Mozilla or Opera

[korme]

Which is better? I'm tired of IE..

I went to Mozilla's site and I got confused looking at all of the links.. Opera seems to be easier just to set up.

Discuss.

[condors]

go to download.com and you can get mozzila with no fuss

[Alan T]

Everyone I know says to get Opera... I use mozilla, never had problems with mozilla and like it ok..

[Drake]

Use Mozilla Firebird 0.6

(convert or die, infidels)

[Drake]

Look, because I'm a nice guy, I'll even include download instructions:

Go to:

http://mozilla.org/

and go to the right section, labelled, "Download Mozilla". Click on a
link and off you go.

Once you get mozilla up and running (which hopefully won't be that hard,
but will take a while if you're on dial-up), go to Edit/Preferences. In
the left bit of the window that pops up, click the little triangle next to
'Advanced', then click on the first item that shows up, 'Scripts and
Windows'. There, you'll see a whole list of things you can turn off. The
very top one, 'Open unrequested windows', is what will turn off pop-ups if
unclicked. Voila!

In fact, the only items I have left clicked are 'Open a link in a new
window' and the ones for cookies.

Now, for Firebird. If you want this, you don't have to download Mozilla,
just firebird. As of right now, it's on version 0.6, but I've been using
it a few weeks and have had no problems, and I've read raves online about
it, too, so. And when browsing, I now see very few ads at all, thanks to
a couple variants I'll explain below.

You can read about Firebird on:

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firebird/

and download version 0.6 from:

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/firebird/release-notes.html

You probably don't want the nightly build, since that's more for
developers or people who don't mind beta-testing. Version 0.6 is quite
stable.

Now, download it and get it up and running--you'll have to unzip the file,
which I hope you know how to do. First, just try clicking on the file.
If that doesn't work, bug me.

Now you can run Firebird. You can do this by just clicking the .exe icon,
but for one of the advanced things I do below, do the following instead
(assuming you're on Windows):

-Close Firebird if you were running it.
-Click the 'Start' button, then 'Run'. Yes, *that* start button.
-Click 'Browse'. Find where you put MozillaFirebird.exe, and select it.
-Click in the window that now should say something like "C:\Program
Files\MozillaFirebird\MozillaFirebird.exe" and add after the final quote a
'-p'. Just -p, no quotes.
-Click OK.

You'll get the profile manager. Make a new profile, call it whatever,
select it, then click "Start Mozilla Firebird".

By default, Firebird already has popups turned off. If you want to turn
popups back on for some godforsaken reason, go to Tools/Options, then
click on 'Web Features'. There it is, go to town. If a particular site
has popups that you need for something you can unblock popups for just
that site. When you're visiting the site, it'll put an icon of a little
circle with an i in it in the lower left corner--click on it, select the
site you want to unblock, and click 'unblock site' Voila.

Now you can do a couple extra things to block ads. And do other stuff,
but I know that's what you all care about. Go to:

http://texturizer.net/firebird/index.html

(There's actually probably a button on your toolbar already that'll take
you there.)

There's a 'Tips and Tricks' page here which you'll probably find
interesting stuff at, including... ad blocking! The tips and tricks
page is at:

http://texturizer.net/firebird/tips.html

and from there you can get to:

http://texturizer.net/firebird/adblock.html

The 'usercontent.css' file is probably in a folder like mine:

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Phoenix\Profiles\lp\7bgsdbqv.slt\chrome\

You can also just do a 'find' on 'usercontent.css'. Open up the file in a
text editor (Notepad is fine), then copy and paste in the bit from the
'adblock.html' page above. Save and exit--you're done! Re-run Firebird,
visit your favorite ad-filled website, and revel in the lack of ads. Run
IE while you're at it, visit the same site, and feel smug. Then throw
away IE. Then pull IE out of the trash, dust it off, and store it in the
corner somewhere, because there'll probably be some site out there that
depends on an IE bug to run correctly.

One more thing--plugins. There's a section of the FAQ on this at

http://texturizer.net/firebird/faq.html

Read the bit on plugins and go to the links for Flash and Java and
probably other stuff. But then you'll want to be able to turn Flash
off, so go to:

http://texturizer.net/firebird/extensions.html

There are a lot of neat options here, but in particular, there's 'Flash
Click To View'. Click that, then click the link where it says, 'Install'.
Now, when a Flash ad gets through your ad blocker, instead of blinking
incessantly at you, you get a button that says, "click here to view
Flash". If viewing the Flash bit was the whole point, click. If not,
blissfully ignore it. Feel smug, etc.

There's an 'AdBlock' extention on this list, too, but you have to mess
with it to get it to do anything--the above instructions work great, and
though I tried the AdBlock extention, I didn't know enough to make it
functional.

