Firefox-What is it?

andyman

This is probably a stupid question but I'm new to this computer stuff and was wondering what firefox is?

I've heard of people that use it and I got my own computer(finally!!) and was thinking of using it. I just want to know what it is and do I have to buy it?

Thanks. :cool:

shamalive

andyman wrote:

This is probably a stupid question but I'm new to this computer stuff and was wondering what firefox is?

I've heard of people that use it and I got my own computer(finally!!) and was thinking of using it. I just want to know what it is and do I have to buy it?

Thanks. :cool:

Its a free web browser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox

Fabritzo

It's got some good features, good enough that Microsoft seemed to have copied alot of them for Internet Explorer 7. The average computer user isn't gonna benefit much from using it though.

www.getfirefox.com

jor el

Fabritzo wrote:

The average computer user isn't gonna benefit much from using it though.

A lot of the benefits in using Firefox are transparent to the average user. When you look at the extensions available there's something there that any casual user would find useful.

andyman, just install it, forget about IE and you'll never go back. Check out the themes to get the look right, then the extensions to enhance web browsing. Adblock and Googlebar would be two essentials. Forecastfox is very handy for keeping an eye on the weather too.

art

Fabritzo wrote:

It's got some good features, good enough that Microsoft seemed to have copied alot of them for Internet Explorer 7. The average computer user isn't gonna benefit much from using it though.

www.getfirefox.com

Bizarre idea that the average user isn't going to benefit from the increased security and less hassle FireFox brings

RM05*

andyman defo install firefox its faster safer and has hardly any popups and it has some cool extensions.

**Timbuk2**

I would say download Firefox, it is great, and just about as functional as you need it to be. If you don't want extensions, don't download them

A bit OT but could anyone tell me what exactly the extension DownThemAll does? It says it increases the download speed up to 600%. What exactly does the extension do and how does it increase download speeds?

Goodshape

**Timbuk2** wrote:

A bit OT but could anyone tell me what exactly the extension DownThemAll does?

It's a fairly handy download tool. Right click anywhere on a website and you'll see an option for 'DownThemAll' and 'TurboDTA' (or something like that).

'DownThemAll' will pop open a dialog box which displays all the links on the page, which you can select and download in bulk to a directory you choose. There's also buttons for automaticaly selecting files of a certin type (jpegs for example... ahem).

'TurboDTA' will start downloading based on your previous settings (ie. all jpegs to directory).

Also, when you use the normal method of downloading files (just clicking on them for example) you have an extra 'DownThemAll' option along with 'Save as..' and 'Open'. This will send the download through the DTA client, which allows you to pause and resume and all that jazz.

Not sure if it actually makes downloads faster, but it's fairly good all the same.

Owen

Not to be a smart arse, but ever heard of google?

*devils advocate*

**Timbuk2**

Goodshape wrote:

It's a fairly handy download tool. Right click anywhere on a website and you'll see an option for 'DownThemAll' and 'TurboDTA' (or something like that).

'DownThemAll' will pop open a dialog box which displays all the links on the page, which you can select and download in bulk to a directory you choose. There's also buttons for automaticaly selecting files of a certin type (jpegs for example... ahem).

'TurboDTA' will start downloading based on your previous settings (ie. all jpegs to directory).

Also, when you use the normal method of downloading files (just clicking on them for example) you have an extra 'DownThemAll' option along with 'Save as..' and 'Open'. This will send the download through the DTA client, which allows you to pause and resume and all that jazz.

Not sure if it actually makes downloads faster, but it's fairly good all the same.

Thanks for that, I'm just installing it now.
I like the idea of it putting the files where you previously downloaded them appeals me

Capt'n Midnight

If you like tweaking stuff then firefox is for you.

Since you haven't tried it out already then you may not be a tweaker and prefer www.opera.com instead. If anything it's more secure and has less bugs than FireFox but not as customisable.

