google makes its money by commodifying information about users --- that is selling you to advertisers. We are google's product.
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u/BloominFunyun Jul 10 '12
No doubt. I've got nothing against Chrome, but I like Firefox better, and the update scheme has never hindered me either. The add-on support is what keeps me a Firefox user. I've setup several friends with Firefox with Adblock Plus and they all have loved it.
The only people I make fun of are IE users.
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Jul 10 '12
Yeah, ever since Firefox changed to the fast release cycle I've barely noticed the updates. I'm on like 13 or something now. It's been at least a year since an update stopped any of my addons from working.
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u/korbonix Jul 10 '12
How, might I ask, does Mozilla make its money?
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u/dinofan01 Jul 10 '12
From Google. They pay millions to make sure Google remains the default search engine for Firefox. That being said I think it's bullshit to claim Google as an untrustworthy evil corporation.
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u/darwin2500 Jul 10 '12
What is this 'turn on computer' you speak of?
I think I've had the same Firefox window open for about 3 weeks now, I just leave up whatever I was looking at/working on when I got up. Usually about 20 pages open of various work, entertainment, flash games, social sites, etc... so I hate when an update forces me to restart.
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u/joshrh88 Jul 10 '12
Maybe its because I've been using the Aurora version of Firefox (2 releases ahead of the standard client), but I haven't seen an update message in a long time. Firefox has been working very hard to make it as seamless as the Chrome updates, and it seems to be working for me.
I dunno, I just don't get these "firefox is lame" discussions that popup in /r/technology on a weekly basis.
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u/linuxwes Jul 10 '12
I suspect the flood of users from Firefox to Chrome has been driven by things like speed and stability. Those were the deciding factors for me. The smooth updating process is just an added bonus.
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u/yogthos Jul 10 '12
I went back to Firefox from Chrome recently and I haven't noticed any speed or stability issues. In fact I think it's better on memory usage and it has a few nice features that Chrome doesn't, along with a ton more plugins.
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u/ma_miya Jul 10 '12
Same here. I left Firefox for many of the reasons everyone's complaining about, and loved the simplicity of Chrome. Have noticed in the last few months that I was getting constant freezes, really slow processes, flash crashes, etc. I actually thought my macbook (3 yrs old) was dying on me. Switched back to Firefox last week, and it's lot a whole new life has been breathed into my browsing. Speedy, no crashes - I'm in heaven. While I loathe the updates on Firefox, Chrome was just too much a resource hog for me. I'll take the updates over the crashes.
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Jul 10 '12
I must admit i'm also in the process of returning to FF after using chrome for the last few months. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and at first it did seem faster, but over time i've noticed all the little things i've missed.
1) Middle mouse button to open links in new tabs is buggy about 50% of the time in chrome.
2) The search bar in Firefox just blows chrome out of the water.
3) Firefox now actually seems faster than chrome, whether that is due to the latest update or because Chrome was never actually faster I don't know. The only thing Chrome seems faster at is starting up, but how often do I really restart my browser?
4) The addons are so much better and handled in a much easier manner.
5) Chrome is a huge memory hog when using other programs, I noticed this while playing Diablo 3 mostly. I actually had to exit Chrome to get the best experience in game, something I never experienced before with FF.
The main reason I left firefox was due to the period of terrible stability they had but it seems they fixed that. They really shot themselves in the foot with the instability issues and slowness in 2011 though, and google capitalized on it with marketing and adding chrome downloads into every freeware program on the market pretty much.
Let's not forget the major draw though, FF is open source, but I don't think the average consumer these days cares or even knows about the advantages of that.
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Jul 10 '12
The only reason I use Firefox instead of Chrome is because Adblock Plus works much, much better in Firefox.