(The preceding instructions courtesy of Lucian Smith)

[Fidatelo]

Definately Mozilla. And installing the Orbit 3+1 Theme is a must, just go here (http://themes.mozdev.org/themes/orbit.html) and select the version that applies to the version of Mozilla you downloaded (likely the first one as you scroll down).

Happy browsing! :D

[Drake]

I'm thinking about starting a new religion based around Mozilla. It's that good. No, really.

(convert or die, infidels)

[rjolley]

I'd vote for Mozilla. I use IE only when absolutely necessary.

[Fidatelo]

I think my favorite feature is the ability to create keywords for your bookmarks. Combine that with the ability to add parameters into the bookmark locations, and you can do the following:

Go to the bookmark manager and create a new bookmark with the following properties

Bookmark Name: Google Search
Location: http://www.google.ca/search?q=%s
Keyword: gs

Now you can search google from your location bar by simply typing:
gs [search words]

I've created links for MSDN and other search engines too, it's great! Just keyword + search criteria in the location bar and all is good!

Or even just keyword all your book marks, then going to those sites is as easy as typing in the keyword!

[Sloan]

Originally posted by Drake
Use Mozilla Firebird 0.6

(convert or die, infidels)

This is the correct answer.

[TLK]

Avant Broswer (http://www.avantbrowser.com)


Top 10 reasons to use Avant Browser
Flash Animation Filter: More than 85% of all flash animation on web pages is advertising. These flash files are pretty large, and normally take up to 90% of the size of the page you're visiting. With Avant Browser you can save this bandwidth by blocking the download of these flash files with just one easy click. Avant Browser also provides options to block downloads of pictures, videos, sounds and ActiveX components. With these options users can control their bandwidth and speed up page loading.

Built-in Pop-up Stopper: Easily eliminate unwanted pop-up pages automatically with just one click.

Additional Mouse Functions: If you click a link in the web page with the middle mouse button, the link will be opened in a new window in the background. And there are two handy mouse gestures in Avant Browser. The first allows you to navigate backward one step by holding the right button down and then clicking on the left button simultaneously. The second allows you to navigate forward one step by reversing the buttons used: hold left, and click right.

Multi-Window Browsing: Browse multiple web pages simultaneously. All opened pages can be easily stopped, refreshed, closed or arranged with one click.

Real Full Screen Mode and Alternative Full Desktop mode: When you enable Full Screen Mode, all you see is the webspace, with no toolbars or other clutter. They are simply autohidden! Move your mouse over the top or bottom and find the toolbar and tab bar respectively. Avant Browser also provides Full Desktop Mode, which is the same as Full screen mode, but differs in that your windows task bar stays visible.

Built-in Google Search Engine: Avant Browser provides a built-in search engine, Google. Built-in search engine enables user to search for web pages, images, groups, directories, news, lyrics and software in Internet. International users will be glad to know that you can set avant to utilize any of up to 64 google mirrors by default!

Excellent user support: Excellent user support is provided via an organized, helpful forum where many of your questions have already been asked, and you can find solutions to almost all of your problems. Furthermore, you can put in your 2 cents with a special requests section where you get to influence what goes into the browser next!

Safe Recovery: If Avant Browser is closed improperly, all open web pages are saved and will be automatically reopened at next startup.

Translation: Avant Browser is available in many many languages to suit our international audience. If you your language is not available yet (see above), you can easily translate a small file and support for your native language can be included in the next version. It's quite simple.

Skins: Express your creativity by making a skin for Avant using a custom, easy to use program called Avant Browser Skin Factory, or use any of the many and varied skins made by other users.

[Calis]

I'll chime in also and praise Mozilla, well Firebird...I prefer to use that as Mozilla has gotten pretty bloated over the years.

Great browser though, I love it.

[Blade]

Ok, I have seen some reasons that people use Mozilla. I confess, I have never tried it. Always used IE. Why should I switch, other than the fact that Bill Gates is the root of all evil!

[Drake]

My favorite feature is one-click entire site downloads for offline viewing. This gets me all the video, sound and graphical content that I site has archived so I can view it at my leisure for easier searchability.

Yes, that means you could download the content of your favorite porn site after you log in and then cancel your monthly subscription.

Mozilla Firebird 0.6 not only pays for itself, it puts money back in your pocket. ;)

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by Drake
I'm thinking about starting a new religion based around Mozilla. It's that good. No, really.

(convert or die, infidels)

Sounds a lot like Islam to me...

[Franklinnoble]

Just downloaded Firebird... wow... I like it!

[Bonegavel]

Just use IE and like it. You have been warned.

Bill "borg" Gates

PS your implants are in the mail. You will be IE-inated.

