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I'm used to Firefox 3.6 on Win7. There are a few reasons why it's my go-to browser when I'm using Windows: 1) Plug-ins like Firebug, web dev toolbar, greasemon

I'm used to Firefox 3.6 on Win7. There are a few reasons why it's my go-to browser when I'm using Windows: 1) Plug-ins like Firebug, web dev toolbar, greasemonkey, and resizeable textarea 2) Tabs are well-placed and readable, and you can simply double-click next to tabs to open a new tab 3) A proper status bar that's always visible 4) A full menu bar 5) No Adobe Flash built-in I've installed Firefox 4 RC. The colors are loud. Tabs are on top, tab text is illegible, and double-clicking next to tabs doesn't create a new tab (it simply resizes the browser window). The status bar and the menu bar are gone. I couldn't even find Firebug and Greasemonkey. Luckily, a few of these unfortunate decisions can be reversed. Apparently, you can turn on an "add-on bar" to show the controls for Firebug and Greasemonkey. You can also opt for a top menu bar, which has the added benefit that it re-enables the "double-click to create new tab" behavior. IMHO, the new UI sucks balls. If Mozilla wanted to copy Chrome/Safari's UI, they've succeeded. EDIT: After viewing some of my websites in Firefox 4, I must say that CSS3 and text rendering is a lot better than in FF 3.6. From what I can tell, it's on par with Chrome. I just wish it didn't have its UI as well.

sid0 16y ago
Right click on a UI button and disable tabs on top + enable the menu bar. Firefox isn't Chrome -- it doesn't force you into its workflow or mode of thought.
- Samuel_Michon 16y ago
  Thanks for the tip, it does help. I've since edited my comment.
- MEHColeman 16y ago
  >Firefox isn't Chrome -- it doesn't force you into its workflow or mode of thought. Yes, it does, it's just a different mode of thought. Chrome is far less configurable than Firefox, and has some features than drive me mad - like the position of a newly opened tab.
  - sid0 16y ago
    I don't think we're disagreeing :)
yesimahuman 16y ago
> If Mozilla wanted to copy Chrome/Safari's UI, they've succeeded They haven't succeeded because they still see the need for both a search box and an address box and the tabs don't close right under where the last close button was (my biggest gripes).
- sp332 16y ago
  the tabs don't close right under where the last close button was It's not really a fix, but as a less-aggravating workaround, you can use ctl-w or ctl-F4 to close tabs. That way you don't have to reposition the mouse every time you want to close a tab. And I can hit ctl-w with my left hand, so I still don't have to take my right hand off the mouse to use the keyboard shortcut.
  - mixmastamyk 16y ago
    Don't forget middle-click tabs to close.
- pcwalton 16y ago
  Yeah, I'm disappointed that our fix for the latter [1] didn't end up landing in time for Firefox 4. I'm hoping to release it as an add-on, and it has a very good chance of making it for the next release 3 months down the road. [1]: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=465086 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=465086
- alexqgb 16y ago
  The nice thing about the separate search box is the corresponding list of available search engines.
  - Hovertruck 16y ago
    I much prefer Chrome's approach, where it remembers sites you've visited that have a search bar (IMDB for example). If I start typing 'im' and press tab it changes into a search box for that site.
  - 16y ago
Sephr 16y ago
> No Adobe Flash built-in How is that a reason not to use Firefox over Chrome? Plugins can always be disabled, and if it's the principle of having proprietary stuff in your browser that you dislike, you can always choose Chromium, which doesn't include Adobe Flash or the PDF viewer, among other things.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- Samuel_Michon 16y ago
  I'm fine with proprietary tech, but Adobe Flash and Acrobat are unsafe, buggy and drive my CPU mad. After reading your comment, I have once again searched for a setting within Chrome to remove the built-in Flash, but I can't find it. That leaves Chromium and Iron.
  - pmh 16y ago
    I'm not sure that you can remove it, but you should be able to disable it through the about:plugins page. The long way around is through Options->Under the Hood->Plugin-ins->Disable individual plugins.
    - pjscott 16y ago
      The same goes for any Acrobat plugin you may have, though I think Chrome's built-in PDF viewer supersedes Adobe's.
    - drivebyacct2 16y ago
      Even better, turn on "click to enable". It's a blast not having Flash ever run unless I specifically allow it.
    - gjm11 16y ago
      "Under the Hood" is replaced by "Under the Bonnet" for UK users, which to my mind shows remarkable attention to detail. (I wonder what else differs between en-gb and en-us...)
w1ntermute 16y ago
You can reenable the status bar with the Status-4-Evar extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/status-4-evar...
demetris 16y ago
The status bar can be turned on (and off) with Ctrl+/ (Ctrl+Slash). This takes care for the main issue for me. The other issue I see is the the styling of the status bar, which seems incomplete. I added some additional styling to my userChrome.css and the bar now looks decent. (In Windows 7 with the Classic Windows theme.) #browser-bottombox { border-top-color: #808080 !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; padding-right: 16px !important; }
DEinspanjer 16y ago
I just tested on Mac and Windows 7 and even with tabs on top, double clicking in empty space next to tabs will open a new tab. If that doesn't work for you, I would recommend considering it a bug and filing it on bugzilla. It might be an incompatibility with an add-on or a preference setting, but there is no harm in reporting it.
mixmastamyk 16y ago
Double-click tabbar new tab seems to have been broken, however oddly I can get it to work with middle-click.

