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Mozilla Books Media The Internet Book Reviews

Firefox Secrets 241

Posted by samzenpus from the revealed-at-last dept.
Craig Maloney writes "By now most readers have probably heard about Firefox, the Open Source browser that poses a serious challenge to Internet Explorer. They've probably even installed it on a few machines, and no doubt have customized it pretty much to their liking. They're pretty comfortable with how it works in their day-to-day browsing activities. Plus, Firefox is pretty open, and about:config, extensions, and themes have many pages dedicated to their use. What more could there be to Firefox? Firefox Secrets is a collection of tips and tricks to help wring out that last kernel of performance from Firefox, with specific ways to increase users productivity with Firefox. It also contains plenty of tips for new Firefox users to guide them to learning what Firefox is, and how it can improve their browsing experience." Read on for Craig's review.
Firefox Secrets
author Chean Chu Yeow
pages 297
publisher Sitepoint
rating 8/10
reviewer Craig Maloney
ISBN 0-9752402-4-2
summary Firefox tips and techniques for new and experienced users.


Firefox Secrets presents the material in a well thought out manner. Each chapter starts with a specific task in mind, with helpful tips in performing that task listed throughout the rest of the chapter. In the chapter entitled "Revisiting Web Pages" (something we are all bound to do at some time in our lives), Firefox Secrets starts the chapter with sections on importing bookmarks from other programs, creating new bookmarks, and using the bookmark manager. (Pretty basic stuff which most Slashdot readers have no doubt mastered). The power, though, lies in the rest of the chapter, where the book lists out how to add a bookmark for a group of tabs, how to create several types of keyword bookmark, how to use the bookmarks tool bar, and how to use the bookmark manager and sidebar. It then talks about Firefox's RSS and Live bookmarks, and how to create them using the RSS icon, and create them manually. Finally the chapter finishes off with the cookie and history managers, as well as the password manager. Each section is described in detail with clear directions on how to use the feature, and clear explanations on why readers would want to use the feature.

Expert users need not worry, though, as this book has plenty for them too. One of the more powerful features of Firefox are the Extensions, which allow incredible recognizability in Firefox. The chapter on Extensions starts with an introduction to what Extensions are, and why they're so important. Next the author describes installing an extension, and uses the miniT extension (an extension that allows drag-and-drop tab placement) as a sample extension to install. The author begins by directing the browser to the extensions site, installing the extension, and configuring the extension once the browser has recognized it. From there the author discusses installing from sites other than the Mozilla Extensions site, installing from a local file, and using the extensions manager to track and configure extensions. As someone who has installed many extensions that proved less than useful, or prevented Firefox from even starting properly, the next section on uninstalling and entering Firefox's safe-mode could prove profile-saving. (I have had several occasions where knowing about safe-mode would have saved me a half-hour's work in rebuilding my profile). The author moves from this introductory material to a list of his personal favorite extensions. Unless the reader has an RSS feed tuned to the Mozilla Extensions site, there's bound to be several extensions that the reader will find useful. (I downloaded the Spellbound Spell Check, and Download Status bar extensions during the course of this review).

Of course no book on the secrets of Firefox would be complete without mentioning about:config. about:config holds a treasure-trove of configurable options for Firefox, many of which are not self-evident without a guide of some form. Firefox secrets does not provide a comprehensive look at about:config, but instead shows what about:config is, shows how to use it, and presents a few neat tips that can be set by about:config. Other somewhat hidden preference features include the .css and .js files under the user profile. Firefox Secrets quickly glosses over some key tips, such as CSS examples for marking unread tabs, and shifting the sidebar to the right. Also included are tips for customizing the user interface, and incorporating web development features which developers will no doubt find extremely handy in their daily development rituals. The book finishes off with best practices for downloading and using the Firefox nightly builds, and what sorts of issues to expect.

