be's Profile

Member since December 4, 2004

  • Name

    be

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    Australia

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  1. Comment - Firefox Architect Talks IE, Future Plans

    (Dec 4, 2004 - 12:35 PM)

    while I agree with your assessment of Opera's superiority overall, the "firefox offers NOTHING innovative" statement I found to be a bit harsh, because I think it brings a lot to the table, and you mentioned the big one: the rendering engine. Arguably the best out there, and arguably the most standards-compliant. This is *THE* dream browser for standards-based web design to get to the masses and actually make a difference.

    And the browser is COMPLETELY free, and very easy to recommend to newbies hooked on IE (lots of people will not tolerate ads, and will not tolerate paying for a browser to get rid of them, too). IMO, you can't discount those benefits.

    I think that extensions such as HMTL Validator and Web Developer and FlashGot and FoxyTunes (and no doubt many others out there, and more to come) make choosing (or using) Firefox so much easier for many users too, so I think they put a lot of work into making the browser a decent platform for useful add-ons.

    Finally, I think they have done a world of good in (arguably) not alienating Joe Average with their browser. It's all pretty easy to get your head around. All in all, I think they have done a world of good to offer a free browser like this that is very usable and friendly, yet pretty sophisticated for the more advanced users (and a dream for standards-based web developers), especially at 1.0 release.

  2. Comment - Firefox Architect Talks IE, Future Plans

    (Dec 4, 2004 - 12:02 PM)

    you're right, Opera and Mozilla should support all of Microsoft's proprietary attributes, simply because at this point in time, Microsoft is 'king' and we should all worship it and its buggy nature and work around its faults for hours on end, and our notions of a standards-based web that is secure, cross-platform and spyware-free (and that works the same in all standards-compliant browsers) is just an idealist's dream.
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/ie-primer.html
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/explorer.html
    http://www.positioniseve...ing.net/op-omnibus.html
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/gecko.html

  3. Comment - Firefox Architect Talks IE, Future Plans

    (Dec 4, 2004 - 11:58 AM)

    you'd get exactly that if Microsoft could ever be bothered making a comprehensive, standards-based browser. But their money pot relies on keeping you tied to their brand of milk.
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/ie-primer.html
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/explorer.html
    http://www.positioniseve...ing.net/op-omnibus.html
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/gecko.html

  4. Comment - Firefox Architect Talks IE, Future Plans

    (Dec 4, 2004 - 11:46 AM)

    With all due respect, these are some of the worst examples of IE-based webmastery I have ever seen. A quick View > Page Source (Ctrl + U) in Firefox with the brilliant HTML Validator extension shows them to be filled to the brim with proprietary IE attributes. (The Movielink site also doesn't allow website visitors outside the US from viewing their page (!), so I couldn't check that out).

    Isn't it great though, that the whole idea behind firefox is STANDARDS? Instead of bagging Firefox for doing things RIGHT, you should be bagging Microsoft for trying to make the web proprietary, and increasing the headaches for all involved with their sloppy authoring tools and (now) extremely sloppy, out-of-date browser. CSS positioning and styling with IE is a pain, to say the least. IE is very selective in what it supports, and its broken box model (which varies between its different browser revisions!) is a huge headache. (Not so Opera and Firefox). Its bugs make any web developer who tries to push the boundaries miserable.

    A great site for CSS-based information with open lists of browser bugs. It's no surprise which one tops the list to anyone remotely interested in CSS standards-based authoring:
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/ie-primer.html
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/explorer.html
    http://www.positioniseve...ing.net/op-omnibus.html
    http://www.positioniseverything.net/gecko.html

    So, why are we bagging Firefox again? For not following Microsoft's 'lead' of sloppyness and proprietary features and poor authoring tools? By not leveraging its market power to make the web its own, and Windows-only, in order to extract more money from the masses with their new OS?

    If you take the long-term view, which is to code to standards, rather than web browsers, I think there'd be a realisation that Mozilla (and Opera) are simply being sensible and doing the right thing. I think it's a shame that so many see things short-term and think that Firefox should adopt Microsoft's crappy ActiveX and associated proprietary attributes and rendering bugs and hacks so their broken sites work with it 'out-of-the-box'. And when Microsoft moves on to their next-new-technology, they are forced to follow like sheep again?

    No, standards are the future, and they start with quality browsers conforming to W3C standards. There is no shortcut.