Why is firefox SO hard to use?

When I first installed Firefox about 2 years ago it was much better than IE. Since then every time firefox has upgaded there are more problems. The latest has been that I can't log into some of my sites using Firefox so I have to switch to IE for those.

I have just been researching on the Internet some more, and it appears that there are many add ons that can cause firefox to crash. Perhaps this is the main problem. Does anyone have a list of these add ons that are causing the problems?
Can anyone recommend the best version of firefox to download, as much of the research I am doing says thaht the latest version isn't actually the best functioning one at present...

I still use 3.0.11.

My computer is 7 year old.
2.4 ghz Intel CPU.
Beat that !.

I have a feeling that this techie guy does not seem to know what he is talking about. Firefox is the most popular web browser on the planet !

I have never had any problems with Firefox. Not a single one.

You need a new tech guy.

Firefox is awesome and I've never had any problems with it.

In fact I just upgraded last night to the latest version and it's even better!

Firefox is better than IE, imo. Been using FF for a long time now.

Yeah, I just upgraded today to firefox 3.5 and am loving it!!! I occasionally try IE and instantly hate it...even the new IE 8 is not impressive...and I used to use IE all the time!

I would suggest you go and get the new Firefox as it's come a long ways...and plus should be compatible by now with your stuff.

I was experiencing some issues with my firefox some months ago, it crashed all the time and I had to restart it... then I started using IE again. But now they seem to have updated the software and it's running smoothly with no problems and I'm now also able to access my bank website which always crashed with older versions. Maybe you should consider installing it again, I suggest that you uninstall any addons from the previous installation (if they are still there) and see if it works out.

yep, complete bozo.
I have been using firefox since it came out, used mozilla before that, and netscape before that. ( all the way back to netscape 2.0 that came on two floppies and cost $49.95 back in 1995 )

firefox does no harm to any computer and is compatible with just about anything in the world.
also, if you find a site that does not work in firefox, that means there is something wrong with the code for that page.



just for those that don't know,

after AOL bought netscape, the originators started producing mozilla ( that was the development name for netscape for years. ).

then, they changed to firefox.


robert

Its very strange to hear that firefox is hard to use. Firefox is a easy to use fast browser I ever seen.
Firefox has addon feature to install any software. It is easy to integrate softwares to firefox. That is why we find most of seo softwares created for firefox.

i love firefox. i LOVE the innovation of the tabbed browsing. of course, microsoft then went and implemented the same idea, so you can have that feature in IE as well.

but in the last couple months it's been crashing for me daily, sometimes up to 3 times a day. i just uninstalled all my addons (just had around 4) so i'll see if that helps.

and yes, i still occasionally have to open a site up in internet explorer, but not nearly as often as a couple years ago. now most sites are built for both IE and firefox.

I've used Firefox for several years and love it; however, lately it has been crashing at least once per day.

On two different computers.

I don't get it.

Good yips. Thanks.

IMHO, Firefox is much better than Internet Explorer. I have been using IE for many years...but till last year ... i gave up... Some pages cant load using IE..but firefox no problem. I think i will stick with FF forever.

All browsers have their problems...

FF is better than IE, imo. But it can be incompatible with certain applications - which you really won;t know until you try it.

I've reinstalled FF a couple of times over 2 years. Not really a big deal. I'm sticking with it because I've adapted to it by this point. I'd agree alot of their updates seem to make the program LESS stable - why I just don't know.
_____
Bruce

I've found that Firefox is making updates 1.) faster than the add-ons catching up to make sure they are compatible or 2.) faster than they can be updated on the Mozilla website. If the developer has a website, check it out. I've found for example like the "Auto Copy" (love this add-on - highlight text with your mouse and auto copies to clipboard) add-on isn't up to date/incompatible on the mozilla site but have the latest version on the developers site. Hope this helps.

Other than it's snail-paced launches, I have had no problems with FireFox. It takes 3 to 4 times longer to launch the IE.

However, the IM and SEO plugins make up for this annoyance.

Responding to the OP: The incompatible files and/or programs he may have been referring to were probable old plugins and addons that became outdated as FireFox updated. The creators of many of these plugins and addons can't keep up with FireFox's update schedule.

If you have problems with firefox then usually its the addon's your best bet is to uninstall firefox and then reinstall a fresh copy with no addons and then add the ones you really need till you find the one thats screwing everything up.