Some people out there may feel that Firefox Secrets doesn't offer any tips that can't be found on the web. It's a fair assessment that some of the ideas presented in the book should be pretty routine for expert Firefox users. However, unless you have RSS feeds to every Mozilla development site, and maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of every configurable doo-dad and Extension, you'll likely find many good tips and best practices for enhancing your browsing experience. I'll admit I was skeptical this book would provide me anything of value, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how insightful this book is. Firefox Secrets balances between beginning users who have yet to install their first extension, and experts who want to take their browsing to the next level."

You can purchase Firefox Secrets from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
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Firefox Secrets

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  • "Most readers have probably heard about Firefox" (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:28PM (#14327607)
    In the old days of Slashdot, that would've been "Most readers have probably worked on Firefox" Sheesh, this place really is on the way down.

  • Books for web browsers? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:30PM (#14327621)
    While I can understand writing a book about a web browser, shouln't it be a webpage that teaches how to use it interactively?

    • Re:Books for web browsers? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Guysmiley777 ( 880063 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:36PM (#14327662)
      You're missing the beauty of publishing a book about a web browser. You rake in cash from sales, and 6 months later the thing is obsolete so you can crank out a "2nd Edition" and cash in again.

      • Re:Books for web browsers? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Skim123 ( 3322 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @04:23PM (#14328759) Homepage
        I know your comment is probably said in a lighthearted manner, but being an author of computer trade books, "cranking out a '2nd Edition'" is no walk in the park. It can take several months of several hours per day. Also, I don't think anyone "cashes in" with computer trade books, especially not the authors! Don't get me wrong, authors do get paid, but it's usually not enough to do for a full time job unless you're cranking out four to eight books per year.

        • Guess you don't do textbooks (Score:4, Insightful)

          by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @11:01PM (#14330729)
          That's what he's refering to likely. Many of them come out with a new edition every year, or every other year. Ok, so this is needed for, say, modern history but I am talking about calculus here. When I took freshman calc, I had to buy a new book. There were no used ones available, because it was a new edition. At the end of the year, I tried to sell my book back and was turned down, you see there was a new edition comming out next year.

          Ok what the fuck? This is introductory calc, that shit hasn't changed much since Newton first unveiled it to the world, and not at all in the 20th century. NOTHING changed in teh span of one year.

          Well I had a look at the new edition as compared to mine. The changes were nothing but superficial. Chapters were shuffled, questions were renumbered, with some new ones intruduced. There might have been some corrections or whatnot, but the parts I looked at the text and diagrams were the exact same.

          It's a real racket, and that's on top of the already high prices.

    • Funding? (Score:3, Informative)

      by IAAP ( 937607 )
      I agree with yow. Something else to consider: I see that the editors are active in the OSS/Mozilla authoring. Yeow actually writes extensions (all for free!). This would be a great way to make a living while doing something you love and contributing to OSS.

      At least, that's the way I look at it.

    • Re:Books for web browsers? (Score:5, Funny)

      by FireBreathingDog ( 559649 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:51PM (#14327741)
      That reminds me of a story I heard in the mid-1980s. A manufacturer of VCRs shipped each box with a videotape explaining how to use the VCR. The tape included instructions on how to hook up the VCR.
      • Is that anything like the small local ISP putting a special "troubleshooting" section on their webpage detailing information about troubleshooting a modem connection problem, and what to do if they can't get connected to the internet?

        Yes, that was actually done around here. They've since taken it down, no doubt due to the ridicule from even the most basic customer.
        • It's not stupid at all. A great many internet connections were set up by friends etc, who had working connections. When they would run into trouble, they would often use their own connection at home, a laptop etc, to get troubleshooting advice.

          And yes, I was a small ISP who had a troubleshooting web page. Installed when my customers *asked* me for it.

        • Yes, that was actually done around here. They've since taken it down, no doubt due to the ridicule from even the most basic customer.

          Yeah, because everyone knows that there's no other way to access the internet other than a home connection. It's kinda funny that workplaces don't have internet access yet, and you'd have thought that local libraries would have provided it as a community service, but no ...

          Geez, it's almost as crazy as the ISPs who allow you to sign up on their web page!! They must have been
      • That reminds me of a story I heard in the mid-1980s. A manufacturer of VCRs shipped each box with a videotape explaining how to use the VCR. The tape included instructions on how to hook up the VCR.