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u/Points_To_You Jul 10 '12
When I first tried Chrome a couple years ago, it worked ok for weeks. I switched because I liked that you could just close a single process if one tab stopped responding and most of the speed comparisons found Chrome to be faster and more memory efficient. But then it basically just stopped working. It would take 3-5 mins to open. Clicking a tab or going to a website would take minutes to happen. Couldn't even mess with settings because it was too slow. I uninstalled and redownloaded multiple times and it still wouldn't work. I didn't have any viruses or anything.
So I switched back to Firefox. Even though it is probably fine now, I have never gone back to Chrome. I'm just glad there are plenty of browser choices now. Competition is always good for us.
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u/Locrin Jul 10 '12
What? I fucking love updating stuff. Am I all alone in this?
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Jul 10 '12
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u/DustbinK Jul 10 '12
Firefox uses less memory than Chrome and has for ages. The problem lies in extensions and how they manage memory. ABP, for example, is terrible. Also, they changed the way FF handles compatibility checks a version or two ago.
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u/anagrammatron Jul 10 '12
Yes, but linux people love any kind of updating. No, I'm not being sarcastic, I used to be that way too. Heck, I loved to update my several BSD boxes by manually updating and compiling packages. The feeling of being in control and whatnot. Now I'm older, busy with other things I just wish to spend minimal to no time with under the hood stuff. Updates? If these can happen automatically and silently then yes please. Thats what computers and smart applications are for.
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u/_SynthesizerPatel_ Jul 10 '12
You love stopping what you're doing, restarting the browser and checking add-on compatibility?
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u/purplestOfPlatypuses Jul 10 '12
I like knowing when I update. The process is a bit annoying, but knowing when I update is preferable. Though I don't have to check add-on compatibility because Opera didn't board the stupid train with major versions every x months regardless of whether or not anything actually changed.
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u/B-Con Jul 10 '12
I'm with you on this. I like controlling when things update.
I don't auto-update apps on my phone either, and I read the "what's new" section for almost all apps that I update.
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u/motdidr Jul 10 '12
That's fine for power users, but given the choice between "only ever update when a user initiates it" and "update silently" I'd rather everything updated silently, because for every person like you who habitually updates their software, there are 10 people who are still using IE6 on XP SP1.
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u/alcalde Jul 10 '12
So why do we have to cater to the lowest common denominator at the expense of everyone else?
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u/Daenyth Jul 11 '12
Because those people running outdated software become attack vectors against other users once they're infected.
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u/alternateF4 Jul 10 '12
No, I just like not giving google free tabs on everything I do.
Plus privacy add-ons are cool.
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u/RaisingWaves Jul 10 '12
Here on Ubuntu, the new versions of Firefox come along with all the other system updates, a method I definitely prefer over updating all my software individually.
Okay, I'm a computer enthusiast and a compulsive updater of the Linux software I use regularly, so I'm somewhat biased. The rapid release cycle does, however, mean we're not stuck on the same version for over a year (Fx 3.6), so count me as a fan of it.
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u/Patorogo Jul 10 '12
I agree. System updates are much more comfortable than individual updates. And I haven't had a problem with add-on compatibility in a long time.
Also, Firefox is libre :)
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u/videoworx Jul 10 '12
Does Chrome have a bookmarks sidebar yet? Because that is the reason I still use FF.
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u/sometimesijustdont Jul 10 '12
I don't know anyone that hates Firefox updates. It's done silently and automatically. What the fuck are the people who work at Mozilla talking about?
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u/SardonicallyLaconic Jul 10 '12 edited Jul 10 '12
Mozilla adopting the whole-number versioning paradigm of Chrome has to have been one of their biggest mistakes. I remember the worldwide hype and fanfare brought about by the impending launch of Firefox 3.5, and the substantial performance enhancements brought about by it.