[Sloan]

Originally posted by Blade
Ok, I have seen some reasons that people use Mozilla. I confess, I have never tried it. Always used IE. Why should I switch, other than the fact that Bill Gates is the root of all evil!

Because browsers like mozilla and opera try to adhere to web standards when deciding how to render a page. Plus, Firebird is much faster for me on windows than anything else I've tried.

[Scarecrow]

Select Opera (ver 7.11) , especially if your into PORN for 2 features it has:

1. Going Back (and forward) from pages can be accomplished by holding down the right click button and moving your mouse to the left (or to the right). This frees up one hand at all times :eek:

2. All images can be enlarged/reduced by holding down the ctrl key and using the mouse wheel. Images can quickly be returned to normal by pressing the * key. IE can enlarge/reduce text, but not images. :)


Note: these features have been told to me, and I would never look at pornographic images. I know of these features due to my extensive graphics work. :rolleyes:

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by Sloan
Because browsers like mozilla and opera try to adhere to web standards when deciding how to render a page. Plus, Firebird is much faster for me on windows than anything else I've tried.

I've noticed this... Firebird does a better job rendering pages than Opera, and it's the fastest browser I've used in a long time.

It's sad, because IE actually used to be pretty fast, but I think Microsoft has more or less given up on actually doing anything really innovative with it.

[korme]

I cant seem to post with mozilla

[korme]

Well third try is the charm.

Using Firebird 0.6. I guess this will take some time getting used to.

Thanks for the info, Drake.

[korme]

The most annoying thing is just rearranging all of my old favorites back into their familiar spots.. :)

[korme]

-And the fact that my scroll button on my mouse doesn't seem to work (press the button and I should glide down the page but not now)

[korme]

Is it possible to make the default new window into a tab instead of me having to right click and pick 'open new tab' each time?

[Marmel]

Trying Mozilla out now...

[Drake]

Shorty,

Go here for the extensions that will allow you to better use your mouse:

http://texturizer.net/firebird/extensions.html

Even more easily, in your browser, follow this path:

Tools>>Options>>Extensions

Click the "Get New Extensions" link. Firebird does all the download and plug-in stuff for you.

[korme]

JUST what I was looking for! Autoscroll! :)

Thanks Drakey

[korme]

Also got Tabbrowser which does exactly what I was asking about.

[Daimyo]

I'm liking Mozilla so far. You really need to install the autoscroll extension and do the ad-blocking though. Before doing the ad-blocking it was slower than IE for me, now with ad-blocking its amazingly fast. ESPN.com is viewable again!

[Drake]

That's also the place where you can get the website download spider -- which is, I swear to you, one of the top ten coolest things ever invented in the history of mankind's relationship with computers.

[Daimyo]

DOLA, here is what i want:

Used to be with IE you could set it so that if you opened a JPEG it would open it in your externally configured JPEG viewer instead on in the browser, but this went away in later versions of IE. Is it possible to do this in Firebird? I downloaded the extension that gives "more options" and set the MIME type of jpg to use irfanview to open, but it still tries to open them in Mozilla. :(

[Drake]

I'll have to investigate that one, Daim. I've never tried to do anything like that.

[korme]

Ok. Downloading those extensions fixed my problems and I am absolutely hooked.

Mozilla gets a 2 thumbs up.

[Franklinnoble]

Yes... I'm drinking the Mozilla Firebird Kool-Aid now... and I like it.

[FrogMan]

I know I'll sound like a total newbie here and maybe I am, at least with browsers other than IE, but is Firebird independent from Mozilla? I mean, do you need to have Mozilla for Firebird to work or should I simply download Firebird (and whatever add-on I need) and I'll be fine?

IE 6.0 has been doing the job pretty well for me but seeing how Firebird is getting some pretty good reviews around here, I'm tempted to get it...

Thanks in advance for your answers.

FM

[Drake]

Just download Firebird and you'll be fine. You can pick up all the add-ons you need from within the browser's Options tab.

[FrogMan]

Thanks Drake, that's what I thought and what I will do. Seems like I got myself a new toy to play with :)

FM

[Neuqua]

So um, is it too late to vote Opera?

[Silver Owl]

Can you use Roboform with Firebird ?

Thanks

[FrogMan]

Originally posted by Silver Owl
Can you use Roboform with Firebird ?

Thanks

Was worried about that too, but you don't even need to. Firebird's got its own password manager...

FM

[FrogMan]

Gotta say guys, that this is one sweeeeet little browser. Been getting used to it this morning and so far I love all of it.

Thanks for pointing it out to us... 2 thumbs up!!!

FM

[Blade]

Just downloaded Firebird...so far I am loving it! Just have to get used to all the funky features!!!

