TeknologikL

I'll be waiting a little while before getting the newest version. Not just for "fun" browsing, I use Firefox for work - and it seems like any time I download the new version I have some issues. AutoCopy is my team's friend and it always seems to be a little slow adjusting to the new upgrade. Same goes for a few other tools (and my theme, which I suppose I could live without, but I'm just adjusted to!). It does sound like the new version is going to be good, though!

I am a big fan of Firefox, and will only use IE if absolutely necessary. I do have to say, though, that when I upgraded to 3.0 I kicked myself a bit. Since it's so new, some of the things I had used in my browser no longer work (like the GlobalSpec toolbar).

A couple of add-on features I find really helpful are the IE tab feature (some in-house tools only work in IE), and the Foxmarks (smart bookmarks). Foxmarks are very nice because I can access all of my favorite sites when I am at home or at work. Once in awhile it lags when I scroll over folders with work-based, intranet pages - but only for a second or two. The smart location bar and password manager are also extremely helpful features.

There are a few kinks, but overall I am impressed with 3.0. It looks sleek and has very useful features. I can't remember what browsing was like before Firefix, and I don't want to.

I am still using Firefox 2.0.0.16 and that works fine except for when I start downloading a file (right click, save as). The download manager takes a about 10 seconds to start. Quite irritating.

Also I noticed that Firefox takes longer and longer to open with time. Any one knows why and how to fix that?

Apart from that I am very happy. I started using Firefox because I got so fed up with Internet Explorer that slowed down my computer, even though I deleted history, cache, temp files, it was just horrible.

Now Firefox is still running fast after two years of use and I have installed a plug-in called PicLens which is very nice for searching images. I can recommend this to you.

That brings me to the next question. What are your favorite plugins for Firefox and which are to be avoided (I remember having had one that caused problems but don't remember which one it was)?

It's interesting that you mention a long time to get Firefox to open. I have trouble with this too occasionally, but a lot of the time is when I am clicking into something from an external link - like the "new comments" notification emails. Also, CR4 and a few other sites have been running a bit slower lately, but I'm not sure if it has been this way since I've upgraded or if it's just the computer I am using.

To keep everything running faster, I generally clear most of the private data and cookies every other week or so.

As for plug-ins/extensions, I will have to check out PicLens. Right now I am really loving the foxmarks, google toolbar, and googlepedia - which opens the appropriate wikipage that corresponds to your search terms. While wiki isn't necessarily a great information source, I still find this extension helpful because the links in wikipages are often a decent starting point for research/basic information. I am just starting to test out the "tab kit", which supposedly allows more freedom for multiple tabs. A co-worker was also telling me of some add-on's that he uses and loves, but I can't remember the name to be able to find them on the site.

I haven't come across any problematic ones, yet. Like I mentioned before, my only complaint is that I cannot get my beloved GlobalSpec toolbar to work with 3.0... but I'm sure that it will be compatible eventually. I also look forward to see what other CR4ers are using for Firefox...

Here are a few more popular add-ons around the office…

Mouse Gestures - Execute common commands by programmed mouse motions

AutoCopy - Automatically copies selected text to your clipboard

Copy Plain Text - Copies text from websites without formatting

IETab - There are a few internal pages that only work in IE for me. I can set this Add-On to automatically display these URLs with the IE engine while still in Firefox

Gmail Notifier - Monitor multiple Gmail accounts from your browser

I tested all of these extensions with Firefox 3.0 and the only one that doesn't currently work is AutoCopy.

Also check out this link of what the author calls 30 Best Firefox Add-ons

I have used most of these - except for Mouse Gestures and Autocopy. I forgot to mention the Copy Plain Text, which has been a real lifesaver for me. Thanks for reminding me!

I've also noticed that Firefox can take a long time to load. It seems to take forever on my computer at home. I've tried turning off all of my add-ons, but it still seems to take a long time, much longer than it did with Firefox 2.

Sharkles, you will be happy to know that the GlobalSpec toolbar has been updated and now works in Firefox 3.0 (I'm using it now). The toolbar actually has a better appearance than the last version. The logo is not as wide as it was in the previous version. You can download it from by clicking this link.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about when I upgraded (which I did the day it was released) was that some of my add-ons and themes didn't work. Most have them have been updated since then and I have no complaints now. Since I use the IE Tab add-on, I almost never need to open up Internet Explorer anymore.

I'm curious what people think of the new Opera 9.5 browser also. I love Firefox and it's my browser of choice, but have downloaded and been tryiing out Opera at home. Other than a few pages that don't open correctly, it's a pretty nice browser (much better than IE in my opinion). It's not going to get me to switch from Firefox, but it does have a lot of nice features, such as Speed Dial and tab previews (both of which are available as Firefox add-ons).

8320,

Thank you for this wonderful news about the GS toolbar! My life just got a lot easier again

One of the primary reasons I switched to Firefox in the first place was the "instability" of IE- every week or so, MS would upgrade my computer without asking permission, and invariably something either would not work, or behaved differently, and I would have to waste some time getting back to where I wanted to be (i.e., able to use my computer). Firefox 2.0.0.16 is fast and easy to use, and doesn't change unless I tell it to. I will not upgrade to 3.0 because I have no reason to go through the pain.

The plugins I use regularly are, of course, GlobalSpec, and Engineers Edge (not as good as GlobalSpec, but with some good basics, like on line materials properties), and Zotero, which helps me keep track of what all those wierdly-named downloaded files from last week are all about.

Hotmail keeps telling me I need to upgrade my browser or it may not work right, but I haven't run in to any problems yet. Content that requires things like FlashPlayer and the like generally are of no interest to me- lots of eye candy with very little real information (usually). Such fancy content generally hinders my work by slowing everything down. Most animations are too quick for my limited comprehension anyway. I don't need and don't want all those fancy extras. I want tools that REDUCE the time I have to dedicate to a project.