If you are worried at all about security then IE is most definitely not the browser to use. It needs constant patches to stop your machine being taken over when you visit a dodgy website. Other flaws have remained undetected for years.

jor el

**Timbuk2** wrote:

Thanks for that, I'm just installing it now.
I like the idea of it putting the files where you previously downloaded them appeals me

The latest version of DTA can speed up the downlaod process as it is a fully fledged download manager, like Getright or Flashget. As such, it can split the file your downloading into chunks and open multiple connections to the webserver. This may or may not increase the speed, depending on whether the webserver limits each connection's allowed speed.

It is very handy though to archive off all files of particular types, and not just jpegs. Handy for zips/rars from emulator sites or extra maps for your favorite games like on C&C Den.

ghost26ie

Fabritzo wrote:

It's got some good features, good enough that Microsoft seemed to have copied alot of them for Internet Explorer 7. The average computer user isn't gonna benefit much from using it though.

www.getfirefox.com

it doesn't have half the flaw that u get with microsoft products.

Ballboy

Highly recommend it mate!!!
Its so much easier and handier!
The extensions are brilliant even though the weather is never right!!:mad:

kaimera

ghost26ie wrote:

it doesn't have half the flaw that u get with microsoft products.

aside from the huge memory leak which is a design feature it seems http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/14/2154224

Opera9 tbh if you fancy a change.

tbh, IE7 beta2 runs better than FF1.5.0.1

MrScruff

tbh, IE7 beta2 runs better than FF1.5.0.1

*gets kicked to death by mob of firefox zealots*

darkmaster2

Firefox is a nice browser, kicks the crap outta Internet explorer. I recently started using Opera though and Its Sweeeeet!

Hobbes

Dont forget boards.ie has a plugin for firefox. *shameless plug..in*

Waltons

Any idea where you can pick that up, Hobbes?

I endorse all pro-firefox sentiments here! Opera's good too, though.

daveirl

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**Timbuk2**

That is odd it is using far less on my machine, but it still shows the difference between Firfox 1.5.0.1 and IE7 Beta2

rabbitinlights

Anyone have a list of the best plugins for Firefox?

**Timbuk2**

Well, the site says that you find the most popular ones here
And you can find the top rated ones here

My favourite ones would be
Adblock
Session Saver
FireFTP (its just a good FTP client, nothing really to do with firefox)
DownThemAll
GSpace (lets you upload files to your gmail space)

There are many others as well but they are my favourites

[edit]Also I find the extension Fasterfox to be a great one as well[/edit]

art

daveirl wrote:

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This is down to tab usage and FireFox's present ability to cache pages. Firefox has a default setting which changes the number of cached pages depending on the system memory you have available - if you have a lot of spare RAM available, it will cache lots of pages for you. If you have loads of tabs open too, then you end up with a big memory footprint for FireFox.

It is a setting that can be over-written, by the way - can't say exactly what/where the setting is though off the top of my head.

If you don't like the way FireFox does that, then best to switch to Opera but from a functional and security perspective the worst choice of all is to use any version of Internet Explorer.

daveirl

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art

daveirl wrote:

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Its not something that needs "fixing". Caching improves navigation speed, it was designed that way. But if you don't like it you can switch it off. I personally think it is unnecessary but it isn't actually a big deal as the memory growth is dependent on available RAM anyway.

No jihads needed for Internet Explorer though, it's already got enough problems as it is.

daveirl

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art

You are ridiculously exaggerating the memory usage, and where has the over 50% cpu utilisaation now come from too? Regular, standard, use of FireFox will produce neither - I've been on it all night and it now stands at 0%cpu time, 42MB Memory.

They may reconfigure it for the next release alright but as I said above, it actually is not much of a problem as it occcurs only where the RAM is available.

BopNiblets

I'm in the market for one of those custom Firefox builds by third parties, ones that use SSE2 instruction sets and whatnot

I used to use Mooxes before he dissapeared off the map, and found this one:
http://www1.plala.or.jp/tete009/en-US/software.html

There's a whole bunch of them on the Mozilline forums, too many to choose from!