sid0 16y ago

Right click on a UI button and disable tabs on top + enable the menu bar. Firefox isn't Chrome -- it doesn't force you into its workflow or mode of thought.

Samuel_Michon 16y ago
Thanks for the tip, it does help. I've since edited my comment.
MEHColeman 16y ago
>Firefox isn't Chrome -- it doesn't force you into its workflow or mode of thought. Yes, it does, it's just a different mode of thought. Chrome is far less configurable than Firefox, and has some features than drive me mad - like the position of a newly opened tab.
- sid0 16y ago
  I don't think we're disagreeing :)

yesimahuman 16y ago

> If Mozilla wanted to copy Chrome/Safari's UI, they've succeeded They haven't succeeded because they still see the need for both a search box and an address box and the tabs don't close right under where the last close button was (my biggest gripes).

sp332 16y ago
the tabs don't close right under where the last close button was It's not really a fix, but as a less-aggravating workaround, you can use ctl-w or ctl-F4 to close tabs. That way you don't have to reposition the mouse every time you want to close a tab. And I can hit ctl-w with my left hand, so I still don't have to take my right hand off the mouse to use the keyboard shortcut.
- mixmastamyk 16y ago
  Don't forget middle-click tabs to close.
pcwalton 16y ago
Yeah, I'm disappointed that our fix for the latter [1] didn't end up landing in time for Firefox 4. I'm hoping to release it as an add-on, and it has a very good chance of making it for the next release 3 months down the road. [1]: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=465086 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=465086
alexqgb 16y ago
The nice thing about the separate search box is the corresponding list of available search engines.
- Hovertruck 16y ago
  I much prefer Chrome's approach, where it remembers sites you've visited that have a search bar (IMDB for example). If I start typing 'im' and press tab it changes into a search box for that site.
- 16y ago

Sephr 16y ago

> No Adobe Flash built-in How is that a reason not to use Firefox over Chrome? Plugins can always be disabled, and if it's the principle of having proprietary stuff in your browser that you dislike, you can always choose Chromium, which doesn't include Adobe Flash or the PDF viewer, among other things.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
Samuel_Michon 16y ago
I'm fine with proprietary tech, but Adobe Flash and Acrobat are unsafe, buggy and drive my CPU mad. After reading your comment, I have once again searched for a setting within Chrome to remove the built-in Flash, but I can't find it. That leaves Chromium and Iron.
- pmh 16y ago
  I'm not sure that you can remove it, but you should be able to disable it through the about:plugins page. The long way around is through Options->Under the Hood->Plugin-ins->Disable individual plugins.
  - pjscott 16y ago
    The same goes for any Acrobat plugin you may have, though I think Chrome's built-in PDF viewer supersedes Adobe's.
  - drivebyacct2 16y ago
    Even better, turn on "click to enable". It's a blast not having Flash ever run unless I specifically allow it.
  - gjm11 16y ago
    "Under the Hood" is replaced by "Under the Bonnet" for UK users, which to my mind shows remarkable attention to detail. (I wonder what else differs between en-gb and en-us...)

w1ntermute 16y ago

You can reenable the status bar with the Status-4-Evar extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/status-4-evar/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/status-4-evar...

demetris 16y ago

The status bar can be turned on (and off) with Ctrl+/ (Ctrl+Slash). This takes care for the main issue for me. The other issue I see is the the styling of the status bar, which seems incomplete. I added some additional styling to my userChrome.css and the bar now looks decent. (In Windows 7 with the Classic Windows theme.) #browser-bottombox { border-top-color: #808080 !important; border-top-style: solid !important; border-top-width: 1px !important; padding-right: 16px !important; }

DEinspanjer 16y ago

I just tested on Mac and Windows 7 and even with tabs on top, double clicking in empty space next to tabs will open a new tab. If that doesn't work for you, I would recommend considering it a bug and filing it on bugzilla. It might be an incompatibility with an add-on or a preference setting, but there is no harm in reporting it.

mixmastamyk 16y ago

Double-click tabbar new tab seems to have been broken, however oddly I can get it to work with middle-click.