        A few years ago, my brother in law bought a hard drive that came with instructions on CD-ROM. He ruined the drive by hooking it up with the power still on, because the instructions never said to turn the computer off.

    • Re:Books for web browsers? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by drpimp ( 900837 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @02:29PM (#14327939) Journal
      How about a Firefox extension that teaches about Firefox?

      Or better yet how about the default URL to be

      about:firefox

      And be a full tutorial w/ all the demo bells and whistles?

  • too much? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by jacobcaz ( 91509 )
    I like Firefox, but at what point is something so extendible that it's to confusing?

    I normally use Opera, and love the features it has. I've been able to make Firefox mimic Opera in functionality, but I was somewhat overwhelmed by ALL of the plugins.

    I figure if someone who is fairly sophisticated technically is overwhelmed then God help someone like my wife or my co-workers (sorry, this is slashdot, my "cow-orkers"). They would be completely confused!

    Open source is great, but now we need to have some time

    • Re:too much? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:47PM (#14327725) Homepage Journal

      I like Firefox, but at what point is something so extendible that it's to confusing?

      At the point at which it becomes a language called English, apparently... It's to (sic) hard.

      Seriously though, there's more automotive performance enhancement parts out there than there are firefox plugins. Does that make it hard to drive a car?

      • Seriously though, there's more automotive performance enhancement parts out there than there are firefox plugins.
        Hey, what a concept. I wonder if somebody's working on a ricer [urbandictionary.com] version of Firefox.

        • how to make a ricer Firefox (Score:5, Funny)

          by Tumbleweed ( 3706 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @02:15PM (#14327876)
          add {
            extension:ridiculous body kit
            extension:Big-Ass Wing
            extension:18" rims w/spinners
            extension:ground effect lighting
            extension:thumpin' stereo
            extension:in-dash DVD player
            extension:VTEC sticker
            extension:fake boost gauges
            extension:fire extinguisher (fake, to hold your Ecstasy/weed)
            extension:remote starter
            extension:suicide doors (or scissor doors)
            extension:wiper fluid nozzle lights
            extension:extra chrome
            extension:calvin peeing on something sticker
            extension:some type of rear window sticker proclaiming you to be a bling-bling homey
            extension:some type of sticker with kanji on it (that you can't read)
            extension:Momo or Recaro seats with multi-point seatbelts (which you don't wear)
            extension:under-dash LED or neon lights that plug into the cigarette lighter (for that touch of class)
          }
          et voila, a ricer Firefox!

          I think they call it 'Flock.'
          • You forgot the obligatory "Type R" badge. =)
            • No, you only put on Type R if you have a toyota - since it belongs on a Honda. What really gets me is the endless legions of Rustang-driving morons with Nissan Skyline "GT-R" badging on their POS ford... but then I'm a Nissan fan. I fully expect to see a chevy citation with a mercedes AMG badge any day now...
          • Most importantly, all extensions must be strictly to make it look "cooler", if you want to call it that, and do absolutely nothing to increase actual performance.
      • At the point at which it becomes a language called English, apparently... It's to (sic) hard.

        I realized my tyopgraphic error about 2 seconds after I hit submit - languange is indeed "to hard".

        Anyway, a user will typically be a fairly hard-core "car guy" before they get into a lot of the aftermarket parts. My mother certianly isn't putting Fram performance air handlers on her car. The last time I bought a car I was basically given a menu by the dealer; there were a few option packages I could add on. I wi
        • A lot of people get bolt-on parts installed on their cars even if they don't know diddly about cars, mostly headers, cat-back exhaust systems, and intakes, not to mention all the cosmetic crap. (Sure, a cat-back by itself may only add 3hp, but when you add 3hp to a 100hp car, that's something you might even be able to feel.)

          similarly, a lot of people have am addon to their browser even though they don't know shit about browsers, like yahoo or google toolbar. All people knew when they got those things orig

      • Seriously though, there's more automotive performance enhancement parts out there than there are firefox plugins. Does that make it hard to drive a car?

