Firefox 2 IE7 1

[W1GUH]

Firefox gets two point for...

Just now IE7 has gotten very, very slow....Firefox is as fast as ever.

Firefox has a "reload page" button, IE7 doesn't, nor can I find how to add it to the toolbar.

IE7 gets a point for...

I can still do .pdf files with IE 7, I can't with Firefox. All's I get is a blank page. I have Acrobat on the computer (obviously, it works with IE), but Firefox doesn't seem to know about it...or something. I can't even find out how to tell it that it's there.

[k4kyv]

I just upgraded to Firefox 2.0 yesterday. I think it is a little faster than the older version, and it appears to really use less memory.

At first, I couldn't tell any difference, but after using it, I am finding subtle changes. And I greatly appreciate the spell checker.

But working with tabs gets some getting used to. There used to be one X button at the extreme right on the tabs toolbar, that deleted the tab that was presently being displayed. Now each tab has its own X button right on the tab, and it is all too easy to accidentally hit the exit button and delete a tab when what you wanted was to open it. That could be very frustrating when you delete a long response that you had been working on for 1/2 hour, to a web-based e-mail or to a posting on a board such as this one, when you wanted to refer back to another website you had up on another tab.

It is easy to "lose" a web page when you activate multiple tabs, with multiple pages in each tab.

But you're right. There is no "reload" button on IE 7. I hadn't noticed that before, so I checked mine. I could make it reload by clicking on the url in the address bar, bringing up a blinking cursor, and then pressing the "enter" key.


I tried viewing a pdf file, and mine worked ok. I used the FCC's comments website at http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi and typed in "04-140" to open that FCC document. The pdf files came up normally.

[W1GUH]

Thanks, Don. Maybe the general hacking going on is affecting that. Or "just maybe I should RTFM? (the help files?)" http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

I'll work on that.

[W3MIV]

The "reload" button in IE7 is the pair of green arrows (sort of like a yin-yan symbol) at the end of the address bar right next to the "stop" X.

Paul, you might give Opera a try; I like it better than Firefox for most work, but I still prefer IE overall.

73

[n2ize]

Quote[/b] (W1GUH @ Feb. 07 2007,14:39)]Firefox gets two point for...

Just now IE7 has gotten very, very slow....Firefox is as fast as ever.

Firefox has a "reload page" button, IE7 doesn't, nor can I find how to add it to the toolbar.

IE7 gets a point for...

I can still do .pdf files with IE 7, I can't with Firefox. All's I get is a blank page. I have Acrobat on the computer (obviously, it works with IE), but Firefox doesn't seem to know about it...or something. I can't even find out how to tell it that it's there.
You have to do one of two things. Install the appropriate Acrobat plugin for Firefox or, in your "user preference" creat the appropriate association
between "pdf" type files and the Acrobat Reader (acroread) application.

I think this might be handled in the "file types" menu under "user preferences".

[AC0H]

Quote[/b] ]Paul, you might give Opera a try; I like it better than Firefox for most work, but I still prefer IE overall.
I've been running Opera 9.10 for a month on both systems and like it better than Firefox 2.0. Seems quicker and I haven't run across any pages it won't render correctly. On my Winders system IE 7 is now a distant third and falling fast. I did have to use it the other day because some website complained about my not using IE. The page loaded fine in Opera so I took the little warning as an not too classy advert. Won't be back.

[W1GUH]

I'll try that.

But I gotta give a half a point to IE for the way the text looks. It is clearer and more readable than IE 6 or Firefox...but that's on a half a point. The other considerations swamp that.

I'll try opera.

[KI4MRU]

Why waste time using the mouse to refresh the page when you can just hit F5 to do the same thing? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

But, as someone mentioned earlier, IE7 does have a refresh button. It's the green arrows immediately to the right of the address bar, as seen in this screenshot:

http://i2.tinypic.com/2vce53s.gif

As far as using Adobe PDF reader within Firefox, it sounds like you probably had Adobe installed prior to installing Firefox. All you need to do is reinstall Adobe and it will start working within Firefox just fine.

I personally use Foxit PDF Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) instead of Adobe. It loads about a million times faster and does virtually everything that Adobe can do, including filling in and saving forms.

