Jun 22 2008
Firefox 3: The Great Let Down?
In Mark Evan’s post, Did We Get Suckered by Firefox 3?, he asks a very pointed question. Firefox topped 8 million downloads in a 24 hour period, which reports are stating could be a new world record (Chattahbox).
Mark wasn’t too pleased with Mozilla, and immediately points both barrels and fires:
Everyone likes something shiny and new so it didn’t come as much surprise to see eight million people download Firefox 3… While Firefox is becoming more popular, the reality is people who enthusiastically downloaded as soon as it was released into the wild may have been suckered.
Why is it that Mozilla has this mystique of greatness, anyway?
I’m not so sure anyone got “suckered”, and I’m not of the opinion Firefox is some messiah of browsers. For that matter, I’m certainly no fanboy of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
I get the impression that many almost feel as though Mozilla has some underlying obligation to fix world hunger or bring peace to the Middle East. I mean, come on! The fanatics that follow Apple or tout Google act as if they are some ’dynamic duo‘ out to stop the evils of Corporate America too.
It’s easy to get caught up in the positive spin of a company, but let’s cut the hype… Firefox is a browser just like IE, and just like Safari. I am a user who wants to surf the web, read e-mail, and conduct my business and personal affairs in a connected world.
I will tell you that I have worked with FF 1 and 2 with no great applause. They’re OK, but interoperability with other suites in my line of business applications have been spotty. I was truly hoping FF3 would fix some of that, but it appears that in fixing some issues others have arisen.
Now that’s a shocker: a software company that has bugs in their code? No, not Mozilla. They’re curing AIDS in Africa with each download - aren’t they?
The black and white of browsers:
Listen folks, I don’t mean to downplay world events - or more importantly anyone’s role in helping others. I’m all for that. However, let’s look at this just like a business. These companies are in business. I love the competition that both Firefox and Safari bring to the table because it helped Microsoft get a clue and clean up some (I said some) of their crap code in IE.
Now speaking of code, FF3 has been all but working smoothly since I downloaded all but less than a week ago. My trusty RoboFormssoftware isn’t working properly and completely disappears at times - and let me tell you keeping track of all the passwords I have is a hassle without it. AJAXey sites don’t function very well that I can tell, like Plurk. Now who knows if that is truly Firefox or the A-Team just goofing with their code base again, but IE7 doesn’t seem to hiccup very much.
Well, maybe these are all tweaks, and maybe not. However, if I put on my, “I’m just a normal user” cap, I don’t care. I want my software to work, out of the box, with no customization. I know, call me lazy - call me idealistic, but don’t call me unrealistic!
The bottom line:
Mozilla isn’t on some grand crusade to make the world a better place by downloading their code. They are a business looking for market share. I’m sure they would be the first to tell you that if you generally want to make a difference in the world, sitting in front of their browser is not the place to be.
Oh well, I’ll wait for a .1 release to fix some of the hiccups along with my software vendors releasing some updated code as well. Until then, I’ll probably kick back to my trusty IE - sorry boys and girls.
Oh well, this is my rant on Firefox 3 for now, do you have a beef with it, or just with what I’m saying? Speak up - because I can’t hear you!
Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.
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Firefox's innovations continue to elevate browsing technology and promote web standards. Without Firefox I doubt IE7 would be offering tabbed browsing or that the IE7 team would have focused on creating a more standards compliant browser. An open source foundation is keeping a behemoth software company on their toes and that is a very good thing for the end user regardless of their browser preference. (Imagine what would happen if a Linux environment like Ubuntu continues to gain popularity and compatibility, Windows 7 might be very different. Doubtful to be sure, but it's nice to dream)
Finally, the Mozilla team continues to find a way to make a "better browser." Even a simple and intuitive addition like the Firefox 3 address bar has already drastically reduced the time it takes me to visit a URL. Mozilla seems to put real thought into what a web user needs, like adding tags to bookmarks, creating smart bookmark folders, or introducing a new iconography to SSL certificate validation. That type of thinking has not occurred or at least has not translated into software with IE. IE7 is still slow, has (IMHO) a terrible UI, and treats invalid certs with a terrible error page that a common user mistakes for a 404.
I'm grateful to Mozilla and the Open Source community for meeting my needs and making my browsing experience better. IE hasn't done that since the Netscape days.
Good post my friend.
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Call me the amateur, but I seem to stick with IE.
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I suppose I'm talking on two different angles here, and allowed emotion to bundle them together.
On one hand, I completely agree with you that fierce competition is a must in order for consumers to benefit in a capitalist society (you will notice I did mention this in my article).
On the other hand, I am completely sick to death of the community of "fanboys" espoucing how great things like Google, Apple, and Mozilla are - and continually bashing on Microsoft just because it seems like its an "us against the big machine" type of mentality.
Do not mistake my intention here, I whole-heartedly agree in a persons right to feel that way, but these companies are just like any other - not some 'holier-than-thou' entity that is revolutionizing the world - at least not like Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi.
So, to your points on Firefox and Mozilla, I would generally agree, but think the code does need some improvements. I do agree with your assertion that we need standards to write web-based (or any other) code to. I do not agree that FF3 is a superior browser, in general purpose - but to me it is much like the devil you know vs. the devil you don't.
To my other point in my rant, I suppose my underlying fear is that the "tech" community is a bit myopic in their outlook and are continually gushing on firefox, twitter, friendfeed, apple, and google... as a general observation.
Thank you for bringing some clarity to the rant ;-) Great comments, and I most definitely welcome a challenge - or else I wouldn't have posted this somewhat contrarian opinion
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