FireFox - Day 2

Today I began my real testing of Firefox. I downloaded some big files, tried some of the addons, and most importantly, saw if it actually allowed me to go about my daily use of the internets. All 6 of them.

First came the downloading part. I downloaded some products from file sharing sites like CNet, and File Hippo.
When downloading multiple files simultaneously in IE, a seperate download window is required for each, so the desktop quickly becomes cluttered with drip-fed download windows.
In FireFox however, all the current and recent downloads are congealed into a single download window, where you can see the state of as many downloads as you want. I love simplicity.




Simple.


Not ideal.

One test down, 2 more to go. I don't blame you if you leave now. IE is depressing.

FireFox, like IE, allows you to install addons to the browser, to make it easier to use, or to add cool flashy things to the menu so you can show off your FireFox bling to your nerd friends.
I have never used the addons in IE, so this test is probably unfair, but what the hell.
I downloaded one of the recommended addons for FireFox, AutoPager, and set it to work. What AutoPager does is with sites like Google, LifeHacker, and others, it loads the next page of text/results/pictures of funny crap, and stitches it to the end of the page you are viewing, for 'infinite scrolling of content'.
The truth is, it really works. I have tried it on Google and YouTube, both of which are advertised as working on the AutoPager site. Here is what the break looks like in between pages:




It even gets rid of the header...

So, with both of the 'additions' tests done, I tested FireFox's ability to browse the internet. A key point for an internet browser.
Having 2 browsers installed at the same time probably didn't help, but IE seemed to suffer withdrawal symptoms from me moving to FireFox, and slowed down to an almost unusable state. FireFox blazed ahead, and continued to run unhindered.
Altogether the FireFox browsing experience is quite good. The menu is lovely (sorry, but it is), it is quite fast when browsing large pages, and the usability is awesome.

If my maths are correct, which they most definitely are, that's FireFox 3, IE 0.
Sorry Microsoft, but IE sucks.

Jamie

FireFox - First Impressions

The first thing I noticed with FireFox is the truly beautiful menu at the top. Sure, it is a lot like the IE menu, but it is awesome, you have to admit.
Here is a side by side comparison. Click for larger images.






I then began to surf around a little, and came to the Mozilla Ad-Ons site, which is secure HTTPS. I looked to the elegant menu bar and noticed a banner smiling at me saying that I was on the Mozilla Corporation's website. This apparently because of the HTTPS status of the page.




I then discovered that the banner was in fact a button! Upon clicking it excitedly to see what knowledge it would excrete into my eyes, a small, boring window appeared. All it told me was that I was connected to 'mozilla.org', that the page was deemed safe by GlobalSign, and that my connection was 'encryted to prevent eveasdropping'. Gripping stuff.




The only useful piece of information the window gave was where the company lived...
*evil maniacal laughter*

Jamie

Migrating to FireFox

I am a very microsoft-based person. I have all the products available, and am even a beta tester for the new OS, Windows 7. I therefore decided that I should exchange one of my most used products, IE 8, for the closest competitor equivalent, in this case Mozilla FireFox 3.1 Beta 3.
This week I will be using solely FireFox, and will comment on it on this site. You can keep up to date with my ramblings by looking at this page every day (add it to your favourites).
I would do the Nerd thing and tell you to subscribe to the RSS Feed, but I can't get that working at the moment, so for now, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way.

Jamie