        No, but it makes it easier to buy a Ferrari than buy a Honda and make it go faster, even if you get a better car in the end the second way. So I'll stick with Opera.

        • FWIW there's nothing you can do to get a better car by starting with a honda than with a ferrari. Now, if you said Nissan... :D
          • That really depends on what you consider better. If you want a car that seats 4, then you're going to have an easier time getting a Honda that seats 4, then trying to retrofit a ferrari to seat 4.

            • That really depends on what you consider better. If you want a car that seats 4, then you're going to have an easier time getting a Honda that seats 4, then trying to retrofit a ferrari to seat 4.

              Why retrofit, when you can buy it that way straight from the factory?
              Ferrari with 4 Seats (Ferrari 612) [yahoo.com]

              It's certainly not the only four seater that they've ever made, either.

          • I'm sure there is. Replace the chassis, then the engine,...

    • Re:too much? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by brandondash ( 920942 )
      99% of firefox users have never heard of a browser plugin. They simply fire it up and it just works (tm). The fact that you can customize and extend it is only icing on the cake.
    • Really, Adblock is the only basic Extension that, in my opinion, is required. Here at home it's the only one I install.

      I use a few more at work, but I need more from my browser there. I have Copy Plain Text, which works wonders when grabbing product specs, etc., to paste into Word and Excel documents. And I installed Focus Last Selected Tab, which helps when I'm blowing through page after page of slightly different ICs, looking for the one with the exact featureset I need.

      If any of those were integrated

  • Target audience (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wombatmobile ( 623057 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:37PM (#14327669)

    Some people out there may feel that Firefox Secrets doesn't offer any tips that can't be found on the web. It's a fair assessment that some of the ideas presented in the book should be pretty routine for expert Firefox users.

    This is a hardcopy book to be sold in bookstores to normal people.

    It makes the information plainly available to lots of people.

    • Does it at least come with an interactive CD?

  • However, unless you have RSS feeds to every Mozilla development site, and maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of every configurable doo-dad and Extension, you'll likely find many good tips and best practices for enhancing your browsing experience.

    Well, I don't have any Mozilla RSS feeds and I'm sure not familiar with the majority of available extensions, but any search engine will quickly point you toward something useful if you have some idea as to the nature of the problem you want to solve. For example

  • Useful secrets for those with FF memory leaks.. (Score:5, Informative)

    by cyclocommuter ( 762131 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:40PM (#14327689)

    Disable back/forward caching in about:config:

    browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers 0

    Enables trimming Firefox memory usage when you minimize all Firefox windows:

    config.trim_on_minimize true

  • experts? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ltwally ( 313043 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @01:47PM (#14327723) Homepage Journal
    "Expert users need not worry, though, as this book has plenty for them too. ... The chapter on Extensions starts with an introduction to what Extensions are, and why they're so important."
    A description of what extension are and how to install/configure them is deemed expert. Eh.. I'm sorry, but even my technologically illiterate mother could figure this one out.

    Though there is a section on about:config and the .css & .js files, is there any information here that could not be found with 2 minutes of your time and google? I doubt it. And, this book, unlike the information you can find using google, will be out of date in a matter of months.

    "Firefox Secrets balances between beginning users who have yet to install their first extension, and experts who want to take their browsing to the next level."

    <shrugs> I'm not saying this book is bad.. I'm just saying that the author of this review doesn't seem to understand what an "expert" is. From the review, I see little here that most /.'ers won't already know.

    • Re:experts? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Sebastopol ( 189276 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @02:04PM (#14327812) Homepage
      I used to write jacket copy for Prima publishing ($100 a pop!), and jacket authors never read the book! You just skim it, pick up some big words, get to know the TOC, look for a few important concepts, and big-bang-boom, you're done in about 1~2 hours.

      Don't judge a book by its cover, because the people that write the covers are idiots (yes, that means me).
    • Slashdotters might still want to know about the book, say, to give as gifts or recommend to friends and family members.

