They do... sorta. Yesterday I went to "About" and had it update to a newer version of "5" (something like 5.647...) - and today its now updated itself to "6" and suddenly I needed a new version of Flashplayer.
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Firefox 6 Is Now Officially Out
- Thread starter HardOCP News
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They do... sorta. Yesterday I went to "About" and had it update to a newer version of "5" (something like 5.647...) - and today its now updated itself to "6" and suddenly I needed a new version of Flashplayer.
wiseoracle
2[H]4U
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That's what needs to happen. It's confusing long time FF users. Chrome in the last year has spiked tremendously for version numbers. I remember starting at version 6 or 7 and it's already at 13.
The ridiculous version numbering is a result of wanting to emulate Chrome. For reasons related to marketing, Chrome gets a new release number for updates that would traditionally only merit a point release increment. This makes stupid people feel good about themselves; "Ooh, I'm running Chrome 26, it must be awesome compared to lame Firefox, which is only at 3.1."
Personally, I don't really care what numbers Mozilla uses, but any update that prevents my plugins from working gets a big thumbs-down.
Personally, I don't really care what numbers Mozilla uses, but any update that prevents my plugins from working gets a big thumbs-down.
Well the version numbers are not relevant anymore in the new dev cycle scheme, don't focus on them.
The only pain is that add-ons still have a dependency on the major version number for compatibility checking.
Firefox should have changed this behavior to be consistent with the new version numbering.
Type "about:config" in the address bar, "ipc" in the Filter box, and double-click on "dom.ipc.plugins.enabled" to change its value to "false."
This separate process provides sandboxing for plug-ins, so if they crash (most likely candidate: Flash) they won't take down the whole Firefox session with them, only the plug-in process. I never experienced crashes with the add-ons I use, so the extra process is too much constant overhead for crashes that never happen, but disable it at your own risk if you are playing with unstable add-ons.
The only pain is that add-ons still have a dependency on the major version number for compatibility checking.
Firefox should have changed this behavior to be consistent with the new version numbering.
Disabling compatibility checking in Add-on Compatibility Reporter is really the only way to go, you don't want to edit your settings every 8 weeks, or edit the RDF files every 8 weeks for all your add-ons as someone else suggested.
You can get rid of the plugin-container.exe process once for all:
Type "about:config" in the address bar, "ipc" in the Filter box, and double-click on "dom.ipc.plugins.enabled" to change its value to "false."
This separate process provides sandboxing for plug-ins, so if they crash (most likely candidate: Flash) they won't take down the whole Firefox session with them, only the plug-in process. I never experienced crashes with the add-ons I use, so the extra process is too much constant overhead for crashes that never happen, but disable it at your own risk if you are playing with unstable add-ons.
Well, if they thought we were going to be fooled into thinking every update is a major update they are stupid.
jeremyshaw
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That's the plan. Make memory useage in current versions so high, that version 7 will be a dream
j/k
It does, once I open firefox it ask me if I want to update it, I click yes then it automatically download and install the new version.
FoxhoundOp
[H]ard|Gawd
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Why would anyone WANT something like that? I want to know exactly what is being installed on my computer and I want an option to refuse the upgrade.
FoxhoundOp
[H]ard|Gawd
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One of the reasons Chrome isn't on my system, with its background agents running and checking for updates even when Chrome isn't running.
I have a copy of SWare Iron, that strips all the agents and all the call homes as an alternate browser install since it doesn't play these games.
FF version updates are annoying because of add-on breakage. I am staying one release behind so my add-ons keep working. So when they announced FF6 was imminent, I upgraded to 5 smoothly.
When they announce FF7 is imminent, I will upgrade to FF6.
You can disable Google Update in msconfig. But the [H]orde is not representative of all users, 90% of users probably prefer a reliable browser that stays up to date with the latest technology and security updates to protect their computer without bothering them.
If you're updating anyway, it does not really matter if it's 8 weeks later, you might as well do it now. Anyway, I doubt we'll even have this choice for much longer. Once Mozilla gets its act together about the add-ons, I am betting the updates will be silent too, like in Chrome. In their mind, there is no version anymore, it's supposed to be "the latest" version, so it makes sense to update silently by default. Maybe with a setting to disable silent updates. That would be a huge improvement on Chrome.
Just disable version checking in Add-On Compatibility Reporter and you won't have any trouble: The add-ons that are not compatible will be updated automatically by Mozilla or their devs before the release or shortly after, the rest will continue to work if the only problem was an obsolete MaxVersion.
I played a lot with add-ons at the beginning, like ReloadEvery, the one that gives different colors to tabs, etc., but some are memory hogs, not always well programmed, potential security risks, and the more you have, the higher the probability to break something. I now restrain myself to essential ones like NoScript and AddBlocker Plus.
I still have the Google Toolbar that's not supported since version 5.
Ideally, I want to access my bookmarks from any browser and any computer. Google used to allow that.
I keep the toolbar to give me time to investigate replacement solutions.
But it's really a pain if Google Toolbar can't run on Firefox or Firefox bookmarks on Chrome or IE. There should really be a unique interoperable standard for bookmarks and add-ons.
I wonder if I should create my own bookmarks web page. Then I'd just have to type a URL instead of installing a toolbar, entering credentials for a Firefox or Google account, sync'ing the bookmarks, etc. ^-^
They did make changes that allow plugins to be compatible version to version. The problem comes from people who are using plugins that are dead and won't be upgraded, don't register with Mozilla update or simply just keep doing things the way they have before.
People freaking freaking out about Mozilla trying to catch up number wise is also why they are going to a date system and will autoupdate similar to chrome too.
MacLeod
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So I installed it and coming off Chrome, am I crazy or does FF6 seem a little faster? Seems like pages are loading a split second faster.