3 ms·

So they are still supporting Firefox 3.X but not 4? I find that terribly confusing for users, like my mum.

by keyle 15y ago

azakai 15y ago
It's confusing, yeah. The reason is that the release schedule is completely changing between 3.X and 4. 4 and above will work like Chrome: When version N is released, N-1 is EOL and will not get further updates. There is no simple way to make the transition from 3.X to that, so it ends up being confusing.
- guptaneil 15y ago
  Does Firefox support autoupdating? I feel like Chrome's aggressive update and EOL cycles only work because it updates in the background, so users never have to worry about what version they're running.
  - azakai 15y ago
    The goal is to autoupdate silently like Chrome. This is being implemented in stages, it isn't all there yet, but updates are already simpler than before.
    - thaumaturgy 15y ago
      I think Mozilla has seriously mis-predicted what this is going to do to their adoption in the very large user base of people who were convinced to move from IE to Firefox by some well-meaning computer tech. Considering that the majority of our clients really dislike it when software changes without their specifically asking it to, we can no longer recommend Firefox to our clients. ...which is unfortunate, because AB+ made a really nice first line of defense against malicious ads on websites.
      - CrazedGeek 15y ago
        You can turn it off in Options -> Advanced -> Update, if it bothers your clients that much. FWIW, I can't actually notice a difference between Firefox 4 and 5 UI-wise (I'm sure there are some changes, but they must be incredibly subtle).
        thaumaturgy 15y ago
        And we would happily do exactly that, except that then our clients won't receive any further security updates once the next version comes out. Given how hostile the web has become lately, we can't in good conscience recommend that, either. So we have three choices: 1. Leave clients with Firefox with updates turned on, continue receiving requests to reverse recent upgrades or gripes about it constantly updating on them -> clients are generally unhappy, but reasonably safe on the web. 2. Leave clients with Firefox with updates turned off, subsequently manually manage software updates for three counties' worth of clients -> either bleed money like crazy or try to justify billing our time to our clients for this hassle every six months. (This isn't quite as bad as it sounds at first, because we do try to maintain contact with every one of our clients at least once every couple of months, but it still becomes one more item on our checklist for every single computer we touch while on-site.) 3. Recommend some other software instead. IE? Laughable. Chrome? Same problems. Opera? Guess I need to see how they're doing these days.
        CrazedGeek 15y ago
        Iron, maybe? It's Chrome minus the updater and a few other things: http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php
        thaumaturgy 15y ago
        I haven't heard of that one and am looking at it now, thank you. I'm also considering a near-term fork of Firefox.
      - ghshephard 15y ago

So they are still supporting Firefox 3.X but not 4? I find that terribly confusing for users, like my mum.

by keyle 15y ago

So they are still supporting Firefox 3.X but not 4? I find that terribly confusing for users, like my mum.

It's confusing, yeah. The reason is that the release schedule is completely changing between 3.X and 4. 4 and above will work like Chrome: When version N is released, N-1 is EOL and will not get further updates. There is no simple way to make the transition from 3.X to that, so it ends up being confusing.

guptaneil 15y ago
Does Firefox support autoupdating? I feel like Chrome's aggressive update and EOL cycles only work because it updates in the background, so users never have to worry about what version they're running.
- azakai 15y ago
  The goal is to autoupdate silently like Chrome. This is being implemented in stages, it isn't all there yet, but updates are already simpler than before.
  - thaumaturgy 15y ago
    I think Mozilla has seriously mis-predicted what this is going to do to their adoption in the very large user base of people who were convinced to move from IE to Firefox by some well-meaning computer tech. Considering that the majority of our clients really dislike it when software changes without their specifically asking it to, we can no longer recommend Firefox to our clients. ...which is unfortunate, because AB+ made a really nice first line of defense against malicious ads on websites.
    - CrazedGeek 15y ago
      You can turn it off in Options -> Advanced -> Update, if it bothers your clients that much. FWIW, I can't actually notice a difference between Firefox 4 and 5 UI-wise (I'm sure there are some changes, but they must be incredibly subtle).
      - thaumaturgy 15y ago
        And we would happily do exactly that, except that then our clients won't receive any further security updates once the next version comes out. Given how hostile the web has become lately, we can't in good conscience recommend that, either. So we have three choices: 1. Leave clients with Firefox with updates turned on, continue receiving requests to reverse recent upgrades or gripes about it constantly updating on them -> clients are generally unhappy, but reasonably safe on the web. 2. Leave clients with Firefox with updates turned off, subsequently manually manage software updates for three counties' worth of clients -> either bleed money like crazy or try to justify billing our time to our clients for this hassle every six months. (This isn't quite as bad as it sounds at first, because we do try to maintain contact with every one of our clients at least once every couple of months, but it still becomes one more item on our checklist for every single computer we touch while on-site.) 3. Recommend some other software instead. IE? Laughable. Chrome? Same problems. Opera? Guess I need to see how they're doing these days.
        CrazedGeek 15y ago
        Iron, maybe? It's Chrome minus the updater and a few other things: http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php
        thaumaturgy 15y ago
        I haven't heard of that one and am looking at it now, thank you. I'm also considering a near-term fork of Firefox.
    - ghshephard 15y ago