    • Re:experts? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Craig Maloney ( 1104 ) *
      "Some people out there may feel that Firefox Secrets doesn't offer any tips that can't be found on the web. It's a fair assessment that some of the ideas presented in the book should be pretty routine for expert Firefox users."

      That portion of the review was tailor made for you. :) By expert, I was referring to people who are open to learning from a book. I understand there's gobs of information waiting to be searched via Google and the like, but having that information in print-form is handy, at least for m
      • How to get Firefox to work nicely with the beta version of Yahoo mail. The javascript is TOTALLY broken. Actually, it's not the only site with broken javascript, but it is one of the worse examples and it is popular enough to be important.
      • How to get Firefox to work with sites that deliberately target IE and intentionally break Firefox.
      • How to import all of the cool easter eggs from earlier versions of Netscape's browser.

  • Talking of firefox extensions this one is a must have https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php ?id=1457 [mozilla.org] It lets you see thumbnails of your open webpages.
    • if only is supported currect FF
      • if only is supported currect FF

        ???

        Can someone point me to the extension that does "geekoid" to "English" translations?
    • This is coming in IE7. A big killer feature for charlatan web tceh-experts to rave about. Except I don't see the fuss. I have the, er, you know, page titles across the top. If I want to see the pages, I "roll" through them with the m-wheel. Is this a feature for people who operate One Page One Window? 22 Internet Explorer I've seen on a friend's taskbar once.
  • seems like 90% of the book is things most of us know already.. I for one wish it went over CSS and JS hacks more and the different things you can do.

    And perhaps explain some of the options and values in about:config (stuff that's not easily recognized from the name)
  • Are there some secrets that will keep my Firefox stable? ;-)

  • Firefox has very serious problems. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Futurepower(R) ( 558542 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @02:06PM (#14327829) Homepage
    For those who do extensive research using a browser, Firefox has serious problems. Opening and closing many Firefox windows and tabs causes crashes and CPU and memory hogging. That kind of heavy user often sees Firefox using 99% CPU and/or more than 400 Megabytes. See these Information Week articles:

    Firefox 1.5: Not Ready For Prime Time? [cmp.com]

    Firefox 1.5 Stability Problems? Readers And Mozilla Respond [cmp.com]

    The problems are the same in the Mozilla browser. Both have had a CPU and memory hogging bug for more than 2 1/2 years.

    The evidence is that Mozilla leaders don't care. Quote from the second article linked above: "Schroepfer and Beard admitted that Mozilla is not working on any of the problems in our bulleted list except for the high memory usage issue. So problems like high CPU usage, program freezes and lock-ups, and long pauses before a tab or the browser opens from hyperlink clicks in other applications might not be fixed in the next version of the program."

    For both Firefox and the Mozilla browser, there is a lot of talk about crashes and how to avoid them. Here are some quotes about crashes from the Known Issues for SeaMonkey 1.0 Beta [mozilla.org] page:

    "A significant number of SeaMonkey crashes are actually caused by Java. Please make sure you are using the latest available version of Java."

    "Sun's JRE will crash at startup if your useragent does not begin with Mozilla/5."

    "Some SeaMonkey crashes are actually caused by Flash. Please make sure you are using the latest available Flash plugin (Bug 211213)."

    "On Windows the Adobe SVG plugin crashes. Workaround: Don't copy it (NPSVG3.dll, NPSVG3.zip) into your plugins folder. If you want to view SVGs, SeaMonkey builds (except Linux GTK1) include native SVG support. (Bug 133567)"

    Mozilla developers refuse to consider bugs that bug reporters cannot characterize completely. See this Slashdot comment: Leadership problem? [slashdot.org] See this list of excuses: 1) Maybe this bug is fixed in the nightly version. 2) Yes, this bug exists, but it isn't important. 3) No one has posted a TalkBack report. (If they read the bug report, they would know that there is never a TalkBack report, because the bug crashes TalkBack, too.) 4) If you would just give us more information, we would fix this bug. 5) This bug report is a composite of other bugs, so this bug report is invalid. (The other bugs aren't specified.) 6) You are using Firefox in a way that would crash any software. 7) I don't like the way you worded your report. 8) You should run a debugger and find what causes this problem yourself.
    • I think that many of the problems that have been pointed out with Firefox have to do with the plugins. I run firefox and never encounter any problems like high memory usage, or lots of CPU usage. If you install 2000 plugins, weird things will happen. If you don't install that many plugins, or just the ones you really need, everything seems to run smoothly.
    • I use Firefox on both Mac OS X and Windows and Linux.

