That’s cool. (:KWL)
Cool 
Firefox is now my default browser although I also have Opera as a backup. Before I used FF I used the Mozilla suite (now called seamonkey). For me, IE is something I haven’t had to use in a very long time and although I did download IE7, it was only resident on my PC for a few days.
I choose to use FF mostly because of its customization options and extensions, some of which I really would not want to be without.
Here is my current configuration:
Generated: Sat Mar 10 2007 04:41:38 GMT+1000
User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.2) Gecko/20070219 Firefox/2.0.0.2
Build ID: 2007021917
Enabled Extensions: [26]
- Aardvark 2.0 - aardvark [ at ] rob.brown - Utility for cleaning up a page prior to printing, and for analyzing a page.
- British English Dictionary 1.19 - en-GB [ at ] dictionaries.addons.mozilla.org
- CacheViewer 0.4.1.1 - {71328583-3CA7-4809-B4BA-570A85818FBB} - Allows searching and sorting cache files
- CoLT 2.2.1 - {e6c4c3ef-3d4d-42d6-8283-8da73c53a283} - Adds a Copy Link Text item to the browser’s context menu.
- Console² 0.3.6 - {1280606b-2510-4fe0-97ef-9b5a22eafe80} - The next generation error console.
- CookieSafe 2.0.6 - {9D23D0AA-D8F5-11DA-B3FC-0928ABF316DD} - Control cookie permissions.
- Custom Buttons 0.0.2 alpha 0.0.2 - custombuttons [ at ] xsms.org - Gives a possibility to create custom toolbarbuttons.
- CustomizeGoogle 0.55 - {fce36c1e-58d8-498a-b2a5-66ad1cedebbb} - Enhance Google search results and remove ads and spam.
- Download Embedded 0.5 - dlembed [ at ] aeruder.net - Downloads all embedded objects on a webpage.
- Download Statusbar 0.9.4.5.1 - {D4DD63FA-01E4-46a7-B6B1-EDAB7D6AD389} - View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar
- DownThemAll! 0.9.9.7 - {DDC359D1-844A-42a7-9AA1-88A850A938A8} - The mass downloader for Firefox.
- Firefox Extension Backup Extension (FEBE) 4.0.4 - {4BBDD651-70CF-4821-84F8-2B918CF89CA3} - Firefox Extension Backup Extension
- Free Download Manager plugin 1.0 - fdm_ffext [ at ] freedownloadmanager.org - Free Download Manager integration with Firefox browser.
- Linkification 1.3.3 - {35106bca-6c78-48c7-ac28-56df30b51d2a} - Converts text links into genuine, clickable links.
- Menu Editor 1.2.3 - {EDA7B1D7-F793-4e03-B074-E6F303317FB0} - Customize application menus
- MR Tech Local Install 5.3.2.3 - {9669CC8F-B388-42FE-86F4-CB5E7F5A8BDC} - Local Install power tools for all users. (en-US)
- Remove It Permanently 1.0.6.3 - {1dbc4a33-ea62-4330-966c-7bdad3455322} - Permanently hide items from the Context Menu
- Sage 1.3.10 - {a6ca9b3b-5e52-4f47-85d8-cca35bb57596} - A lightweight RSS and Atom feed aggregator.
- ScrapBook 1.2.0.8 - {53A03D43-5363-4669-8190-99061B2DEBA5} - Helps you to save Web pages and organize the collection.
- ScrapBook CopyPageInfo 1.3.4.2 - copyinfo [ at ] scrapbook.mozdev.org - Copy to clipboard the informations of ScrapBook data.
- Statusbar Clock 2.8 - timestatus [ at ] webdesigns.ms11.net - Display the Date and Time in your browser’s status bar.
- Stop-or-Reload Button 0.2.2 - {61D0D7AF-4FF6-476a-B68F-6531F613A6D8} - Turns the stop and reload buttons into a single one. When you can stop, you have a Stop button, otherwise you have a Reload button. (Like Safari)
- Stylish 0.4 - {46551EC9-40F0-4e47-8E18-8E5CF550CFB8} - Customise the look of websites and of the user interface.
