Bullets 'n' Babes

Posted: **21 Mar 2011, 22:31**

FTP link and News here:

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/ ... ase-937096

It's not officially out until tomorrow. I can wait another day before upgrading the (very) ageing Firefox 3.6. The UI looks much better, they better have fixed it's load speed and browser speed or I'm (finally) jumping ship to Chrome.

Posted: **21 Mar 2011, 23:36**

Just installed it. Looks nice. Like everything it's a matter of getting used to it. So what's new in it apart from the looks and performance?

Posted: **21 Mar 2011, 23:42**

OK:

Blacklisted a few invalid HTTPS certificates
Updated localizations for 29 locales
Added Vietnamese localization, bringing the total languages available in Firefox 4 to 83

As well as these features from previous Firefox 4 Betas:

Support for the proposed Do Not Track ("DNT") header
Connection status messages are now shown in a small overlay
WebGL is enabled on all platforms, but, like for other hardware acceleration features, many buggy drivers or driver versions are blocked
The default homepage design has been refreshed
Firefox no longer switches into offline mode automatically
Overhaul of the bookmarks and history code, enabling faster bookmarking and startup performance
Per-compartment garbage collection is now enabled, reducing work done during complex animations
The Firefox Sync setup experience has been greatly improved across desktop and mobile devices
Additional polish for the Firefox Add-ons Manager
Uses JägerMonkey, a new, faster JavaScript engine
Certain rendering operations are now hardware-accelerated using Direct3D 9 on Windows XP, Direct3D 10 on Windows Vista and 7, and OpenGL on Mac OS X
Improved web typography using OpenType with support for ligatures, kerning and font variants
HTML5 Forms API makes web based forms easier to implement and validate
Support for the new proposed Audio Data API
Direct2D Hardware Acceleration is now on by default for Windows 7 users
Firefox button has a new look for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users
Support for HSTS security protocol allowing sites to insist that they only be loaded over SSL
Firefox Sync is now included by default
A new feature gives users a visual overview of all open tabs, allowing them to be sorted and grouped
An experimental API is included to provide more efficient Javascript animations
Firefox now supports the HTML5 video "buffered" property
Tabs are now on top by default on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
You can turn any tab into an "App Tab" by right-clicking on it and selecting "Make into App Tab" from the context menu
Web developers can animate content using CSS Transitions
Responsiveness and scrolling improvements from the new retained layers layout system
JavaScript speed improvements due to engine optimizations
Changes to how XPCOM components are registered in order to help startup time and process separation
You can search for and switch to already open tabs in the Smart Location Bar
New Addons Manager and extension management API (UI will be changed before final release)
Significant API improvements are available for JS-ctypes, a foreign function interface for extensions
The stop and reload buttons have been merged into a single button on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux
The Bookmarks Toolbar has been replaced with a Bookmarks Button by default (you can switch it back if you'd like)
Crash protection for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins
CSS Transitions are partially supported
Full WebGL support is included
Core Animation rendering model for plugins on Mac OS X. Plugins which also support this rendering model can now draw faster and more efficiently
Native support for the HD HTML5 WebM video format
Web developers can update the URL field without reloading the page using HTML History APIs
More responsive page rendering using lazy frame construction
Link history lookup is done asynchronously to provide better responsiveness during pageload
CSS :visited selectors have been changed to block websites from being able to check a user's browsing history
New HTML5 parser
Support for more HTML5 form controls
Web authors can now get touch events from Firefox users on Windows 7 machines
A new way of representing values in JavaScript that allows Firefox to execute heavy, numeric code (used for things like graphics and animations) more efficiently

Posted: **21 Mar 2011, 23:59**

Just synced it with my Android phone. Good software.

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 15:49**

I've not tried Firefox Mobile because like Opera Mobile (not to be confused with Opera Mini) is massive. I cannot afford to lose 20Mb on my smartphone. I use Dolphin HD, it's only 3-4Mb.