It's usually a religious thing when it comes to which browser to use among technical people. And, as we see on this thread, non-technical too. SO, I'll stay away from it and just say that I am mostly using Chrome, and IE for the sites that Chrome cannot display properly. I liked FF, but lately it drives me crazy because it wants to update each time I need to start a browser FAST. It's worse than Windows Updates...

Also, I never heard of FF interfering with other programs. But when people get religious about OS or browser, you can hear a lot of crap from them no matter how good and qualified they are otherwise.

You my friend sound like you could be due for a reinstall of you OS. Once you get used to doing it, it takes a couple hours, plus a couple more to get your programs and settings etc. all back to norm.

Yeah it's a pain but junking an old install of Windows solves 100x more problems than "is your power cord in?" or "have you performed a reboot?" :-P

I used to wipe the HD and start with a fresh install of Windows at least once a year. Now I'm on Mac so, not an issue any more.

I use FireFox exclusively. I have never had any trouble with it. It tells me exactly what is not compatible and even offers to find a way around it. The few times it has crashed on me, I can automatically let the "techies" know and I get an e-mail telling me what happened and how they fixed it. It is so much quicker and more secure than IE. I would never go back!!

FireFox is NOT the problem. 3rd Party add ons can cause problems with any computer. I am a Certified Tech... although it's been years and years since I have done any commercial work. It's not terribly hard to become certified, you just take the classes, read the books, and take the test. If you like "Techie" Things as you put it. I probably built a 100 machines before I bothered to take the test. Just one more thing to do.

Most TECHS are clueless. They are wanna bees that are sent out from some place because they are willing to take the job or have an interest in the work. I worked for a company that had a dozen "Techs" who had ZERO credentials. The things they did and said to people just made me cringe.

Most problems on computers are user error and software. Hardware is incredibly reliable considering all the different flavors and combinations.

Most Techs address problems by backing up data and reinstalling the OS, drivers, software programs.

Techs are not programmers... scary when you think that they can cause more damage than good.

FireFox works fine. I have an insane amount of utilities and programs I run. I usually have at least a dozen things going at once not to mention things running in the background.

And yes I crash Firefox now and again. But don't throw out FireFox... consider the source and isolate the real problem.

Or you could always use IE 8, everyone knows Microsoft Programs never crash right?

Your best bet is a clean install because you likely have a messed up registry. And the less programs you load the less chance for conflicts. If you don't have a real purpose then don't load it up.

I have several machines for different purposes... I know everyone can not do that. I have an entertainment machine for movies, games, etc. I have a machine for graphics and video editing, I have my main work machine, and I have a back up machine, and several flash drives and backup discs.

I never "test" on my main machine.

Learn to use Windows Restore and set system reset points.

Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore

Good Luck.

i really doubt the competence of this "techie". There are minor incompatibilities with certain browser plugins, MAYBE, like shockwave flash..things like that. But those are minor and are in NO way cause for other, unrelated problems.

oh my god. Please dont. He is basically telling you to reinstall Windows ("operating system"). This is what techs say if they're 100% clueless. Just format computer and start anew. <--- NOT

Start with scanning your computer for malware w/ kaspersky virus scanner, if you really THINK your OS (Windows) is so screwed up then please go an reinstall - but be aware that it would erase ALL your data. Hardly a good solution.

I just founf out that firefox was running in the background by going cont/alt/delet. so I put a stop to that and did a complete reinstall. it is working properly now but I still have an issue...
when I pulled down a web page from the server to ammend it, now it has a firefox icon instead oif IE icon. But I am hvaing trouble editing it in Dreamweaver. The spread is terrible. I want to make the icon back to the IE icon because I fell cinfodent editing in Dreamweaver when I hvae an IE icon. Can anyone tell me how to make the icon IE again? Or, tell me how to edit properly in firefox and Dreamweaver (currently the screen is so large I have to scroll to get form one side of the page to the other). I did try making the screen smaller but the whole view still looks yucky and distorted so I am once again leanign back to IE for editing.
I just don't get how the icons change from firefox to IE, when I even close the browser. They were IE yesterday. does it mean just because I install firefox they are forevermore firefox incos?

if firefox is set as the default browser for your computer and/or in DW then that is what the problem is.

I would suggest that you check the options in DW to see if you can change it to use IE for the browser instead of FF.

robert

its probably an issue with plugins in firefox you may of installed.

Firefox is pretty bulky.

I personally use safari.

Firefox annoys me! It froze up ALL the time. The only reason I was keeping it was because there were so m any plugins to choose from, I liked the tabbed browsing, and it blocked pop-ups well. But now, the new IE has most of that. So when I bought my new laptop, I didn't bother installing firefox...