Firefox....not as good as it used to be?

[[FnG] Lazz]

Hi all

So Ive just clicked on the about page for firefox......we're on firefox 18. Wow.

It seems to me that with each new update, things for firefox get gradually worse.

Most notably:

Youtube videos freeze a few times when loading a full screen hd video.

Some sites aren't displaying properly

Crashes are becoming more frequent

Thing is, I have been using firefox for years and Internet Explorer is a browser I try to avoid when possible, but from experience of using it over the last couple of weeks:

HD videos on youtube load smoothly, even when fullscreen

Some of the sites that dont display correctly in firefox do display correctly in IE

On one of the particular broadband speed test sites that I use, the results are faster with IE than firefox (though I cant help but think this has something to do with the flash player that the speed test uses.

Today I also noticed that some of the music I listen to on youtube sounds better in IE than firefox.

So, is firefox really getting too bloated for its own good? Or is it just me?

Cause I keep hearing good things about Chrome....

[[FnG] Cooks]

I used to be a huge fan of IE - the application itself always loaded instantly, and it always seemed to render websites quickly & properly. I tried firefox, but I always found it clunky & slow - never got on with it. I started web development full time just over 2 years ago, and I often have to check how a website looks with different browsers - out of all I've tested, I've always found Firefox to be incredibly slow - taking around a minute to load on my mac at work.

I've since switched to Chrome for web browsing - it's as quick at loading as IE, but its got much much better support for advanced HTML/CSS than IE - although IE9 was a huge step in the right direction, it's not quite there.

I also think version numbers for web browsers is becoming stupid - it's all about becoming the highest number, seeming to be the newest / greatest - it's all a load of crap.

Without following firefox etc., I can only assume that what's happened is over 18 versions of its open source software, everyone has stuck their two cents in and said 'it should do this', 'it should do that', 'this needs to be done that way' and you've ended up with far too many features & too much code going on.

I would be interested in knowing what websites aren't working well in Firefox? Purely to be able to see what the issues are, so I can avoid producing similar problems at work haha!

[[FnG] Ro3L]

I used to run Firefox aswell, basicly had the same problems as you. Then I said F*ck it google already owns my identity, I switched to Chrome, never looked back.

Chrome just works for me. Only downside is probably the identity thing, but if you already have a Facebook and/or gmail they probably know so much about you already...

Give it a shot, first time use would be a bit getting used to things but soon you will get the hang of it.

If chrome sounds a bit too overwhelming, you could try the Opera browser friend of mine uses it and is quite happy with the experience.

[[FnG] DressyVirus]

From what i have experienced Firefox just isnt cutting it like it used to.

It seems to be more and more power hungry with each updated.
slower to open, and respond than it used to be.
I am fighting hard not to go back to IE, cant stand chrome does nothing for me.

Now i wonder if anyone has told whoever needs to be told that firefox is now worse than IE is or have they all just abandoned it.

[[FnG] Sphinx]

IE is king - why wouldn't you take advantage of all that inbuilt security - you can't escape Micosoft!

And whats more it is a good browser

[[FnG] RampantBunny]

I'm not gonna get involved...I'm an MS fanboy...not gonna say " I told you so" ...ow wait....

[[FnG] Hanno]

IE is king - why wouldn't you take advantage of all that inbuilt security - you can't escape Micosoft!

And whats more it is a good browser

I wouldnt say IE is king but I'm just too lazy to bother installing/comparing web browsers....

[[FnG] N!MRoD]

Yeah i have been feeling that too, for quite some time now, that firefox seems to be dropping the ball slowly but surely.
But then again, i never really check their forums to see if I am running it in the optimal way. Concerin add ins, settings etc.

[[FnG] Kahbouter]

I've been using Opera browser for years. In my opinion the best browser one can find, because it's one of the fastest and most versatile browsers around. And one of the few that gets improved with an update. And they make one of the best mobile browsers as well.
The last time I used Firefox (still in their olden days around version 4 (last year?)), it felt really sluggish, like IE7 slow. And every useful feature needed to be installed separately. Just not that what you're looking for. Chrome is rather quick too and also has a nice minimalistic interface. IE has certainly improved too, version 9 is decent. The older versions gave me a flashback to 56k6 speeds, even loading the google startpage took more than a second. Rather long on (then) 10Mbit cable and an almost empty (for the naked eye ) page.

Opera FTW!!1!


This message is not sponsored by Opera in any way. The views and opinions expressed by the author are his only and may not correspond with yours. But the only way to make sure is to install Opera browser and give it a try