Premature
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| terris Feb 25, 2004 6:55 AM EDT |
Joe User doesn't give a crap about Firefox. Joe Geek does. I'm a computer geek. IE works just fine for my non-geek friends. For my geek friends, I show them some of Firefox's cool features like "type and search." But rarely do I convert any of them, because the advantages are minor compared to the pain of keeping up to date with third party software. Firefox is great and it's my primary browser, but it isn't a killer app. If Firefox wants to win, it needs to support XForms and SVG and ship with both Flash and PDF viewers. After all, there are very few sites that use XUL and it's unlikely that XUL will ever be one millionth as popular as HTML. XUL is great, however, for added features like an RSS reader. Which reminds me -- Firefox needs to have an easy to use RSS reader built in! Something that automatically refreshes every 5 minutes by default so the user doesn't have to configure it. With all the RSS/Atom feeds out there, that's a killer app! The RSS readers suck. The key is ease of use, and I like at least one of the XUL RSS readers although it needs more work. Firefox needs to ship additional useful stands-based features that will truly make IE pale in comparison. It's not there yet. |
| Howie Feb 25, 2004 11:24 AM EDT |
I would dissagree with you. I have many none geek friends that have switched to Firefox. Given the information with the security problems of IE they were glad to be offered an alternitive. However I also believe that if the masses started using Firefox people would find security holes to exploit in it also. |
| dave Feb 25, 2004 11:27 AM EDT |
The difference would then be, that the security holes would be closed in hours, instead of months. :) dave |
| Howie Feb 25, 2004 11:34 AM EDT |
I agree with you there dave. But there are a lot of people who talk about linux and open source programs as being so much more secure. I think they need to focus on what you just said. There are going to be holes in all code but who is going to fix it faster. One company or a whole community of users. There is a great benifit to open source. |
| mojavelinux Feb 26, 2004 5:11 AM EDT |
Howie - I think you have good points. While Linux/OSS is a more secure environment, I think that users need to be careful that we don't write off security as unimportant. The problem of security is ALWAYS going to be standing at the doorstep, looming, waiting to bang down the door because there are people/programs out there who are ill-willed. The idea of a "trusted" model means "deny allow" by default. General Audience - That being said, a person is foolish if (s)he thinks using IE is "good enough". That is like saying that your car might have overinflatted, worn out tires, but when you press the gas it moves. I just think people don't take computers seriously and that apathy is going to make a lot of people's lives a living hell because unfortunately, computers can do a significant amount of harm to your life, even though the medium is bits and bites. And guess what, Bill Gates isn't going to be held responsible when all your files go bye-bye, including your tax returns, financial data, pictures of your dead aunt, etc. I have been saying this for a long time, but advocacy for Mozilla (or alternative browsers) is super critical. If you can change the mind of one person a week to move from IE to another browser, you have done the world a great justice, and of course OSS. Why people laugh when you tell them Microsoft is ruining their lives, I will never understand. |
| Howie Feb 26, 2004 7:52 AM EDT |
Well said. Man getting someone to switch OS that's a tough one. I use Linux and Windows. I like Linux a lot but I'm still not willing to switch totally. I just don't want to be in the dark if Linux starts taking over. I would love to see that happen though. |
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