Why I don't recommend Firefox

[moxnix]

If they don't know what a browser is they sure as hell won't know what a "blog" is so no harm will be done.

Whats a blog?





If a user doesn't try anything new, then they will never progress above the leval that they are at now. They will never learn anything new and probably also never use a AV or firewall, or do any Windows updates......because they just don't know. And since they don't know, they don't care.

[arisecanfly]

I agree with Moxnix....how can new users ever progress above the level that they are now. Everyone super user or regular user is aware of how buggy M$ can be. I have firefox installed at work and at home, and is on the standard build for my division, and everyone that is trying is telling me how great Firefox is. Firefox hopefully will become great one day, but as all software that becomes popular people will find holes and bugs in it.

[nihil]

If a user doesn't try anything new, then they will never progress above the leval that they are at now. They will never learn anything new and probably also never use a AV or firewall, or do any Windows updates......because they just don't know. And since they don't know, they don't care.

That is exactly the situation as I see it. I know quite a few people who look on their PC as a glorified mobile phone with typwriting capabilities.

I just returned a laptop this morning. The guy who owns it is pretty intelligent, but does not know a lot about computers. He had an unpatched WinXP box no firewall and no AV, and he had become infected. I am not sure with what, but I would assume one of the network aware nasties. Now he has AV, firewall and one or two other tools, and actually saw the firewall intercepting stuff.

I explained the problems, and he certainly took it on board. A case of "once bitten, twice shy" but the problem is that so many people get bitten, and frequently don't even know it. I am surprised that manufacturers have not taken a more proactive position on user education, as they must get loads of helpdesk calls they would otherwise avoid

[xierox]

How far should be dumb down software so that the average user can use it? I don't mean to sound rude, hear me out. Should we remove the Right Click just because many people don't know what it is and they get confused and use the wrong button sometimes? (Some people may say yes, and to you I say: Should we geeks get screwed out of useful features just because most people aren't knowledgeable? )

Quite a few of this fellows arguments are solved if someone half-way competant sets up Firefox for the user. True, most users aren't competant enough to do this, but think about it. I.E. was most likely (not always, I'll give you that) set up by someone they knew and they were most likely given the basics of how to use it. I just set up Firefox for a family I know and one of the first things the father said was "Wow! This looks a lot easier to use! There's fewer buttons!" It took me like one minute (quite literally) to explain everything to them. I even explained the Google Search Bar in the top right and they had no problem picking it up. These are just average users, too, nothing special.

Regards,
Xierox

P.S. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we can't make things new user friendly. Just don't dumb them down so much that they're unusable by more knowledgable users.

[lumpyporridge]

Originally posted here by moxnix
Whats a blog?

Its a tool for self important morons to clog up search engine results.


This fellow really had to reach to find problems and even then they are minor (If you are using win me you have much bigger problems than a bug in firefox). I have yet to see a bug in the newest firefox and i use it every day. Anyways I would take a couple of bugs even if it means having the extensions and flexabillity. Really, IE plain and simple is a piece of crap relative to firefox (M$, the 1990s called and they want your browser back). Blessed be mouse gestures, bug me not, gmail notifier, target alert, allow right click..........

[|3lack|ce]

MrCoffee hit on a good point when he said his 7 year old uses it with no problems. I use IE, I've always used IE. Why? because it's what I'm used to. I don't like new things when they're integral to the way I do things online. My grandkids on the other hand aren't used to IE - perhaps they'll dearly love Firefox - IF it's easy to get.

Teach the kids and conquer the world.

[xierox]

|3lack|ce, it's extremely easy to pick up. If you haven't tried it because you're worried about not understanding it, give it a try. There's nothing to worry about. And remember, if you don't like it, you can always go back to IE.

Regards,
Xierox

[cacosapo]

I've always used IE. Why? because it's what I'm used to. [/B]

So do I. Why change to other else? It fits perfectly for my current needs. I have no problem with it.

Sometimes we need just to sticky with the old ones

[xierox]

If for nothing else, it's more secure at this time as 95% of people use IE and thuse most Spyware works on only IE through IE security flaws.

Xierox

[|3lack|ce]

Actually I just spent the time y'all spent responding downloading FF. It's a good lil browser, and has a lot of cool extras you just can't do with IE (at least that I've found on IE). I might just keep it. The point I was making in my post wasn't so much 'we use what we're used to' as it was 'teach the kiddies.' - The business who wins the kids will win the world. It's been proven a bazillion times over. Ok maybe it was - the reason you want to teach the kiddies is because the adults resist changes. Ask the secretary at the firm I used to work for. The entire firm automated, networked, rocked on nicely, except her who left the box as another decoration on her desk, and continued using her typewriter and index cards. I hope my (now former) boss got smart and fired her by now, that's a bit too anal.

Anyways, back on thread, to the techie or technofile who understands these cool features, FF is a good one. It might be short lived though, since the rest of the world are idiots. One good thing to say for FF though, but it makes me think that IE's in there somewhere running, is that the entire FF download is 4.something megs. Try downloading a fresh MSIE sometime - the sheer size is intimidating.