What Android phone do you use Lost Dragon? HTC Desire for me.

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 15:49**

Firefox 4 loads faster, it browses faster, the UI is much better, app tabs are neat but it still doesn't load or browse as fast as Chrome, the UI isn't as clean as Chrome and Chrome too supports app tabs.

I waited very loyally running Firefox 3.6 for Firefox 4, to see if Firefox could finally compete with Chrome and I'm sad to say it cannot.

Both Firefox 4 and IE9 are heavily optimised upgrades of previous versions but the engines in both are clearly showing their age. Webkit is simply so much more efficient. Firefox 4 is a decent browser but 2 minutes using Chrome and realise how far behind it is.

The wait has meant all my Firefox extensions are now in Chrome too. The only one missing being Tab Mix Plus, which is excellent but I can live without it.

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 18:14**

bradavon wrote:What Android phone do you use Lost Dragon? HTC Desire for me.

Samsung Galaxy S I9000

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 18:37**

Good phone (aka Samsung Galaxy S). It's pretty similar to the HTC Desire. The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S2 looks awesome.

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 19:45**

thelostdragon wrote:
bradavon wrote:What Android phone do you use Lost Dragon? HTC Desire for me.
Samsung Galaxy S I9000

My first phone as well

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 21:30**

Your "first" phone! Really?

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 21:54**

Yup I held out all these years. Mind you I dont talk on it, used 10 minutes in 4 months lol

I tried integrating the last Firefox on my phone with my desktop, an abomination last software. Hopefully they have it sorted now.

Posted: **23 Mar 2011, 22:48**

Which Mobile or Desktop Firefox? Mobile is still in Beta. You've jumped from the 1900th century to 2011. The Galaxy S is one of the best phones out there (taking into account it's a 2010 model, as is the Desire).

I barely make any phone calls either. It's all texts, e-mail and facebook.

Posted: **24 Mar 2011, 17:26**

Mobile Firefox, yup the Beta crashed a lot when I synced it up with my PC, did bad things

so I had to ditch it quickly.

I guess I will have to make the jump to desktop version 4, hopefully it all goes well as I do remember version 3 went mental and didn't half mess up my PC when it came out. I even resorted to using IE for a few weeks back then lol

Posted: **24 Mar 2011, 18:28**

You shouldn't have any problems upgrading to v4 but I opted to uninstall, reinstall, reinstall extensions. There's also Chrome and Opera too remember.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 03:07**

I find Webkit really overrated. Steam's browser is powered by it and it is noticeably much slower than my heavily modded Firefox.

I've used desktop Chrome extensively and frankly it's a browser for MacOS-tards. It utterly lacks minute customisation of Firefox. You're forced to use their stripped down UI and as a Power User, I hate being forcibly funnelled by software developers.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 09:33**

EvaUnit02 wrote:I find Webkit really overrated. Steam's browser is powered by it and it is noticeably much slower than my heavily modded Firefox.

It isn't just Webkit that gives Chrome speed, Safari is also Webkit and it's not as fast as Chrome.

EvaUnit02 wrote:I've used desktop Chrome extensively and frankly it's a browser for MacOS-tards.

Nonsense. Surely that would be Safari? It's as popular on Windows and Linux. If you hate it, why have you used it extensively?

EvaUnit02 wrote:It utterly lacks minute customisation of Firefox.

Sure nothing beats the customisation and configuration of Firefox but Chrome has more customisation than you may realise, Google about:flags for example and much of the customisation (about:config) in Firefox is done to try and bring it back in line.

Both Firefox and Chrome have strong extensions support, so the most things that are missing can be achieved by extensions. I use the Live Bookmarks extension for example, to mimic Firefox's Live Bookmarks.

In my experience Chrome users more memory than Firefox but unlike Firefox, it doesn't grind to a halt when you have a zillion tabs open. I'm basing this mostly on Firefox 3.6, I only ran Firefox 4 for a couple of days. The difference being, Firefox still uses one process for the entire browser (plugins are separated) so you can instantly see how much memory it uses, you need a calculator to work out accurately how much Chrome is using.