- Tab Mix Plus 0.3.5.2 - {dc572301-7619-498c-a57d-39143191b318} - Tab browsing with an added boost.
- Tiny Menu 1.2.3 - {d33c2f7c-b1e6-4d46-ab0e-be1f6d05c904} - Replace the standard menu bar with a tiny menu popup.
- User Agent Switcher 0.6.9 - {e968fc70-8f95-4ab9-9e79-304de2a71ee1} - Adds a menu and a toolbar button to switch the user agent of the browser.
Disabled Extensions: [2]
- DOM Inspector 1.8.1.2 - inspector [ at ] mozilla.org - Inspects the structure and properties of a window and its contents.
- Talkback 2.0.0.2 - talkback [ at ] mozilla.org - Sends information about program crashes to Mozilla.
Total Extensions: 28
Installed Themes: [2]
- Firefox (default) - {972ce4c6-7e08-4474-a285-3208198ce6fd}
- Winestripe 0.9.1 - {0d3b5f80-1735-4c93-b817-dc4e50660591} - Default Firefox 1.5 theme for Firefox 2.0.
Installed Plugins: (8)
- Microsoft® DRM: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\npdrmv2.dll
- DRM Netscape Network Object
- Microsoft® DRM: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\npwmsdrm.dll
- DRM Store Netscape Plugin
- Mozilla Default Plug-in: C:\Documents and Settings\Geoff\My Documents\System Configs\Mozilla Apps\Firefox\plugins\npnul32.dll
- Default Plug-in
- RealPlayer Version Plugin: C:\Program Files\K-Lite Codec Pack\Real\browser\plugins\nprpjplug.dll
- 6.0.12.1483
- RealPlayer™ G2 LiveConnect-Enabled Plug-In (32-bit) : C:\Program Files\K-Lite Codec Pack\Real\browser\plugins\nppl3260.dll
- RealPlayer™ LiveConnect-Enabled Plug-In
- Shockwave Flash: C:\Documents and Settings\Geoff\My Documents\System Configs\Mozilla Apps\Firefox\plugins\NPSWF32.dll
- Shockwave Flash 9.0 r28
- VLC multimedia plugin: C:\Documents and Settings\Geoff\My Documents\System Configs\Mozilla Apps\Firefox\plugins\npvlc.dll
- VLC multimedia plugin Version “0.8.4”
VideoLAN WWW: http://www.videolan.org/
- Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\npdsplay.dll
- Npdsplay dll
In addition, I have modified user.js, userchrome.css and usercontent.css quite extensively.
All of my web filtering is done via Proxomitron using sidki’s filter set.
For a comparison between FF’s extensions and Opera:
http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2005/01/opera-and-firefox-extensions
http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2005/09/opera-and-firefox-extensions-ii
Thanks for those links, makes for some interesting reading.
Opera is, without doubt, a fine browser and the development community is very active.
One thing I have found, on my system at least, is that Opera is far slower at rendering web pages than FF. I imagine its just a matter of tweaking something in the interface somewhere, although I haven’t found it yet.
I did play around with the advanced network settings and the Opera:Config settings, essentially making the values the same as those I use in FF, but it seemed to have little effect.
Toggie
Some even say Opera is faster. Myself, i’ve never noticed the difference either way.
The most noticeable page rendering “speed” is to set the Browsing in the Advanced Preferences to Redraw Instantly. It doesn’t change the speed or your downloads, obviously, but it’s just a mental effect that if you see images load instantly instead of waiting for x seconds to finish or by chunks. There other tips to enhance speed, but they aren’t noticeable to me: http://operawiki.info/OperaPerformance
I did play around with that as it appears similar in function to a setting in FF:
nglayout.initialpaint.delay.
This has a value, defined in milliseconds, that states how long to wait before rendering images. My current value for this in FF is 750 and that seems to work quite well (remember I am on dial-up) Setting it to zero, really tends to slow things down for me.
I imagine this would be the same in Opera?
:o
You’re a FireFox god, Toggie…
One question: Is it better using the FDM Extension or the FlashGot Extension?
