Mozilla Firefox 2 Beta 1 has been released. This milestone for developers and testers includes several new features including anti-phishing, browser session restore in case of a crash, support for client-side session and persistent storage, ability to re-open accidentally closed tabs, support for JavaScript 1.7, new Windows installer based on Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, new microsummaries feature for bookmarks, new search plugin manager and better support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds. Screenshots documenting the new features can be found here.
Mozilla Firefox 2.0-Beta 1 Milestone Released
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Eugenia Loli
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So you mean I need to install less extensions? Also lot of unwanted stuff? I’ll still prefer these all features as extension and allow user to select/install them on users wish.
I do not understand why they try to add more and more features into firefox. In my opinion they should try to strip down firefox as much as possible, and move all features into extensions. Then the firefox release should be distributed with a reasonable set of default extensions. That way they would have to eat their own dog food which means extension support would be better, and bloat would have no chance; just remove some of the default extensions.
The features they have added are mostly transparent. Things like phishing detection you don’t see until you see it. The other features are based on context, like the RSS pretty-print.
I do think the UI should be lighter though. I don’t like how the search bar now has the provider logo AND a drop down; and nothing radical has been done with the default toolbar yet like was promised. I want to see home removed entirely (it’s nothing but a glorified bookmark), and the Go & Refresh Buttons combined.
IE7 might be a bit of a mess on UI on XP, but on Vista, the focus on Back / Forward and the other clutter being pushed elsewhere is good for the home user who only needs the basics. Also there’s no damn new-tab button on Firefox by default – get with the times! >:[
There’s no button for new tabs, but if you double-click on the empty area of the tab bar… voila, new tab. It’s not 100% discoverable, but it’s not that much less discoverable than the “fake tab” thing I saw in the IE7 beta. I use CTRL-T, just like everyone else, with the occasional CTRL-click/middle-click depending on what kind of pointing device I’m using. Even my mother, who is about as tech-illiterate as anyone whose family member installed firefox for them, has learned to use CTRL-T.
“I want to see home removed entirely (it’s nothing but a glorified bookmark)”
You can do it, just right-click on the toolbar, Customize … and choose your buttons !
“and the Go & Refresh Buttons combined.”
Well that’s not the same purpose. Click on “Go” after posting a formula, and you lose your POST data. Click on refresh and you will resend it.
I meant by default. Go & Refresh are the same – both load the URL in the Location bar. When you type in the Location bar, the button would be Go, and when the page is loaded, it would be a Refresh button.
What if youve typed something in the location bar, but then want to refresh the current page instead? I have Stop & Reload combined instead.
Edited 2006-07-13 09:20
Press Esc to clear what you typed and go back to the old URL (already present), and then press refresh – or press F5 / Ctrl-R which is always Refresh.
Kroc, there is a new-tab buton, it’s just not added by default. Just right click on one of the buttons on toolbar (like on the Home button), select Customize from the list, in the window the opens just grab the new tab button and place it somewhere on your toolbar, I prefer after the search box.
Kroc, you can do what the other guy a few posts up said.
Even just double click next to the tab or in that blank area, opens a new tab.
That ‘new tab button’ should never make it to the GUI since users then might want a ‘new window button’ and the like, leading to GUI cluttering… Plus ctrl + T is a lot faster…
Much more useful would be a ‘close tab button’ like e.g. Safari has it on Mac OS X…
IMHO most of the aforementioned features in Mozilla Firefox 2 Beta 1 for me are essential features of a browser that I would expect to be part of the core. I would consider features like adblock, reveal, etc to be implemented as extensions. For example, the browser session restore in case of a crash is what I would expect of a browser as standard.
I have to agree, this is getting quite out of hand. Since the development days things have been getting gradually slower and less responsive, and it peeves me, because this is what happened with Mozilla and it’s what the devs said wouldn’t happen again.
Firefox beauty lies in its basics… do not add any features in basic code.. keep it clean.. small .. stable and fast… create more extensions and allow users to freely tweak to their taste.
Spend more time in speed improvment… security patches.. and keep a link on firefox home page on recomended extensions with antifishing… spell checking.. and bla bla…
What about Firefox UI? It’s still very bad in GNOME. It’s flickering, sometimes buttons in dialogs are outside the window, etc. It works perfect on Windows and MacOSX, but platform where it comes from is not so good
*Edit*
Flock browser is suffering from exactly same problems. I think Epiphany is much better in this area and they should learn from its source code.
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Pixel image editor – http://www.kanzelsberger
Edited 2006-07-13 08:17
Modded down for advertising in the signature, not the comment.
This isn’t going to be a terribly constructive post but….
What about Firefox UI? It’s still very bad in GNOME. It’s flickering, sometimes buttons in dialogs are outside the window, etc. It works perfect on Windows and MacOSX, but platform where it comes from is not so good
WTF?
I’ve NEVER had those problems with firefox under gnome.
I’ve been running Firefox on Fedora since it was chosen as the default browser (and earlier) and I’ve never had the problems that you’ve described.
I agree, that moving the application can some times cause flicker, and it’s not “quick and smooth” but that’s just a gnome issue, that they are, with any luck looking to address (They being gnome, not firefox).
But, the problems you describe? I don’t know whats causing it, but I certainly can’t agree that this is a typical problem…
I would like a feature to make it much more easy to install extensions and themes. Yes I know it’s already pretty easy but given the popularity, it’s still an area where improvements can be welcomed. For example, it would be great to have te possibility to save a list of your extensions to a file, and to import it in another computer, where FF should be able to download and install those extensions on the list without user intervention.
The first screenshot shows a built-in spellcheck… while i agree this may be usefull for some, it’s really not my idea of an essential browser feature.
