Firefox 3.6.9

According to the Firefox twitter page Firefox 3.6.9 will be released very soon, although they're still pushing for most end users to download version 4 beta.

Ever since the plugins container was introduced in version 3.6.7, there has been a major performance slowdown reported by many, even on newer systems. There is a way to disable the plugins container, but even after doing so, it still doesn't make much of a difference in overall performance.

Sad to say that it appears Firefox has hit a wall with their browser. If they do not improve stability, load speed, plus memory usage soon, and spend less time creating cosmetic enhancements like personas, they could lose a lot of their following to Google Chrome, even though I would rather force myself to get used to IE 8 again, than use any product that has Google's name attached to it.

The good thing is, on File Hippo's site, you can download the earlier versions that worked well for you. The betas keep on coming for Firefox 4.0, I believe that they're at their fourth release of it now.

I've tried to use it, but having some problems finding the features, such as checking for updates, some of my add ons doesn't work still, etc. If for whatever reason that I can't find FF comfortable to use, I'm already playing with Opera. I'll never install Google Chrome, no matter what. I installed their opt out plug ins yesterday.

Seamonkey is a decent browser, too. It's also produced by Mozilla, a very lightweight (mabye too much so) browser. There are many options.

What I don't understand in the first place is Firefox made their name on what you see today. They are very successful, I just don't understand the eye candy approach that they're taking. When you're in a strong second place and gaining, you don't change the look & feel of your product, I don't care what it is. You change when you're on a downslide, not when gaining momentum.

I can see the new features, but FF needs no facelift at this time.

Cat

Pethaps my post in this thread may have something to do with it's alleged continuing popularity?

Another Firefox Update - 3.6.7

I have had no issues with Firefox 3.6.8 and I don't believe there will be any with future updates or upgrades. Mozilla is not going to shoot themselves in the foot regarding the most popular browser in use today.

3.6.9 works great on Linux and solved some bugs I was experiencing. Looking forward to its Windows release.

I haven't bothered with the v4 beta since I didn't want to deal with broken add-ons. I have heard tell that it might look more similar to Chrome, which is a welcome change if it's true. Chrome has a modern interface; Firefox 3 is too XP'ish.

Hi Cat,

First .. I hope that you've been feeling better!

I do not feel comfortable using any of the FF betas that are currently available. Not just due to inherent addons incompatibilities, but browser bugginess in general.

Wholeheartedly agree with you on the Firefox eye candy comment. Seems that Mozilla is trying to morph their Firefox browser into a cosmetically enhanced treat for whatever they define as average users, or those who feel it is necessary to have a "pretty" GUI to stare at while they are watching Youtube vids. This is indicative of what most of the internet has deteriorated into these days .. bloated programs that are high on visual appeal but low on stable functionality.

I've seen SeaMonkey, but it just looks like a bare bones version of Firefox. I might give Opera another go, as I haven't played around with it since version 8.

Thanks etalmar, yes I'm getting better, and it's time I did. I'm starting to use my computer more, that's a good sign of improvement (for me).

Hopefully, FF won't make too many sweeping changes, and if they do, like I said, you can go to File Hippo, click to download FF, you'll see the older versions to choose from. But I wouldn't want to go back any further than 3.6.4. That's when the remote code execution problem was "fixed". This was of great concern for Linux users, who in general aren't accustomed to dealing with viruses and malware. It was a major threat to them, because FF ships with most Linux versions, just as IE does with Windows.

Yes, SeaMonkey is a bare bones version of FF, but I've ran it, and could easily adapt to it, if needed. Also Opera has come a long way since version 8, it's said that it's one of the fastest browsers on the planet.

Cat

Thanks Cat, for the heads up about the remote code execution issue in 3.6.4. Point taken. Will keep that in mind, although FF 3.6.6 is running great on my desktop, so I doubt that I would want to revert back to an older version.

I too am very familiar with File Hippo and use it to download not only older versions of Firefox, but also the current version of Malwarebytes and Adobe Flash Player. I don't know if you've also noticed that it seems to be much easier to upgrade Adobe Flash via File Hippo, than to attempt to do so through Adobe's site, which is a quagmire of hoops to jump through, just to get the damn update.

File Hippo has been one of my favorite download sites that I recommend to others. Major Geeks is a good downloads resource as well.

I've been a fan of File Hippo for quite some time, at least a couple of years. I have ran into Major Geeks a few times, when downloading software. They seem to be a safe site, and you usually get fast downloads through them.

Yes, you can get Flash, and updates to many softwares through File Hippo. Their update checker finds many of updates to your installed software, and even if they themselves don't have the updated version, they often provide the link for the upgrade. When you have a lot of software installed, as I do, I just don't have the time to check the at least 60 (perhaps more) installed apps that I have spread over 5 Windows OS's.

What I do to save time, if I have an update that other OS's are using, I move the install file to a USB thumb drive, making updating even faster.

I read a post above that said 3.6.9 was already released for Linux, but I've yet to see it. But updating Linux is a whole different world from updating Windows. However, using FF, including installing add ons, is the same.

Cat

Firefox is faster on my newly built Windows 7 x64 computer than Opera 10.61, Internet Explorer and on alot of pages in Chrome beta 6.* . Until Chrome gets more addons, like NoScript, DownloadThemAll, Site Advisor, etc. ,I'll be sticking with Firefox as my number 1 browser. IE #2, Chrome #3 and Opera #4.