Oh, and instead of Scrapbook, I use EverNote. It’s a standalone application, but a mighty good one at that. I use EverNote to not only keep interesting webpages (it has the capability to “clip” a webpage, formatting, images, and all, with the click of a button), but also to gather all my text notes into one place. I like it because it supports multiple categories for a note. Check it out: www.evernote.com
One question: Is it better using the FDM Extension or the FlashGot Extension?
I did use Flashgot for a long time and for the most part it worked very well.
One day, during a moment of boredom, I just decided to take a look at all the available download accelerators for firefox and after a few days testing, settled on a combination of FDM and DTA.
FDM is useful, as it also works with Opera and DTA has some useful, single click options.
I did look at the Evernote website; it looks like a powerful program. I guess I have just got used to scrapbook, it has so many features for capturing everything, from a single word to an entire site.
If you haven’t used scrapbook, take a look at the user guide ScrapBookTutorial-1.1.pdf (PDF Format, 738 KB) to see what can be done. It has some very powerful features.
Toggie
Here’s a useful little link for any firefox users ;D
http://www.extensionhunter.com/
Almost 2000 easily accessible extensions.
2000?! :o. I just need one: how to make my internet work lol
My browser top-down priority list is:
-
Opera - more secure than FF (because is less targeted too) it zooms text and images, many more baseline functions out-of-the-box, easy user customization (adding menus, changing bar buttons, supports scriptlets integration), (it has widgets but who cares i prefer standard unskinned interfaces)
-
Firefox - more secure than IE - better compatibility with existing sites, unlimited addons
-
Internet Explorer (optionally Avant Browser) - no security (more secure with spybot S&D inoculate) - de facto not w3c compliant standard, some bad coded software require it for hotlinks…
I don’t mind slow rendering in tabbed browsers because I usually load more pages I can read, I leave those unread and they are loaded the next session. Or I group them in a bookmark entry.
Usually I have more than 20 loaded pages (sometimes more than 60)…
As far rendering speed matters we need to set the number of connections settings.
Opera defaults to:
opera:config#Performance
Max Connections Server: 8
Max Connections Totall:20
Network Buffer Size:32
Reduce Max Persistent HTTP Connections: on
Synchronous DNS Lookup: off
opera:config#UserPrefs
Turbo Mode: on
First Update Delay: 1000
Update Delay: 200
And cache settings too…
opera:config#Cache
opera:config#DiskCache
Testing Opera and Firefox rendering speed HAS to be done on uncahed sites, though…
Firefox has Fasterfox too
It does preloading and has many more functions too.
This text was taken from http://operawiki.info/OperaPerformance
link provided by Soya
Problem: Page contents moves about while loading, appearing to load slowly.
Cause: Opera uses a progressive rendering technology which actually speeds up the time it takes to get readable text content, but at the expense of the page redrawing each time some new information is added. Many users perceive this to be actually slower when they see the content redrawing, even if when timed objectively, it is faster. Opera gives you the choice about how you want it to load the page, depending on what you perceive as faster!!!
Solution: If you would rather read the text quickly at the expense of the page redrawing more. If you would rather wait (to see more smooth loading behaviour), then increase this setting according to your taste. Users on slow connections but fast computers should set this about 1-2 second, slower computers on slow connections about 2-3 seconds. If you have a fast connection, most data should be in by about 1-2 seconds, so set to “redraw instantly” (or “redraw when loaded” if you want it super smooth!). If your fast connection is linked to a slow computer, then set it from about 2 seconds up (“redraw when loaded” should be good in this case) to minimise lots of page redrawing.
NB: Now it is found under User prefs:
First Update Delay: default 1000
Update Delay: default 200
I also use Opera because it has everything I need right out-of-the-box while FF needs several plug-ins to do that. And since Opera 8 there are virtually no pages that need IE to be displayed correctly (Opera 5-7 sometimes had problems).