I really wanted Mozilla to fix it's three biggest annoyances: The UI (pretty much fixed), browser speed (much better, Chrome is still noticeably faster), load speed (barely better at all, why can the rest of the top 5 browsers load almost instantly but Firefox cannot?) but they failed.

Yes I would definitely welcome Firefox style customisation greatly but Chrome is just so slick, I can live without it. The majority of my extensions are now supported (like Adblock Plus).

I love how Chrome Sync syncs my preferences, extensions and apps (when they become popular). As well as the usual bookmarks (although I use Xmarks instead) etc... All I had to do on my work PC was install Chrome, sync and change the odd extension preference. Firefox you have to install, then copy the install folder + profile folder from a usb stick you've previously copied from from your home PC. In order to make both identical.

I also love how you can search straight from the address bar. Firefox 4 (still not IE!) finally realises you're not trying to load a website when you type a sentence in and loads Google but there's a delay before it realises.

Firefox 4 still feels sluggish in comparison. The UI is a matter of taste but personally I've always thought it looks one of the best. Besides it's a browser, stripped down is definitely the way to go.

The biggest thing I miss from Firefox is it's adhoc save session on exit option. When you close Firefox 3.6 you can choose to save or delete your session. So I can choose each time whether I want to re-open with tabs in tact or not. The only way this can be mimiced in Chrome is to end task it's processes, so it offers to restore the session when you re-open (I now use a shortcut with shortcut key that runs "taskkill chrome.exe"). You have to choose in options whether to retain tabs or not.

Oddly this feature is disabled by default in Firefox 4 (which is odd because it's really good). I'm guessing to mimic Chrome's approach. I also read trackpad multi-touch support is disabled by default in Firefox 4 but enabled in Firefox 3.6.

I wish I could put the bookmarks menu on the left, it feels so unnatural on the right. Annoyingly Firefox 4 it's in exactly the same place (and cannot be moved!). Firefox 4 incidentally blatantly rips off Opera in the UI and Chrome in the bookmarks placement/tab location.

I'm a power user too. I customised Firefox no end, Chrome too. Although obviously less so. Frankly Chrome, Firefox and Opera are all very good browsers. It's IE (even IE9, despite being much better) and Safari that are rubbish.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 10:37**

The latest versions of Chrome seem to have more customisable options than before.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 12:03**

Do you mean v10 (stable) or v11 (beta)? v11 has some extra about:flags options, such as confirm on exit (useful if you have multiple tabs I guess). What general options does it have?

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 12:04**

So Flash works in v11 Beta?

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 16:36**

bradavon wrote:Nonsense. Surely that would be Safari? It's as popular on Windows and Linux. If you hate it, why have you used it extensively?

Because the choice of browsers is limited on PCs at my current tertiary learning institute. It's either IE or Chrome. Also I never said I hate it, was just making an observation based on experience.

I find the usability of Chrome's UI much worse. Eg I have the habit of frequently emptying the cache/history/cookies/etc on public PCs. To delete everything, the option is buried in the History pane, requiring several mouse clicks to find. In Firefox the option is easily accessible from the Tools menu.

I say that it's designed for MacOS-tards is because they only give their rigid, stripped down choices and there is little compromise - like how it is with MacOS. Eg I like having a menu bar with everything in reach. I'd be fine with it being off by default to avoid confusing the MacOS-tard users, just give us the OPTION. Aside from in apps where the Ribbon UI is used, MS give you the option of having the menu bar. (Eg in IE, Live Messenger, WMP.) Chrome though? Google gives the middle-finger to the power user.

(On a related note, in the past I had made a mountain of a molehill with MS' Ribbon. When I actually was forced to use it, it took me about 2 minutes to master. It's even clearer in Office 2010, improved since 2007.)

bradavon wrote:Sure nothing beats the customisation and configuration of Firefox but Chrome has more customisation than you may realise, Google about:flags for example and much of the customisation (about:config) in Firefox is done to try and bring it back in line.