      I've seen Firefox crash on the Adobe plugin. And I've seen Firefox use lots of memory when I have lots of tabs open - and I reckon IE would suck just as much RAM if not more by having the same amount of Windows open (while making mulitple-window management of these pages an onerous chore).

      I really don't have a problem at all with Firefox's bug fixing process. They tend to fix the critical security ones much more rapidly than Microsoft does for IE.
    • How about copy/paste crapping out?

      I see this happening after having an instance or two open for a couple of days with 6-12 tabs.

      I notice it mostly when using Google Maps; I'll try to copy/paste an address from another tab into maps and vice versa and it seems it has stopped working. Pasting into other apps or going from other apps and pasting into Firefox doesn't work. It affects all tabs and nothing helps but quitting all instances of Firefox and restarting it.
    • I wonder why web browser allow plugins to kill the browser?
      It is well known that complex plugins (such as flash) are often buggy and that they will often crash and kill the browser, why not run the plugin in a different process?
      This way if the plugin fails, the browser can detect it and restart the plugin or the user could ask the browser to restart the plugin.
      The only shared memory between the browser and the plugin would correspond to the part of the window rendered by the plugin (you could have several p
    • I demand that all my programs leave 50% of the CPU idle and take twice as long!

      Yes, the Infoworld article actually uses the phrase "spikes to 100%" - apparently a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

      Of course, there's a difference between taking 100% CPU while loading a page and taking 100% indefinitely, and I used to see my firefox process doing the latter too. The way to fix it is to install FlashBlock, and not to click on the banner ads that busy loop on your CPU just to put a punchable monkey on the

    • Re:Firefox has very serious problems. (Score:5, Informative)

      by CTho9305 ( 264265 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @04:26PM (#14328781) Homepage
      I am a SeaMonkey developer. I fix SeaMonkey bugs, a small number of Gecko bugs, and a very small number of Firefox bugs.

      Mozilla developers refuse to consider bugs that bug reporters cannot characterize completely.
      You have to understand that we get a HUGE number of useless bugs filed - bugs that say "Huge memory leak", and claim that it's easy to reproduce, or bugs that claim large amounts of CPU usage and again claim it's easy to reproduce. Just because it's easy to reproduce for YOU doesn't mean it's easy to reproduce for US. Additionally, many users use extensions, which basically invalidate their bug reports since we can't possibly debug under the effects of the many changes extensions make, ESPECIALLY if we don't know what extensions and versions of extensions you're using. A report that doesn't completely explain a problem is not necessarily bad if the user is helpful enough and provides good answers when we ask them questions, but too many people file bugs and then can't give us the answers we need.

      See this Slashdot comment: Leadership problem? See this list of excuses:
      1) Maybe this bug is fixed in the nightly version.
      MANY bugs are fixed every day, and it's very aggravating to spend hours of our time tracking down a problem only to find that it was fixed already. It takes the user 5 minutes to try a nightly. I think asking the user to get a nightly build is reasonable.

      2) Yes, this bug exists, but it isn't important.
      Many bugs that are filed aren't important to 99.99% of the userbase.

      3) No one has posted a TalkBack report. (If they read the bug report, they would know that there is never a TalkBack report, because the bug crashes TalkBack, too.)
      I would hope that isn't the normal case. I haven't catualy heard of situations that crash talkback anyway (other than maybe flaky hardware).

      4) If you would just give us more information, we would fix this bug.
      If we don't see it, and you don't give us more info about it, how do we fix it? Read your mind? Other magic?