Hobbes

daveirl wrote:

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Well I have to ask (1) what are you looking at and (2) How long has Firefox been running on your system.

I've had it running for an hour at the moment and its only at 40mb. Even so restarting the browser will clear the cache or you can just tweak it if your system is not a good spec.

Any idea where you can pick that up, Hobbes?

Its in my signature. Or just check the biki [wiki]Firefox Plugins[/wiki]

Fallschirmjager

well i use firefox and opera and then maybe IE..but on using IE you get so much spam crap you actually forget a lot of the basic things firefox does...until you go back

i also dloaded openoffice.org a couple of days back( http://www.openoffice.org/ )...this is the ppt,word,excel freeware and i have used it ever since. it is compatible with ms (read and write) and to be honest from workign on it now ...i would say the openoffice powerpoint is better, in fact considerably better.. i cannot believe people are still spending hundreds of euro for something that takes 5 minutes to dload for free...how the government has not converted amazes me

i am not a microsoft lover by any stretch of the imagination ...but i rekon they must be crapping themselves over these products, if not , they should be...

daveirl

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daveirl

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mp3guy

You change browser.sessionhistory.max_viewers is about:config to change the amount of memory. Put it down 3 or something to reduce memory usage. Also daveirl, if firefox is keeping CPU at ~40% then either one of your tabs is displaying flash or something else is going wrong. Right now I'm listening to mp3s and running firefox (1.0.7 btw, which is alot more stable than 1.5.0.1) and my cpu is between 0% and 7%, but of course, I'm running linux, so enviroments differ quite a bit.

Hobbes

daveirl wrote:

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I was referring to how long it is running in memory. I've been intrested in this and had my browser run for this morning and it has averaged around the 39MB mark. I tried running my plugin more frequently to see if that was the issue. While it bumps the memory up it drops it down again shortly after a check. CPU is running around 6%

I'd be interested to know what version you are running and what plugins you have running. Also do you frequently visit sites that are intensive. You will also find something like ScriptBlock will lower memory because it stops some sites spam scripts from activating.

I just think some people don't want to see it's flaws at all.

They have an open site to put bugs in if you believe it is an issue. They will also help you diagnose the issue at mozillazine.

daveirl

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Hobbes

daveirl wrote:

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Hardly. All about:config is allowing you to change default settings of the browser. Anyway the memory footprint is not classed as a leak. It is how the feature works and you have been given a workaround if your machine can't handle it.

Again. What plugins are you running? And are you going to intensive sites? I mean my browser is still open, have seen some vids/flash in it and it hasn't gone higher then 42MB and little to no CPU time. There is clearly something in your browser or your actions that is causing it to flare up.

For example there is a plugin that will read the pages ahead on the links on a page to speed up browsing time (At the sacrificing of memory). I Don't have it installed. Fasterfox can also be a memory/network hog sometimes.

BTW last time I used Bugzilla the bug took around a year to get fixed. I don't have that much faith in the whole thing.

If it was a security issue I'd be worried.

daveirl

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art

daveirl wrote:

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I think you're being fairly disingenuous with your posts here on this subject. For a start, the "stacks of people" you refer to are not much in evidence here - you are the only one who sees this as a problem. Secondly, there's absolutely no way FireFox on start up holds 100% cpu usage, unless perhaps your "homepage" contains streaming media or Flash frames? It will hit high cpu usage when displaying some media on a web page but so will IExplorer and Opera. If you are immediately getting 100% cpu usage then there is obviously something wrong either with your laptop or with the FireFox install itself. Likewise with 600MB ram usage, it's practically impossible to get the footprint that high unless you really work at it!