Yeah, I wasn't talking about under-the-hood customisation, I meant on the surface. Namely I can't move around or disable a lot of the UI elements, like back, forward, home, etc. You've been able to customise the shit out of Firefox's UI since Day 1, all those years ago.

In my experience Chrome users more memory than Firefox but unlike Firefox, it doesn't grind to a halt when you have a zillion tabs open. I'm basing this mostly on Firefox 3.6, I only ran Firefox 4 for a couple of days. The difference being, Firefox still uses one process for the entire browser (plugins are separated) so you can instantly see how much memory it uses, you need a calculator to work out accurately how much Chrome is using.

Personally I've never found this an issue on my current PC, which I've had for a few years. Mind you I haven't been without 4GB RAM since early/mid 2007. I'd imagine that those with piddly RAM amounts like 2GB might struggle.

Yes I would definitely welcome Firefox style customisation greatly but Chrome is just so slick, I can live without it. The majority of my extensions are now supported (like Adblock Plus).

I have no issue with Chrome's extension support, I already recognise that it's very good.

I also love how you can search straight from the address bar. Firefox 4 (still not IE!) finally realises you're not trying to load a website when you type a sentence in and loads Google but there's a delay before it realises.

I've had Firefox customised to do this since v1.0, I don't get why you think it's a massive revelation.

Besides it's a browser, stripped down is definitely the way to go.

Maybe for you, but certainly not for me. This goes back to my point of Firefox giving the user CHOICE. They should be able to make all parties happy.

trackpad multi-touch support

What's that? Some laptop business I'm assuming? Like a double-tap on the trackpad = a double-click?

I wish I could put the bookmarks menu on the left, it feels so unnatural on the right. Annoyingly Firefox 4 it's in exactly the same place (and cannot be moved!). Firefox 4 incidentally blatantly rips off Opera in the UI and Chrome in the bookmarks placement/tab location.

It's on the left for me, by default. I don't know get what you're on about. Care to post a screenshot?

EDIT:-
I see what you mean now. It only seems to exhibit this behaviour if menus are disabled + the Bookmarks Toolbar is enabled. If Bookmarks Toolbar is disabled then you can put the Bookmarks drop-down icon anywhere you like.

It's IE (even IE9, despite being much better) and Safari that are rubbish.

No argument from me there, Safari and IE are indeed garbage. I use Opera as my secondary browser, out of the box it offers a number of features which require third party extensions to replicate them in Firefox. Also its UI is very customisable. The only thing missing is extension support.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 18:50**

I cannot even comment on Chrome. I have been with Firefox so long now i wouldn't even bother using anything else as it would take so long to get used to it.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 20:01**

I recommend you stick with Windows 95 or even Windows 3.1 then because it would take you way too long to learn Windows XP or Windows 7. Dude, it's a web browser! They're all essentially the same.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 20:08**

No they are not the same

classic.

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 20:15**

EvaUnit02 wrote:It's either IE or Chrome.

You're lucky. Most people where I work are stuck with IE6, some are on IE7 or IE8.

EvaUnit02 wrote:Eg I have the habit of frequently emptying the cache/history/cookies/etc on public PCs. To delete everything, the option is buried in the History pane, requiring several mouse clicks to find. In Firefox the option is easily accessible from the Tools menu.

It's the same amount of clicks as Firefox 4 and only one less than Firefox 3.x:

1. Spanner (Firefox menu in Firefox 4)
2. Tools
3. Clear Browsing Data

You can turn legacy menus back on in Firefox 4 but why you'd want to, I've no idea.

EvaUnit02 wrote:I'd be fine with it being off by default to avoid confusing the MacOS-tard users, just give us the OPTION.

Menus are so 1990s! Besides there's nothing power usage about them. It often takes more clicks with menus.