      5) This bug report is a composite of other bugs, so this bug report is invalid. (The other bugs aren't specified.)
      Ask what bugs.

      6) You are using Firefox in a way that would crash any software.
      Example?

      7) I don't like the way you worded your report.
      If you file a bug that says, "You guys are idiots, you write shitty software that leaks 500MB", you get what you deserve. If you use awful grammar and difficult-to-read style, well, why do you expect us to put hours into fixing a bug when you don't bother to spend 5 minutes properly reporting it?

      If you can't write in English (or a language one of the developers understands), it can be very difficult to figure out what the problem is.

      8) You should run a debugger and find what causes this problem yourself.
      That's not a nice answer, but sometimes developers don't have the time to fix the problem. You're free to pay somebody, but if you want it done for free, you might have to do it yourself.

      You have to remember that people have their own lives - SeaMonkey comes after school for me (the 1.0 beta release would have happened a few hours earlier if not for a final exam I had that day, which I had to study for over the weekend). When I'm fixing bugs, it's at the expense of playing games, seeing a movie, studying, or doing something else fun. Fortunately for you, I happen to find it interesting enough to do it anyway, fixing not only bugs that interest me personally but bugs that other people want fixed. The least you could do is say thank you, rather than bitch that I and people like me are not doing enough free labor for you. For developers who are paid, many have specific tasks assigned to them, and need to complete those tasks before they work on other things.

      I'm not saying there aren't problems that need to be acknowledged, but many common complaints are ignorant and/or unreasonable.
      • One more comment about bad bugs - many users think >0% CPU usage is excessive, and >20MB memory usage is excessive. How do you think pages get rendered? The CPU does some computation. Of course the CPU usage will spike while a page is loading. If you're viewing a page with a lot of pictures [fark.com], where do you think the bitmaps are stored? A single 1024x768x32-bit image takes 3MB. If you load a page with 100 large images, of course the browser will need >300MB.
        • "If you're viewing a page with a lot of pictures, where do you think the bitmaps are stored? A single 1024x768x32-bit image takes 3MB. If you load a page with 100 large images, of course the browser will need >300MB."

          I love Firefox, but this is a ridiculous comment. Firefox will regularly consume 200-400mb on my machine even when I'm viewing pages that have at most 1 or 2 small 20-30k images.

          There seems to be a very large overhead with each tab.

          I'm not complaining per se, as I think Firefox is the best b
          • I love Firefox, but this is a ridiculous comment. Firefox will regularly consume 200-400mb on my machine even when I'm viewing pages that have at most 1 or 2 small 20-30k images.
            I'm not denying that there are leaks - I personally experience them and after a week my browser is often up in the 200-400MB range too. I'm saying that people file bugs about the browser takeing 300MB when it's not leaks, and comment about legitimate memory usage in bugs that are really about leaks, making it harder to figure out w
      • Mozilla browser (SeaMonkey) has the SAME problem with CPU and memory hogging.

        You said, "I'm not saying there aren't problems that need to be acknowledged..."

        First, I am very thankful for Firefox. I am very thankful that we have open source developers.

        However, maybe there is a need for change. Maybe the Mozilla Foundation needs better leadership and someone to raise money so that important issues that aren't favored by volunteers can be addressed.

        Second, look what you've done. It seemed in the be
        • You're almost certainly trolling, but I'll reply to some points anyway.

          Some bugs are very difficult to characterize. Those require a developer to be a true scientist. However, Firefox developers apparently look for bugs that are easy to fix. Bugs such as this one, which is now more than 2 1/2 years old, are ignored.
          I think everybody believes it's many bugs that add up to cause the problems users see, not just one single bug. That makes it much harder to track down the individual issues.

          It's insulting and
    • Dude, get a life. Every time there's a firefox article you're in here grinding your axe. Firefox is the best browser around, and none of these petty digs is going to change that fact. Whatever grudge you have against the firefox devs, you need to grow up and move on. Either that or write a better broswer.
      • There's an issue here. Firefox has a SHOWSTOPPER bug that heavily affects its most intense users. You obviously didn't read the articles in Information Week to which I linked.