[kf6rdn]

Quote[/b] (KI4MRU @ Feb. 07 2007,19:42)]I personally use Foxit PDF Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) instead of Adobe. It loads about a million times faster and does virtually everything that Adobe can do, including filling in and saving forms.
Thanks for that - have been looking (well, thinking about looking) for an Adobe alternate. After 5.0 the things gotten so piggish.

[W1GUH]

Quote[/b] (KI4MRU @ Feb. 06 2007,21:42)]Why waste time using the mouse to refresh the page when you can just hit F5 to do the same thing? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

But, as someone mentioned earlier, IE7 does have a refresh button. It's the green arrows immediately to the right of the address bar, as seen in this screenshot:

http://i2.tinypic.com/2vce53s.gif

As far as using Adobe PDF reader within Firefox, it sounds like you probably had Adobe installed prior to installing Firefox. All you need to do is reinstall Adobe and it will start working within Firefox just fine.

I personally use Foxit PDF Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php) instead of Adobe. It loads about a million times faster and does virtually everything that Adobe can do, including filling in and saving forms.
Thanks much. I just got Foxit. The whole process (finding, downloading, installing, testing) took about five minutes. It's great.

And thanks for pointing out the "reload" button on IE 7. Cheesh! Well...that's Bill Gates!

Thanks a lot...

OK...that makes the score...

Firefox 4, IE 7 0.5

[N0NCO]

I have never been a fan of IE or Outlook.

I'm now a Firefox fan, as well. I started using Netscape back when it first came out. When it got so bloated, I switched to Firefox. I also use Mozilla's email program - Thunderbird.

I do a fair amount of web research at work, and I routinely have 30-40 tabs open at once. I am so "spoiled" with the advanced features of Firefox, I can't imagine using IE for what I do....

A couple Firefox add-ons that I really like are:

IE Tab (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/) - Lets you chose between the Firefox or IE rendering engines on a per-tab & per web address basis. You can switch on-the-fly, and can also force a page to always open in an IE rendered tab, if you wish.

Tab Mix Plus (http://tmp.garyr.net/) - Includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a full-featured session manager with crash recovery that can save and restore combinations of opened tabs and windows.

To other Firefox users - do you have any favorite add-ons?

73...

Joel - N0NCO

[W8EFA]

These Browser "wars" are rather ridiculous. If you are that hung up on which stupid browser is "better" you probably are apparently not even utilizing your PC as the browser is such a small part of the computing scheme.

I can do anything with IE and could care less in the grand scheme of computing that another browser may be a little better. It is hilarious comparing browser speed. Guess what - my IE browser is instantaneous because I have a 3MB cable connection with a 256MB video card and top of the line Processor etc. The connection speed is 10 times more important than the browsers speed!

The browser in the grand scheme of things is insignificant. Enjoy Firefox while you can, like Wordperfect and others it won't be around shortly most likely.

[N0NCO]

Quote[/b] (W8EFA @ Feb. 08 2007,23:45)]These Browser "wars" are rather ridiculous. If you are that hung up on which stupid browser is "better" you probably are apparently not even utilizing your PC as the browser is such a small part of the computing scheme.

I can do anything with IE and could care less in the grand scheme of computing that another browser may be a little better. It is hilarious comparing browser speed. Guess what - my IE browser is instantaneous because I have a 3MB cable connection with a 256MB video card and top of the line Processor etc. The connection speed is 10 times more important than the browsers speed!

The browser in the grand scheme of things is insignificant. Enjoy Firefox while you can, like Wordperfect and others it won't be around shortly most likely.

If IE works for you - great - use it! If you could care less which browser may be better, why bother to read this thread?

By the way - a browser is a small part of the computing scheme - only if you don't do any demanding web work!

Debating the merits of various software is healthy. It's called learning. If you don't want to participate - fine - no one is forcing you to read this thread.

IE doesn't work for me, because I need to have up to 40 web pages open simultaneously - try that with IE! Speed has nothing to do with it - the functionality & advanced features are what I need.

Firefox will not be going away anytime soon. There are too many people that use it for intensive web research. In fact, it's becoming more popular every day! For the record - I, too have a top-of-the-line computer: Dual processor, dual-core, Extreme chipset MB, 4 GB of matched DDRII RAM, 512 MB NVidia PCI Express video card, and one TB of SATA II hard drives. At home, I have an 8MB connection, and my home PC is optimized for high-end flight simulators and high-end driving simulators. Nearly everything is instant on my PC!

Good day!