EvaUnit02 wrote:(On a related note, in the past I had made a mountain of a molehill with MS' Ribbon. When I actually was forced to use it, it took me about 2 minutes to master. It's even clearer in Office 2010, improved since 2007.)

It's excellent. Like a lot of things, you just need to get used to it.

EvaUnit02 wrote:Yeah, I wasn't talking about under-the-hood customisation, I meant on the surface. Namely I can't move around or disable a lot of the UI elements, like back, forward, home, etc. You've been able to customise the shit out of Firefox's UI since Day 1, all those years ago.

Fair point. You can disable home (it's disabled by default in fact) but cannot move any of the buttons. I'd like to be able to move the Extensions buttons, they're all on the far right of the address bar and can be moved within their group but nowhere else. It's not a strong enough reason to stick with a sluggish browser though and by sluggish I really means load and general usage.

EvaUnit02 wrote:I'd imagine that those with piddly RAM amounts like 2GB might struggle.

I've now got 3GB, up from 2GB.

Technically I've got 4GB and despite the motherboard supporting it (it recognises it in the BIOS) and Toshiba advertising it as supporting 4GB (it's literally the reason I went with this laptop, over others at the time in my price bracket that didn't), I can only make use of 3GB because the fuckers haven't released a BIOS update so Windows can actually make use of the extra 1GB (it can see it though, just to rub salt into the wound). I forget what the motherboard must support for Windows to be able to make use of the extra 1GB but it fucking doesn't.

I deliberately went with Windows 7 x64 (and spent some time sourcing all the drivers because Toshiba were too lazy to provide me with an x64 drivers page, despite having suitable drivers, you've just got to go hunting) to find I may as well have gone with Windows 7 x86. It's put me off buying Toshiba again.

I've noticed no difference going from 3GB to 2GB. Firefox didn't do this very often to be fair but it did happen.

Yes I would definitely welcome Firefox style customisation greatly but Chrome is just so slick, I can live without it. The majority of my extensions are now supported (like Adblock Plus).

I have no issue with Chrome's extension support, I already recognise that it's very good.

I've had Firefox customised to do this since v1.0, I don't get why you think it's a massive revelation.

How? I used to create a keyword so I could type "g ..." but that's an extra thing to type so it realises you mean Google. You've got Firefox set to automatically search Google if whatever you're typing in doesn't end .com, .co.uk etc...?

EvaUnit02 wrote:What's that? Some laptop business I'm assuming? Like a double-tap on the trackpad = a double-click?

MAC OS X (and some Windows Laptops) support multi-touch on the trackpad, much like you can on iPhone/Android. It sounds neat but is rare on Windows laptops.

If Bookmarks Toolbar is disabled then you can put the Bookmarks drop-down icon anywhere you like.

Exactly! Just to add salt to the wound. I want the bloody bookmarks bar. Why can I not move this and also have the bookmarks bar. It's especially surprising Mozilla haven't allowed this.

No argument from me there, Safari and IE are indeed garbage.

Have you used IE9? It's a "hell of a lot better" but at the end of the day, it's still IE. Still no fucking extensions and barely no customisation. It is at least "usable" now and is much faster in all respects. It'll continue to be my backup browser.

EvaUnit02 wrote:The only thing missing is extension support.

Added with Opera 11 but extensions are very limited. Only IE doesn't support extensions now.

Opera is very good but Firefox and Chrome are also very good, I have no use for it. I only use IE one occasion and a site just works better in it or it wants ActiveX (thankfully very rare).

Posted: **26 Mar 2011, 20:16**

romerojpg wrote:No they are not the same classic.

Actually you're right, the jump from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 was massive, the jump to XP and 7 less so.

All browsers have tabs, an address bar, menus, bookmarks, cache, cookies, history. They're all essentially the same.

Bullets 'n' Babes

Mozilla Firefox 4.0: RELEASED!

Mozilla Firefox 4.0: RELEASED!

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Re: Mozilla Firefox 4.0: RELEASED!