Mozilla Firefox becoming fat and slow??? Or is it just my PC??

[Tom]

I just fired up Chrome and imported my Firefox bookmarks.

 

[Ned]

Chrome is a good browser but it can't come close to the flexibility and configurability I get from Firefox and the numerous extensions available for it.

 

[seilerbird]

Chrome is a good browser but it can't come close to the flexibility and configurability I get from Firefox and the numerous extensions available for it.

I don't understand this statement at all. What flexibility, configurability and extensions are you talking about?

 

[Ned]

The addons (extensions) to Firefox are what let me configure it to work the way I work, not the way a programmer thought I should work.  There are hundreds of such addons for Firefox (and Thunderbird too, for email).  Then there's the multitude of themes to make Firefox look as you want it to look.  Eyecandy mostly, but some themes do make it easier to use.  For example, I use a compact theme on my netbook to maximize the browser window.

 

[seilerbird]

The addons (extensions) to Firefox are what let me configure it to work the way I work, not the way a programmer thought I should work.  There are hundreds of such addons for Firefox (and Thunderbird too, for email).  Then there's the multitude of themes to make Firefox look as you want it to look.  Eyecandy mostly, but some themes do make it easier to use.  For example, I use a compact theme on my netbook to maximize the browser window.

I still don't understand. Give me a specific example of an extension and how it helps you work the way you work.

As far as themes go I like the minimal interface of Chrome. I want to look at the website, not the browser.

 

[Tom]

Tom,

I use only a small number of FF add-ons, and find them quite useful, e.g. Web Developer and Firebug are a boon when I'm helping someone debug their web site. I also use Tab Mix Plus to control the behavior of tabs when browsing, and IE Tab to quickly verify forum behavior that someone might be experiencing in IE but I can't replicate in FF.

I must admit that I haven't (yet) looked for these features in Chrome, so I have no idea if they're there.

 

[Ned]

Tab Mix Plus lets me configure how the tabs open the way I want them to.  I can have tabs open in the background or immediately get focus depending on how I click on a link.

Colorful Tabs lets me either assign different colors to tabs based on domain or it will assign them for me.  All tabs for a single domain will have the same color, making it easy to see what a tab belong to.

FireFTP gives me a full featured FTP client right in the browser.

NoScript lets me control what web sites are allowed to run scripts, a security feature.

FlashBlock lets me control what web sites are allowed to run Flash, another security feature.

Forecastbar gives me a configurable weather forecast for any location right in the status bar.

These are just a few of the 40 or so extensions I use to make me more productive in the browser.  https://addons.mozilla.org is where you can see all the many extensions that are available.

 

[seilerbird]

Thanks for the info Ned and Tom. I wondered what I was missing and I can see none of these features appeal to me.

 

[Ned]

No one will use the same set of extensions, the point is if you want to change the behavior of the browser, there is most likely an extension that will let you do what you want.  Since I live in Firefox nearly all day, every day, and have a dozen or more tabs open at any one time, the extensions I use make my life easier.  Others will find a different set of extensions to suit their method of operation.  There are even a few that use Firefox as is with no extensions

 

[Tom]

... and have a dozen or more tabs open at any one time

Not yet a power user eh  ;D

Good explanation of addons and their varied applicability to different users.

 

[Ned]

The 'or more' sometimes get into high double digits   Just my morning comics alone used to be about 50 until comics.com aggregated about half of them onto one page.

And, of course, there are often 20+ topics with new messages here on the fourm.  They all get opened in tabs before I start reading.  I'm using an extension that puts the tabs on the left side of the browser so it looks just like iRider (for Ron)

 

[BernieD]

The extension I find most indispensable and use most often is "undo closed tabs" ;D

 

[Tom]

I use that feature too Bernie. Sometimes I leave my finger on a key too long, closing unintended tabs.

I don't do comics  ;D

 

[ZuniJayne]

I did try Chrome, but didn't like the interface as much as FF.  Chrome DID import my FF settings fine when I asked it to.

My PC still isn't as fast as I think it should be.  It could be dirty hardware, too, so I plan on opening up the case and cleaning everything out.

I also realized that I may have added to the problem by turning off Windows too soon in the past.  When I am using the inverter it seems like it takes Windows forever to close completely.  Sometimes I got disgusted and turned it off before it was done.  Now I know why that is not a good idea - Windows is actually still sorting and updating files even though it looks like it is doing nothing.

I really appreciate everyone's help!

 

[seilerbird]

I did try Chrome, but didn't like the interface as much as FF.  Chrome DID import my FF settings fine when I asked it to.

My PC still isn't as fast as I think it should be.  It could be dirty hardware, too, so I plan on opening up the case and cleaning everything out.

I also realized that I may have added to the problem by turning off Windows too soon in the past.  When I am using the inverter it seems like it takes Windows forever to close completely.  Sometimes I got disgusted and turned it off before it was done.  Now I know why that is not a good idea - Windows is actually still sorting and updating files even though it looks like it is doing nothing.

I really appreciate everyone's help!

Does it take forever to close Windows when you are not using the inverter? It shouldn't take more than 30 seconds to close Windows.

 

[Ned]

Ctrl+Shift+T is a built in keyboard shortcut in Firefox to undo closed tabs.  It keeps track of them and you can use it repetitively to open previously closed tabs in reverse order.  Tab Mix Plus has a menu item to list the closed tabs and let you pick which ones to reopen.

Some extension functions that were used in ver. 2 are built in to ver. 3.  This may be one of them.

 

[Tom]

I don't do keyboard shortcuts.

 

[Ned]

Since my primary task, programming, heavily involves the keyboard, anytime I can avoid the mouse is in my favor.  This carries over to my other tasks, like browsing, email, new groups, etc.  I've been able to run Windows and most of my applications without a mouse when the bluetooth connection to the mouse failed.

Whatever did we do before mice and GUIs?

 

[Tom]

I recall when we used gas for lighting at home and for street lights, and heated our home with coal. I see no reason to go back.

I was a DOS diehard and took forever to switch to Windows, and see no reason to go back.

 

[Tom and Margi]

That brings back memories.    I remember smugly telling a neighbor that Windows was only for people too lazy to use DOS.  :  Ouch!

Margi