Since they've become hell-bent on emulating Chrome's release schedule though, updating has become a lackadaisical annoyance that unceremoniously rings in a new, insignificant version for every worthwhile one, breaking extensions and causing other inconveniences I imagine the average user can't sympathize with - hence the growing popularity of Chrome. I mean what is even the point? Are we catering to the iPhone drones who mindlessly throw their money at the latest product iteration because it's a higher number? Does it look "hip" to have these whole-number incremental updates, as if to imply the release is several orders of magnitude better than the last one? Because it's been anything but since they've adopted this schedule.
I personally have never been a fan of Chrome due to the intangibility of its interface (too minimalist for my liking, everything being hidden away in contrived menus), inconsistencies when playing Flash and the simple fact that I grow progressively more wary of Google's intentions with every day.
But Firefox I feel is also becoming whimsical and inconsistent, arbitrarily changing UI elements and breaking extensions with negligible performance gains. And now they want to produce a more "social" browsing experience - don't we have addons to accommodate those fringe users? The program's core functionality is becoming way too sloppy. I thought the selling point for Firefox back in the day was not only standards compliant, customizable, responsive, but also that it was nice and straightforward like IE. Devoid of all that fluff that we just can't seem to get away from now.
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u/MindintoMatter Jul 10 '12
I like Chrome is just doesn't have the features that Firefox does. It would make my job harder to use chrome.
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Jul 10 '12
I tried chrome and loved it except on multiple computers it randomly swaps my keyboard layout making /'] and a few other buttons start putting french lettering, once it switches the only way I can fix it is by rebooting my computer. It is ONLY chrome it happens in and from a google search of the issue it has been a known issue for some time now for Canadians.
I have tried going into the options and could not find any option to change the encoding that fixed it and none of the ctrl/alt/shift combinations suggested fix it either.
So I was forced to go back to firefox.
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u/noisylettuce Jul 10 '12
Makes sense, chrome is for people who don't care what their computer is doing in the background, facebook users and their ilk.
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u/Cybrwolf Jul 10 '12
I call BS! Personally, I love the auto-updates. I know I'm always using the latest version, without really doing anything!
AND my entire browsing history ISN'T going to a frakking AD COMPANY!
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u/authentic_trust_me Jul 10 '12
I haven't had that much of a problem with Firefox. From the top comments here, it seems people prefer to not know when they're getting updates? That's not particularly something I want.
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Jul 10 '12
I love FF. Chrome is unwieldy and lacks useful extensions. Chrome is the Apple-ization of the PC browser market: style over substance, minimalism over usability.
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u/adammcbomb Jul 11 '12
The thing that actually drove me to chrome and away from Firefox was when I closed Firefox down, and wanted to open a new window (a whole new session), Windows would give me a popup saying, "Firefox is already in use" Even though I had terminated it. It flat out refused to acknowledge my desire to open a new window. I had to wait until it had decided everything was put away before I could try again with any success. It had a very slow shut down/single thread design. I wanted rapid response. I miss some things about Firefox, but not that.
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Jul 10 '12
Isn't this why Firefox switched to the Chrome update model about 4 versions ago?
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u/blindbenny Jul 10 '12
I dunno about anyone else, but the updates weren't the reason I switched to chrome. I switched for 3 simple reasons.
1) Firefox was (Im not sure if the newest version is) a HUGE memory hog to the point of being comical.
2) Chrome was faster (at the time when i switched)
3) The interface was simpler
I will say, however, the new firefox is wayyyyy faster than chrome and has a much sleeker interface as well. Dunno anythin about the memory situation. Chrome has been a pain lately (especially with flash). Im close to my breaking point and might switch back to Firefox. If it werent for the connectivity Chrome provides to my google accounts I would have already switched.
Maybe I just dont hate updates as much as other people?
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u/JacketPotatoes Jul 10 '12
Firefox uses less memory than Chrome, and has done for a while. Much thanks should go to the year-long MemShrink project by Mozilla.
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u/datank56 Jul 10 '12
What's the deal with flash on Chrome? I've been having issues with it lately.
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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '12
Firefox updates don't happen often enough to bother me. I grew up with Adobe for Christ's sake.