Joel - N0NCO

[n2ize]

Quote[/b] (W8EFA @ Feb. 08 2007,23:45)]These Browser "wars" are rather ridiculous. If you are that hung up on which stupid browser is "better" you probably are apparently not even utilizing your PC as the browser is such a small part of the computing scheme.

I can do anything with IE and could care less in the grand scheme of computing that another browser may be a little better. It is hilarious comparing browser speed. Guess what - my IE browser is instantaneous because I have a 3MB cable connection with a 256MB video card and top of the line Processor etc. The connection speed is 10 times more important than the browsers speed!

The browser in the grand scheme of things is insignificant. Enjoy Firefox while you can, like Wordperfect and others it won't be around shortly most likely.
Quote[/b] ]
These Browser "wars" are rather ridiculous. If you are that hung up on which stupid browser is "better" you probably are apparently not even utilizing your PC as the browser is such a small part of the computing scheme.


Where do you see "browser wars" ? What I see is people sensibly discussing the merits of different software applications as well as their experiences using the various applications. So why belittle them ?

Quote[/b] ]
I can do anything with IE and could care less in the grand scheme of computing that another browser may be a little better.


So, if you enjoy IE then use it. Nobody is stopping you. You are free to use whatever software you are satisfied with. But that doesn't mean that others shouldn't discuss or use alternatives nor does it mean others are foolish for choosing, trying or preferring other applications.

Quote[/b] ]
Guess what - my IE browser is instantaneous because I have a 3MB cable connection with a 256MB video card and top of the line Processor etc. The connection speed is 10 times more important than the browsers speed!


So, I have a 20 mbps fiber connection. I can download very huge files in a matter of minutes while watching more than one video stream and surfing the web. But that still doesn't mean I don't look at overall software performance issues and features. Network speeds may have taken center stage but overall software performance, features, speed, etc. are still of importance to many.

Quote[/b] ]
The browser in the grand scheme of things is insignificant. Enjoy Firefox while you can, like Wordperfect and others it won't be around shortly most likely.


WordPerfect is still around. It is not as popular as it was years ago and was mainly eclipsed by MS Office Suite in the Windows world and OpenOffice in the Unix world. Meanwhile the browser is very important in the grand scheme of things because it is still the primary means through which most people interact with the World Wide Web

[AC0H]

Quote[/b] ]Where do you see "browser wars" ? What I see is people sensibly discussing the merits of different software applications as well as their experiences using the various applications. So why belittle them ?

It's how he gets his jollies.

Quote[/b] ]The browser in the grand scheme of things is insignificant. #Enjoy Firefox while you can, like Wordperfect and others it won't be around shortly most likely.
Right............ahem.
The ONLY reason IE has any advantage is because every copy of that swiss cheese operating system from Redmond comes bundled with it. Didn't they get sued over that and other little monopolistic indiscretions?

The ONLY reason there's an IE7 is because IE was losing market share to alternative browsers. IE finally gets tabbed browsing a full three years after everybody else and it's seen as "innovation". Yep IE7 is going to drive the Mozilla project into the ground.

Pffffffffffft, That's just damn funny.

[W3MIV]

Quote[/b] (AC0H @ Feb. 09 2007,09:06)]Yep IE7 is going to drive the Mozilla project into the ground.
I don't think that the Mozilla project, as you call it, is going to greatly injure IE; nor do I believe that IE will ever "defeat" FF or Opera or any other of the alternatives.

We all should be grateful that such alternatives exist, and are the subject of these "browser wars," for without such earnest competition NONE of them would advance much beyond the mundane.

That's how the game is played. And the result is to OUR benefit, regardless of what browser you may use.

[KB0LPI]

Quote[/b] (k4kyv @ Feb. 07 2007,15:20)]But working with tabs gets some getting used to. #There used to be one X button at the extreme right on the tabs toolbar, that deleted the tab that was presently being displayed. #Now each tab has its own X button right on the tab, and it is all too easy to accidentally hit the exit button and delete a tab when what you wanted was to open it. That could be very frustrating when you delete a long response that you had been working on for 1/2 hour, to a web-based e-mail or to a posting on a board such as this one, when you wanted to refer back to another website you had up on another tab.

It is easy to "lose" a web page when you activate multiple tabs, with multiple pages in each tab.


Right click an open tab and click "Unclose Tab".

TaaDaa! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Eric KB0LPI

[W3MIV]

Quote[/b] (KB0LPI @ Feb. 09 2007,10:52)]Right click an open tab and click "Unclose Tab".

