FireFox 4 final ready for download

[Zach]

CTRL + B in Firefox opens a side tab that displays booksmarks.

I think this is what he wants

[buddymatkona]

@TomS

http://edmullen.net/mozilla/moz_shot_00.jpg - bookmarks and content visible = good

http://edmullen.net/mozilla/moz_shot_04.jpg - content with bookmarks hidden = bad

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/C ... 2e68&hl=en - a few hundred people complaining about the same thing in previous Chrome

[Zach]

FYI your pics 403, due to some hotlink protection..

Anyone who wants to see the pics, copy the URL and then open a brand new browser Window and paste it in

[buddymatkona]

@Zach

Thanks. When I tested the links it was from a mail message so there was no error. I am tempted to ask that guy if he minds we have been diving into the middle of those folders where navigation is not allowed.

[GWarner]

I was going to upgrade to IE9 but then I found out you have to have Windows 7 and I'm quite happy with Windows XP. That probably means I'll go back to IE7 since IE8 has a number of problems that look like they won't get fixed now.

I might take a look at FireFox but whether to go with 3 or 4 is the question, seems like a lot of people don't like 4.

[Seymour Clufley]

I always used IE, until I tried Chrome and saw what I'd been missing all these years. I would never (EVER!) go back to IE. It amazes me that people still use it, including v9.

As a user, Chrome is fast and it helps you with little tasks, making things easier and quicker. And as a developer, Chrome is standards-compliant with lots of modern APIs and features. It's great!

I'm not going to list all the reasons I love Chrome, because it's tedious for other people and you're never going to change people's minds. But Chrome's silent updating is something I just love - after all, who'd want to be bothered by mundane things like that?!

[GWarner]

After reading that, I may have to give Chrome a look-see. I'd always avoided it in the past because I'd always understood that it was a rather stripped down and simplistic browser.

[eesau]

I couldn't ever use a browser that didn't have Adblock, that's why I use Firefox.

4 seems pretty good so far.

[MachineCode]

I couldn't ever use a browser that didn't have Adblock, that's why I use Firefox

Same here! Ads are soooooo 1990s when it comes to web-browsing. No need for them at all anymore.

[DarkDragon]

I couldn't ever use a browser that didn't have Adblock, that's why I use Firefox.

4 seems pretty good so far.

Chrome has Adblock and even more: Personal Blocklist.

[eesau]

I couldn't ever use a browser that didn't have Adblock, that's why I use Firefox.

4 seems pretty good so far.

Chrome has Adblock and even more: Personal Blocklist.

Didn't know that, I guess I could give Chrome a whirl then. What does Personal Blocklist do?

[DarkDragon]

I couldn't ever use a browser that didn't have Adblock, that's why I use Firefox.

4 seems pretty good so far.

Chrome has Adblock and even more: Personal Blocklist.

Didn't know that, I guess I could give Chrome a whirl then. What does Personal Blocklist do?

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... kpmpbdcdef

[Hysteria]

Flashblock (on FF and Chrome) is a good complement to adblock. Stops annoying flash (and Silverlight) from autostarting on web pages.

[GWarner]

Ads are soooooo 1990s when it comes to web-browsing. No need for them at all anymore.

That may be true but as long as advertisers are willing to buy advertising space, web sites will continue to sell it, so like it or not, ads are here to stay. At least for the foreseeable future anyway.

What does Personal Blocklist do?

I would guess that it's an extension to AdBlock that allows you to add additional URLs or domains you want to block.

I personally don't mind ads as long as they aren't pop-up or floating ads, There is one type of in page ad that really annoys me to the point that I don't return to sites that use them, and they are ads placed right in the middle of the site's useful content. Instead of being an ad it becomes an interruption just like pop-ups and floating ads are an interruption.

One such site (sorry don't recall the URL) was a knowlege base site for fixing problems with small appliences. First they draw you in with a wild card search engine hit, then when you get there you find out they didn't really have a match for your search so they direct you to the closest match they have. All this does is generate more hits for them even though 80% of those hits leave within 30 seconds. If they actually do have a match, you then have to read through several ads to get to the question being asked, and if you're still interested you have to read through several more ads to get to the answer, and then they only give you the first line or two of the answer, to see the whole answer you have to pay for their service! As if all the )(*$#)@*$#@)(* ads weren't enough money for those greedy b*stards....

[Seymour Clufley]

After reading that, I may have to give Chrome a look-see. I'd always avoided it in the past because I'd always understood that it was a rather stripped down and simplistic browser.

Simplistic? I would say it makes things simple.

For example, people were freaked out that the search bar is the same as the URL bar. This is an example of GUI simplicity, but even now I read people saying "why would I want this?". But when you think about it, what need is there for two separate bars? In this day and age, a browser should be able to tell the difference between a URL and a search query.

Also, when Chrome was first released, it didn't support bookmarks. I think that annoyed a lot of people. Well they added them pretty quickly. However, in two years using Chrome, I've saved quite a few bookmarks but never ONCE used them to return to a webpage - the browser is excellent at helping you out like that. I can get to Youtube by pressing Y and ENTER on the URL bar.

Honestly, I was always afraid of moving from IE, thinking it would upheaval and disruption and all... but after a few hours with Chrome, I've never looked back. I occasionally have to use IE8 and it astounds me with how bad it is, and how slow it is, and how it makes things complicated that should be simple.

My final point is, since you're thinking of going to IE7 or IE8... Modern browsers like Opera and Chrome are MUCH FASTER than them, and a hell of a lot more capable. IE is really a walking antique. The latest version (which Microsoft is really patting itself on the back for) supports 59% of modern web features. Chrome supports 89% and Firefox 86%. For what it's worth, IE8 supports 28%, and IE7 clocks in with a laughable 14%. These are dreadful, dreadful programs.

As for Firefox, I agree that it's a good browser... but there's too much screen clutter and it's not as fast as Chrome (or it wasn't the last time I tried it, anyway).