For example: I'll leave Firefox running here now open all day and watch it's footprint - it's been open for about 90mins so far and is at 45MB. I've now opened ten tabs: this page, Unison (which uses Java), Newsnow (which uses Flash), Peats.com, Overclockers.co.uk, Pixmania, Jes.de, eBay.ie, Kompleat.ie, OverclockerCafe.com (so loads of ads) - that brings the total up to 75MB. Closing the tabs and leaving this page open drops it not back to 45 but to 60, as there is still cached stuff there. If I go to Tools and "Clear Private Data", the RAM usage drops to 43MB. If I keep opening ten tabs, then closing them, then opening them, then closing them, I might eventually, with a lot of work, get the footprint up higher (it's not something I have the patience to test out now)... exactly how many pages did you open???

Hobbes

daveirl wrote:

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Not really. I understand that it is serious to you and although all my machines run firefox without this issue doesn't mean there isn't one.

If I was you I'd try the following.

1. Remove all extensions. Add one by one to see if any are causing a memory hog.

2. Disable auto-updater and see if that is holding the memory at startup.

3. Create a new blank profile and import your previous profile bit by bit.

4. Install scriptblock and enable your most common sites one by one. See if they add in some way.

If the issue was serious we would be seeing more people with it. Currently your the first person I've heard of it happening too and I have 6 machines total all running firefox fine.

daveirl

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art

daveirl wrote:

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Dave,

have you actually read what the "FireFox developer" has said in that link?

Ben on Mozillazine wrote:

What I think many people are talking about however with Firefox 1.5 is not really a memory leak at all. It is in fact a feature. To improve performance when navigating (studies show that 39% of all page navigations are renavigations to pages visited < 10 pages ago, usually using the back button), Firefox 1.5 implements a Back-Forward cache that retains the rendered document for the last few session history entries. This can be a lot of data. It's a trade-off. What you get out of it is faster performance as you navigate the web.

You are severely misrepresenting things here - the Developer in question is clearly stating that many complex aps have memory leaks but the large RAM footprint occasionally found with FireFox is not such a leak! It is, as several of is have repeatedly said already, a feature of FireFox's design which could perhaps do with a re-design (given it is an apparently controversial feature) but it isn't a bug and isn't a hindrance to normal PC function etc etc. And at any stage, you can also free RAM if you feel it is being hogged by simply clearing the stored data from the tools menu. You can also totally control the behaviour by altering the default config. You are completely in control of the RAM situation!!!

If FireFox is gradually grabbing increased cpu usage, that is an entirely separate issue and not part of the so-called "memory leak" mentioned above - there is likely something wrong with either your install or your PC. What have pages do you leave open for hours that is causing the increased cpu usage? I have Firefox open now since about 11 this morning, close to six hours now, and its still showing neglible cpu usage. The process manager window is "on top" and I can see Firefox flicker from 0% to 2% and back again. That's all. I've hardly any extensions with this install so, as again mentioned earlier, it is also possible you have an extension problem there somewhere. But bottom line is that the case you are describing is certainly abnormal, not typical FireFox behaviour and not accepted as such by Firefox developers either!

Peteee

600mb isn't right. You most likely have a bit of a botched install.

Anyway, I've switched to Opera... much better imo

i also dloaded openoffice.org a couple of days back( http://www.openoffice.org/ )...this is the ppt,word,excel freeware and i have used it ever since. it is compatible with ms (read and write) and to be honest from workign on it now ...i would say the openoffice powerpoint is better, in fact considerably better.. i cannot believe people are still spending hundreds of euro for something that takes 5 minutes to dload for free...how the government has not converted amazes me

i am not a microsoft lover by any stretch of the imagination ...but i rekon they must be crapping themselves over these products, if not , they should be...

Wait till you see the new office! Crapping themselves they are not, They've come up with something that will blow OO out of the water

Hobbes

Peteee wrote:

600mb isn't right. You most likely have a bit of a botched install.

My money says its a poorly designed plugin or a plugin designed to do large scale caching.