If only that was true. There are still sites that don’t look as nice as in IE or isn’t rendering properly. Examples:
http://www.bestdownload.com/ → The border frames around the middle column of the programs are white. In IE, it’s the same blue as the links’ font, which is what it should be to match.
http://www.matousec.com/ → If you hover over any of the headings, the drop-down menu has black squared bullets. Now compare that to IE or Firefox (which I don’t have but Pedro has reported it looks like what IE shows).
The sad thing is that opera is standard compliant:
They rewrite bad sites using browser.js but using user.js does the trick too.
Users usually have to send opera bad sites URLs to get them added to the browser rewriting engine:
user.js could be used to filter web pages like proximitron, proximodo or other ones…
I knew someone was going to raise that :P, but I already checked Matousec’s and his site is web compliant. And this was with Opera’s own w3 validator (Alt + Ctrl + V) :P.
Firefox default, testing opera.
Ext
Adblock
Bookmark Duplicate Detector
Cookiesafe
Inform Enter
Locationbar
Show ip
The more extensions the slower firefox seems to load for me.
Pegasus mail
Gravity newsreader
Plus a menu full of utilities.
Plus of course comodo pf and antivir
My Hamstermind is still testing that bug. I have had a lot of problems taming Opera…
Usually Opera Source editor can modify the rendered pages until a manual reload occurs but I need to dinamically rewrite the pages before the rendering to be 100% sure.
I unsuccessfully tried to rewrite mactouser using user.js (I forgot all dom related js stuff).
If I cannot find a new free web filtering proxy (If I remember its name is byproxy or someting alike is a multiprotocol content filter and was rewritten from another programming language. I cannot find its homepage) I will use proximotron or proximodo but I want to test that proxy…
The apparent source of the problem is http://www.matousec.com/blue-grey/style.css
The real problem is under investigation and should be related to filter:alpha(opacity=90);-moz-opacity: .90;opacity: .90;. and/or http://www.matousec.com/blue-grey/27_menu_arrow.gif rendering
This is a 2-color gif compliant format file and it is virtually equal to Learn Bitcoin, buy Bitcoin
which differs in 3 bytes from the faulty one.
these 3 bytes correspond to an entry in the Global Color Table specifying 29_selected_arrow.gif foreground color (RGB-HEX FEA400)
Currently tested:
- Using opera source editor and pasting
ul#menubar ul { border: 1px solid #b8bce4; filter:alpha(opacity=90);-moz-opacity: .90;opacity: .90;} ul#menubar ul li { padding: 2px 0 2px 20px; background: #8084a1 url(https://forums.comodo.com/Smileys/default/smiley.gif) top left no-repeat; } ul#menubar ul li:hover { background: #8993c8 url(https://forums.comodo.com/Themes/Comodo/images/post/grin.gif) top left no-repeat;}
before the body tag partly solves the problem (gif background is black)
- Using opera source editor and pasting
ul#menubar ul { border: 1px solid #b8bce4; filter:alpha(opacity=90);-moz-opacity: .90;opacity: .90;} ul#menubar ul li { padding: 2px 0 2px 20px; background: #8084a1 url(http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/images/li_blue.png) top left no-repeat; } ul#menubar ul li:hover { background: #8993c8 url(http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/images/li_yellow.png) top left no-repeat;}
before the body tag solves the problem.
The last test would be rewriting ul#menubar ul { border: 1px solid #b8bce4; filter:alpha(opacity=90);-moz-opacity: .90;opacity: .90;} to ul#menubar ul { border: 1px solid #b8bce4;} in Learn Bitcoin, buy Bitcoin before the homepage loads (maybe the gifs should be changed too)
PS: my new wirelles keyboard ##**#!!!
It insert bogus chars while I’m writing (also pgup arrow up home enter F5…) this will take a loong time…
Firefox, always
Using IE tab, you can even use firefox for the windows update site, no need to touch IE ever again.
Also, I can’t believe only 1 person has mentioned Adblock Plus, it’s the most brilliant extension ever. Not only do get not to see any ads (any that do make it through can be permanently removed, never to be seen again), but pages load a whole heap faster, as ads aren’t being downloaded in the first place. The web seems ‘dirty’ without it…