        Please don't comment on Slashdot stories in which you (obviously) have no interest.

  • Target Audience: Your Parents & Relatives (Score:4, Insightful)

    by web-res ( 82403 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @02:13PM (#14327866) Homepage
    The thing to keep in mind that the target audience for this book is not going to be a a power-user who reads Slashdot.org twice-daily and hooks up a webcam to watch the office coffee maker from their cubicle.

    This is the sort of book that you put in your parents, relatives, or friends stocking to introduce them to Firefox and make it super-easy for them to get started.

    - The Publisher.
    http://sitepoint.com/books/firefox1/ [sitepoint.com] (4 Free Sample Chapters Available).

    P.S. The book includes a CDROM with Firefox, Thunderbird, and all the extensions mentioned in the title.

  • It's a friggin browser (Score:2, Insightful)

    by MM-tng ( 585125 )
    I don't see the point. Toolbar, webadres , thats it. Some people are just to verbose for me.
  • I have quite a few rss'ed website feeds on my customized google home page. But often they are several entries behind the real website's offerings(fark.com happens a lot). Any way to fix this firefox side?

  • brilliant *nix firefox tip (Score:5, Informative)

    by Douglas Simmons ( 628988 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @03:17PM (#14328270) Homepage
    Linux and UNIX users: You know how Firefox annoyingly responds to middle-wheel-clicks on tabs by opening whatever URL is in the buffer as opposed to closing the tab as it does on Windows platforms? Well I just learned in freenode's #debian that to correct this, fire up about:config (as you would a URL), scroll down to middlemouse.contentLoadURL and set it to false, and bada bing, it's fixed!

    Windows moderators bring on the OT mods all you want, the *nix-running mods will appreciate this shit.

  • Who is going to buy the book? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by FishandChips ( 695645 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @03:17PM (#14328274) Journal
    It's a good review, but the book seems a little misconceived. How many people are really going to spend $25-30 on a book about how to use a web-browser? The market must be very small. I could understand if the book was about how to program a browser and get in real deep but the book doesn't sound as if it might appeal to such readers. Using a web-browser is not that hard, and if it is hard then the chances are good that the browser has been poorly designed (certainly not the case with Firefox). That said, maybe the best Firefox tip is to switch over to Opera, at least until the Firefox team get the memory usage under control. It's a real drag on more modestly specced PCs.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @03:24PM (#14328336)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • This is an attitude that's bugged me to no end.

      Cheaper is cheaper. Why is it that so many people consider cheaper to be the ONLY criterion for shopping? Customer service? Ethics of the company? Convenience? Nope, if it's not cheaper, we're not buying it.

      Given Amazon's long history of questionable behaviour, I think it's GOOD that /. doesn't actively promote it. If you really want to save your eleven cents and make sure your money goes to stupid patents, then I'm sure you can find Amazon on your own.

  • Firefox - SECRETS! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ezeecheez ( 931550 ) on Friday December 23, 2005 @03:52PM (#14328536)
    -Firefox could have stopped the Kennedy assassination, had it not slept late that day

    -Firefox has a secret button that converts all your web requests to look like you're using your company's timekeeping system

    -Firefox killed a hobo with a brick
  • I'd rather just read the source code! ;-)
  • Geesh.. You have the source, just go read that and figure it all out on your own. Its the holidays, I'm sure you have some extra time on your hands.
  • In Firefox, the "New Window" command (control-N) makes a new window at your default page. Is there any way to make it so that "New Window" makes another window at the current page, effectively forking the current window? This is how Internet Exploder works.

    Melissa
  • Is it me, or is Firefox on non-Windows (at least on Ubuntu/breezy, and other Debian-ish versions) extremely unstable?

    On Windows, Firefox is great!

    But after an hour of 3 crashes every 5 minutes, when using it on Kubuntu, I can't help but switch to Konqueror, even with the lesser support for various sites (though Konqueror does have better performance, at least seemingly).

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