Mozilla - Because You're Worth It
In a post entitled mozilla.org redesign, Dave Shea elaborates on his reasons for designing the new mozilla.org website for as much money as it will cost Internet Explorer users to upgrade their browser.
In the well written piece, Dave lists a number of valid reasons why Mozilla is better than Internet Explorer. Here are some:
An application service provider needs a free and open platform that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get a foot in the door. A web developer needs non-proprietary, well-supported standards to decrease development time and focus on more important issues like accessibility and usability. Businesses large and small need the chance to compete in an environment without the threat of one company with an illegally-gained monopoly easily crushing them if they're deemed 'competition'. An end user needs a secure computing environment. IE offers none of these.
[...]
Mozilla is a non-profit organization that seeks to better the web, not line their pockets. Decisions made will be in the interests of everyone, not for financial gain of the few.
A while back, Neal Deakin put together an interesting comparison of features in Mozilla and Explorer that complements Dave's arguments. That was written back in the 1.2 days - the Mozilla 1.5 release is even better, as is Mozilla Firebird 0.7.
Despite all its impressive achievements so far, Mozilla is still a browser in active development. For the user this means continuous improvements instead of regularly issued security patches.
A good way to follow this development is by frequently stopping by Blogzilla - a blog about Mozilla.
The Internet Explorer story ended in Redmond back in 2001.
The Mozilla story has just started.
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MikeyC
Comment on October 18, 2003 at 4:26 am
Unfortunately, Firebird has its share of annoying regression bugs. For example, right now I am using the brand spankin' new Firebird 0.7 and can't middle-click any links on this site because it's being served as: application/xhtml+xml. This bug was fixed in Firebird 0.61 and now it returns. I am praying that we don't see a return of the input-field-crash bug.
Don't get me wrong, Mozilla (Firebird, in particular) rocks, but it does have its share of annoyances that I think the "community" conveniently ignores in their evangelism efforts.
Anne van Kesteren
Comment on October 18, 2003 at 7:04 am
Look at it this way: IE doesn't support application/xhtml+xml
.
Just kidding, you are absolutely right. Hixie should make the same thing is he made for Opera. Letting it run through 1000s of test cases making a screen shot of each and check what is different.
Only now one that is more advanced, which can also checks for things that are different in user interaction
.
Lars,
.
Great conclusion. I love it
Lars Holst
Comment on October 18, 2003 at 11:54 am
Mikey, thanks for the input. I haven't experienced any regression bugs in Firebird so far, but I'm sure they pop in and out of releases without ever being noticed by some. My point was that there is a will and a way to fix them, not that there's such a thing as a perfect browser. Yet
As for the particular problem you mention, it does not show up in my copy of 0.7 (Win). I tried other xhtml+xml serving sites as well (well, I just tried Anne's, but still).
What I did notice (and I can't remember if this was default behavior in earlier releases, and if so, whether or not that default was somehow restored in 0.7) was that middle-clicking activated the autoscrolling function. Could this be what you are describing?
If so, the preferred behavior of middle-clicking to open links in a new tab can be restored by selecting Tools → Options → Advanced → Browsing, and then unchecking Use autoscrolling.
Anne, thanks. I believe I don't need to argue the pros of Mozilla to you, right?
As for Opera, yes that was an impressive series of tests, but it didn't stop bugs from reappearing in subsequent Opera versions, did it? Even with standards-based development, I think it is inevitable that a more advanced piece of software also gets more complex.
I'm not sure how the development works for Opera, but I believe the best way to catch as many bugs as possible is to have something like Bugzilla, Mozilla's bugtracking system. I know Anne uses this system, right? Mikey, have you reported the bug?
sergio
Comment on October 27, 2003 at 4:33 am
I think the bug Mike describes is indeed a bug. The autoscrolling feature shouldn't take precedence over links (and it doesn't when browsing other sites). I get the same behavior mike described.
Great post Lars.
Lars Holst
Comment on October 27, 2003 at 8:42 pm
Thanks Sergio. I agree. At first I though they had tried to mimick IE's behavior, but I think most Firebird users would find that a less useful "feature". Either way, the fix is easy for those who know where to look, but I am sure lots of users are frustrated. Middle-clicking to open new tabs is an essential feature.
On a sidenote, I'm planning to do a post about Firebird's extensions. I just installed Mozcalc and it is extremely useful