Close buttons on every individual tab: one of the few reasons why i don’t use Opera 9 – somehow i keep closing the wrong tabs!!! unless there is a way to revert to the (current) default behaviour, this will take a lot of getting used to.
Feeds: i like that it’s NOT an integrated feed reader (though they say it’s not great)
History with recently closed tabs: VERY usefull, specially when i know i WILL be closing a lot of tabs by mistake…
lol… if the close button issue is really all that’s keeping you from using opera 9, i suggest you just go to
“Tools Preferences Advanced Tabs”
and uncheck “Show close button on each tab”
“lol… if the close button issue is really all that’s keeping you from using opera 9, i suggest you just go to
“Tools Preferences Advanced Tabs”
and uncheck “Show close button on each tab”
“
Thanks… but where’s the close button now?!!
One of the other reasons for me prefer firefox to opera is the much cleaner preferences UI…
Thanks… but where’s the close button now?!!
At the top-right (with the menubar), where it’s been for almost a decade.
Close buttons on every individual tab: one of the few reasons why i don’t use Opera 9 – somehow i keep closing the wrong tabs!!! unless there is a way to revert to the (current) default behaviour, this will take a lot of getting used to.
There is, through a hidden setting. There are actually 4 different behaviors now that you can choose from.
1: display a close button on the active tab only
2: display close buttons on all tabs
3: don’t display any close buttons
4: display a single close button at the end of the tab strip (Firefox 1.x behavior)
I don’t know… but close buttons on each tab doesn’t feel like feature bloat to me… more like something that should’ve been done ages ago.
“I don’t know… but close buttons on each tab doesn’t feel like feature bloat to me… more like something that should’ve been done ages ago.”
For example, my dad doesn’t get that he can close tabs with the close button on the far right (top of screen). But he WILL get it when these buttons are on each tab, I’m pretty sure of that.
Also, the concept of tabs might be explained better for new users, those at the bottom of the knowledge-chain.
Weren’t Firefox users critisizing Opera’s features in forums?
Then why are the developers copying and implementing all Opera features?
Anti-phising, Search Engine Management, Google-suggest, Microsummeries??? What Opera Features, prey tell – all of those are available through extensions should the user want them.
http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=657&slide=2…
looks like the crash session recovery has been in Maxthon for ages. I am surprised to learn they are just adding it in Firefox now. Still that was one feature that is a must have IMHO. Anti-phishing looks cool too!
Galeon had it ages ago as well. It’s about time that Firefox/Mozilla impliments it. Call me crazy, but I think that’s one of the most useful features ever. Though on the one hand, maybe it’s not, since generally the only reason I’ve ever had for Firefox to crash is because of some website that disagrees with it (usually because of a Flash animation created for Flash 8+ which of course hasn’t been ported for Linux yet)
Sorry for the OT!
Here is what I do on debian etch.
download flash, unpack flash, install to /usr/lib/firefox
Open the file ~/.mozilla/firefox/pluginreg.dat
change
Shockwave Flash 7.0 r63:$
to
Shockwave Flash 9.0 r63:$
This gets past the “check” for the version but of course does not help if they are using newer features than 7 provides but a lot of them dont. Just gotta get past the check!
(we now return to our regularly scheduled program)
A web browser with a built-in spell checker and feed reader (live bookmarks)? I’d rather see these as browser extensions then feature bloat. If the Firefox devs want these feautures in the distrobution, then perhaps they should think about shipping Firefox with a default set of extensions that the users can enable/disable.
All those that call these features “bloat”: Don’t you think that we should remove tabs, and create a “tabs” extension? How about removing SSL support and creating an “SSL” extension? I’m also for removing CSS support, as it’s boat anyway, and people who want CSS support can install a “CSS” extension anyway. Firefox install file will be 500KB, and it’ll be a lot better.
Since this inadvertently seems to be in reply to my last comment; all I’m asking is that such features be more carefully considered before inclusion. Spell checking is a cool feature to have, but where does it end. What’s next a built-in WYSIWYG editor or Media player? Firefox has always been intriguing to me because of it’s brilliant concept of extensions which make adding more features a snap, but allows the browser’s core to remain small, fast, and lean. So, naturally I’m concerned of a contradiction when these kind of features appear as being built-in.
Tired of the word zealot, especially when its a damn browser.
At best you can be a fanatic.
Hmm, the Recently Closed Tabs feature doesn’t seem to be working for me, and I’ve tried it on two computers so far. In any case, hope the feature doesn’t take too much memory, what with people complaining about that already.
Also, the new search dropdown button doesn’t match the OS or theme style. Maybe they just got it working for Beta 1, and will be fixing its appearance before the final release. At least, I hope that’s the case.
Quick Find was divested of all its GUI controls
The reasoning was that it should be visually distinct from the regular Find bar to avoid confusion, and that anyone using buttons can use the latter. Jus on MozillaZine has suggested that Quick Find at least highlight all matches, like in Opera 9, so that it isn’t completely useless to people who don’t know the keyboard shortcuts. I hope they go with that.
The tab overflow solution kinda sucks, but it looks like they decreased the minimum tab size again, so I’ll mercifully probably never have to use it.
On the plus side, the new Tab Close buttons should be more intuitive for new users. No settings for it in the Options, but at least they’re in about:config.
A question about Session Restore: If a certain site always crashes the browser, would Session Restore end up trapping the user? Or does it restore to the site just previous to the crasher site?
A question about Session Restore: If a certain site always crashes the browser, would Session Restore end up trapping the user? Or does it restore to the site just previous to the crasher site?
It always asks whether or not to restore before it tries. So if you restore and it crashes again, the next time it starts you just have to tell it not to restore.