TaaDaa! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Eric KB0LPI
"Unclose?"

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[al2i]

I'll say it again, authoritarians of the right and of the left tend to like M$. It is a wierd effect.

[KD6NIG]

IE will always dominate because people simply either:

1) Believe if you use anything other than IE you'll break windows.
2) Believe that IE is the only browser out there.
3) Don't care as long as the website they want opens, they can get their email, chat, or whatever.

Thats the bottom line. Power users looking to get every second of processor time will play with windows, tweak it, set the settings on the NIC card to be more efficent, etc etc. The average user pushes the power button, gets online, does what they want and shuts it off. Thats why having windows self update, though annoying to us, is VITAL to these kind of people-they won't ever know they get or got infected because of a lack of a patch. By the time they notice the computer is slowing to a halt and raise their hand for help, its already too late.

But, having a connection that pushes data as fast as the hard disk does to the computer DOES help. It also is dangerous in the hands of someone not in the know, not running a firewall, not running an antivirus, that leaves the computer on, not knowing what its actually doing.

But this is why M$ will remain to dominate. The average user at home doesn't care about a few seconds loading time, especially since they didn't mind 10-20 seconds when they used that 'dialup' service. And the only reason they don't have that now is because either a rep from the dialup service got them to convert to high speed, or a friend did, told them about it, and they upgraded.

Thats the landscape that virus and exploit writers take advantage of every day. Spammers continue to spam because most people don't blacklist them. If it wasn't for the ISPs doing it purely to reduce traffic on their sides, it would be even worse.

Just imagine how much faster the internet would be if only 5% of the spam reached its intended target. It would die off because it would not be feasible.

Unless these other browsers happen to win something that allows them to be BUNDLED into a default windows installation (or as an add on with the restore disks from the system they buy) a good portion of the internet's users will never know about other browsers.

I do my best to spread the word every day, but my mantra is firewall and antivirus first http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[KB0LPI]

Quote[/b] (W3MIV @ Feb. 09 2007,08:05)]Quote[/b] (KB0LPI @ Feb. 09 2007,10:52)]Right click an open tab and click "Unclose Tab".

TaaDaa! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Eric KB0LPI
"Unclose?"

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif
Sorry. How about "Undo Close Tab"

[k4kyv]

Quote[/b] (KB0LPI @ Feb. 09 2007,14:52)]Quote[/b] (k4kyv @ Feb. 07 2007,15:20)]... it is all too easy to accidentally hit the exit button and delete a tab when what you wanted was to open it...
Right click an open tab and click "Unclose Tab".
I just discovered another way. Click on History, then click on "Recently Closed Tabs." Then click on the tab you want to re-open.

[KI4GST]

Quote[/b] (N0NCO @ Feb. 09 2007,00:59)]To other Firefox users - do you have any favorite add-ons?
Here are the plug ins I use.

"Image zoom" Handy for seeing small images bigger on pages.

"Add N edit cookies" good for changing the expiration date or just removing some cookies.

"Fast video download" save embedded video from most web pages.

"IE tab"

"1 click weather" puts weather icons on you tool bar or other places in Firefox and also pops up messages when warnings go out.

Thous are the ones I use.

[WF7A]

Quote[/b] (KD6NIG @ Feb. 09 2007,01:12)]I do my best to spread the word every day, but my mantra is firewall and antivirus first http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Don't forget the ham radio mantra, too: "Ohmmmmmmmmm."

One of the plug-ins I have for Firefox is its FTP client, FireFTP--it works great!

[W1GUH]

Now that I've lived with it a while.....

First, it's the one I open....

Second...it's spell check is a huge time saver...it lets me know when my spelling sucks and I can fix it right away...


Hint hint...hint if you're spelling challenged (lots of you) Firefox will help a LOT.

Also, downloads are a lot faster. What I thought was an ISP thing...well, it turns out IE was a contributing factor. Download are a LOT faster with Firefox.

Cheers!

Paul

[ab8ro]

Quote[/b] (N0NCO @ Feb. 07 2007,23:59)]To other Firefox users - do you have any favorite add-ons?
I can't get any work done without zotero. It outputs it's list of gathered resources in bibtex format. It's a huge time saver for gathering information and then importing it into a bibliography. Basically you can think of it as a super detailed bookmarking tool.