[Airhog]

I like opera :)

[McSweeny]

Originally posted by Airhog
I like opera :)

ditto

[daedalus]

Opera and Mozilla seems to both do a lot of the nice things people want. I feel like what you'll like just depends on what flavour you prefer. To me the best thing would be to download both and try each out for a week or so.

And, personally, I enjoy Opera. I find mouse gesture to be incredibly useful. The quick preference options and ability to accept/unaccept popups (accept all, accept none, accept those I requested) are great as well.

To be fair, I haven't tried Mozilla for at least a few versions and, with this Mozilla lurvefest, I probably will give it a whirl again sometimes.

[Easy Mac]

Mozilla ran fine under my computer in the early builds, but I tried Firebird, and it took forever to navigate the menus. Its like it was coded in java (something my computer hates).

Opera is very good, at least if you can find a key to get rid of the ads. Makes looking at porn easy, and the wand is great for storing passwords. Renders things differently sometimes, but nothing you'll notice. And pop-up blocking is great.

[cuervo72]

This (Firebird).....is good. Many thanks.

[panerd]

Question from a very non-technical person. My employer has blocked almost all options on internet explorer, but I still can download programs. Would an alternate internet browser allow me complete access to the internet again or are they really just blocking our internet connections?

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by panerd
Question from a very non-technical person. My employer has blocked almost all options on internet explorer, but I still can download programs. Would an alternate internet browser allow me complete access to the internet again or are they really just blocking our internet connections?

Quite possibly. It depends on how your IT department is blocking the options.

You can set remote security policies that can cripple IE pretty easy, but I doubt anyone has bothered to write policies that would search for Mozilla keys in the registry and cripple those as well.

It's also possible that they're blocking certain IP ports on the firewall, and there's no way around that (well, there is - but it's not worth your trouble).

[Marmel]

After spending a weekend with Firebird, it is now my default browser. Good stuff!

[korme]

Marmel, the only thing that sucks about Firebird is that our JBL page looks like shit now. :(

[Marmel]

Shorty, it looks the same to me.

[daedalus]

What's the difference between Mozilla Firebird and just Mozilla?

[daedalus]

Very nice. They implemented Opera's Mouse Gestures via extension. You folks who are using Firebird now should really take a look at this extension. Really. No, seriously. I incredibly heart being to use mouse gestures.

. . .

Wow. They've got some complicated looking ones in there. Way too complicated for me. I mainly use the ones in Opera just for forward, backward and reload and it's definitely very nice.

[Solecismic]

If you're on Windows 95-98-Me, Firebird drops GDI resources. You'll have to exit and restart the browser every so often, or it will probably crash your PC. They seem to be aware of the problem (remember, Firebird is still essentially a beta product) and promise to fix it.

There's a bug in early versions of Windows XP that causes similar behavior in many applications, including FOF. Some customers have told me (I haven't run into this myself, and I still develop on Me) that this happens on 98-Me as well. So maybe Firebird's answer (and mine), is not to use certain features in the operating system.

[MJ4H]

My problem with Firebird is the same as it was with Mozilla. It never remembers ANYTHING.

EVERYTIME I start up Firebird it asks me which profile to use despite click DONT ASK ON STARTUP everytime.

It never remembers my font settings.

I have no idea what directory to put that usercontent.css file for the ad-blocking either. Whatever directories Ive tried dont work.

Mozilla/Firebird has always been this way for me. If someone could explain what the hell is going on with that I would happily switch, but for now it just enrages me everytime I use it.

[Sloan]

Originally posted by Solecismic
and I still develop on Me).

:eek:

[daedalus]

You can always temporarily use Opera until somebody figures out what the problem is MJ4H. A lot of the feature set are very similar, though it seems that Mozilla has a larger set of plug-ins.

[MJ4H]

Ive used Opera in the past. Hate the ads. No thanks.

[daedalus]

Cool. Glad you at least gave it a whirl. :)

The ad in the corner doesn't really bother me for some odd reason. Hopefully, somebody can come up with a solution for your problem with Mozilla soon.

Have you considered checking out the Avant browser mentioned earlier in this thread? I looked at it and it's apparently another one of the browser that layers on top of IE and has some of the features from Mozilla/Opera.

[MJ4H]

Actually I solved at least one of the problems by deleting the default profile. Since it now has no choice of profiles, I dont get asked everytime. This makes it much more usable.

[wade moore]

Which is better? I'm tired of IE..

I went to Mozilla's site and I got confused looking at all of the links.. Opera seems to be easier just to set up.

Discuss.

Mozilla is by far the best browser out there imo. The plugins, etc are easy to find and install and the tabbing is the sweetness.

[MJ4H]

tx for the update there chief