Firefox 5.0

A Secunia PSI check this AM alerted me that a new Firefox 5.0 was available.
Downloaded OK and seems to be running as should be.
Budo - Windows 7 Home

 

Just installed it Budo, a warning for others though...

If you use ReloadEvery then it's not currently compatible, no doubt other addons will be affected as well.

 

Addons may be affected, but, I, always, use Nightly Tester Tools with new versions, so I can get around that issue. I have run FF 5, since its beta 1, and it has given me minimal trouble. It is, definitely faster than 3.x, and also 4.x, and it seems the Firefox of choice.
Interestingly, there has been an update to 3.6.17, but not 4.01. It appears that mozilla will let 4.x die.

 

Thought it must be my imagination but seemed like it ran a little faster.
But then at my age everything seems faster.

 

Yup, its seems to be slightly faster than FF 4 but addons are a problem.

 

Have you taken a look at Nightly Tester Tools? It works for me.
Most people do not carry several version on the same computer, but I found that Mozilla Firefox threw me a curve when I went to Add/Remove to uninstall 4.0.1, which is considered end-of-life by Secunia PSI. I remove that version installed in Program Files|Mozilla Firefox4.0, but I saw two listings for Firefox5, one was en-US, and the other en-GB. I have nothing against a GB version, but I surely did not need it. I went to uninstall it, and what does it do? It removes my FF3.6.18, which had, just, been updated. What are they doing?
By the way, I downloaded 3.6.18 from File Hippo, and it is, now, listed as 3.6.18.

 

Westside -

I have been away for several months and I am SURPRISED to find out that FF 3 will no longer be supported after August. Even more surprising was your news that FF 4 is "end of life" as I had hoped to D/L and install it upon my return. What is going on with FF? Has another browser taken over as the best?

Should I upgrade from 3.6 to 5 or do I need to do a completely new install of FF5?

TIA!

 

Just looked in and had a look in Help - FF running 4.0.1 and wait a minute - it's Downloading update.

Hit Apply Update and I am now running FF5.0. All seems OK as I don't run any Addons. Very smooth transition. Cheers Neil.

 

It is now

http://reloadevery.mozdev.org/#installation

 

I had not heard of FF3.x being dropped, soon, but it does not surprise me.
As for 4.0.1, I learned from Secunia PSI that it was end-of-life.
As to what is going on with Firefox, it is matter of opinion. Some people feel that Mozilla Firefox is following the lead of Google Chrome. And, don't forget that there is a Firefox 6 in the making.
I, personally, like to have separate installations, and profiles, while I compare different versions. I will remove a version when I feel that there is no other choice. I don't think that there shouold be any issue doing an incremental update. The only problem occurs, when there are incompatible addons.

 

Thanks for your reply, Westside.

No matter how many times I have tried to have multiple versions, following the information posted here, I end up with only the new version. I have given up trying to keep more than one version.

retiredlearner - I may try updating and see if it works for me.

 

Unless you are testing a variety of websites, I see little reason for carrying many versions of browsers, particularly of the same type (i.e. Firefox). Other than extensions that have not been updated to work with the latest browser version, what really is the point? It seems to me that updating a week or so after the latest version has been released in final form giving an opportunity for bugs to be worked out, is a prudent way of operating "unless" you have specific needs as mentioned above. I never could understand why two branches of the same browser (Firefox) had to be under development. It seemed both redundant and counter-productive. Opera, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari don't carry multiple versions of the same browser developing them simultaneously. Perhaps Mozilla has finally seen the light and decided to go with one branch and develop it in a way similar to the numbering being used by Google Chrome.

 

I keep more than one version, because I am reluctant to give up what works. There are people who resent having to update frequently, others let the program do the update, and don't even know that they have those settings, others are so attached to a program, like the "Netscapites ", who are willing to put up to failure, rather than change.
I prefer to stick to the old, if it works, but I want to see what is coming up. And, I have the advantage of using entirely different profiles. So far, the only issue I have run into is the incompatibility of some addons. For now, Firefox3.1.18 is my primary browser, I have dumped 4.0.1, and I use Firefox 5, at times. I tried FF6, but I did not like it.
I have not cared to experiment with other browsers, but, it is easy to carry a number of Firefoxes, as long as each version is kept separate. I may go back to FF6, but I have no particular allegiance to any browser.

 

Okay. Your method of operating makes sense. As I mentioned above, I'm not sure why FF has run with a variety of branches, unlike other browsers. It just seems counter-productive. Unlike you, I go with several different browsers: Chrome, Opera, IE9 and Firefox (I dropped Safari... just didn't like it). Of these, IE9 presents "most" pages the best in terms of the view rendered. However, I like Chrome best and use it most frequently for the simple reason that it is fast, secure and minimalistic. I like that. The newest Opera also looks like a winner BUT it does not play well with all the sites I visit so I confine it to very few browsing sessions. Firefox does not seem to work well with AOL but other than that, it is also a great browser.

 

aol.com is a the primary site where FF 5 presents some issues for me. In particular:

- the scrolling news at the top left column of the page cannot be manually scrolled by clicking on the forward and backward arrows.
- the video featured in the top right hand column will not play nor will the four video links under it

Other than these issues, FF 5 works well. These issues, however, are bothersome enough to relegate FF to the also-ran category. In short, I opt to use Chrome which offers no issues in browsing whatsoever. I would like to get FF to work properly, however, so does anyone have any suggestions?

 

When I begin to install Firefox 5.0, I get message that it is not compatible with Norton Toolbar 5.6 and Microsoft. Net Framework Assistant 1.2.1. Was waiting for FireFox 4.01 to be compatible with these, but before I knew it 4.01 was replaced by 5.0 Norton made patches and is now compatible with Firefox 5.0, but, when I begin to install 5.0 I still get message that it is still not compatible with the two extensions I previously mentioned. Any suggestions!

 

There is always the factor of the OS and Hardware compatibility when Updating any Software.
Many users of Windows98SE will find they can't use anything later than FF3.0 - so unless Mozilla keep the version - users will be forced to change.
Like IE9 doesn't like my Hardware and I'm not likely to be able to afford renewal at my age.
Whatever takes your fancy and works for you is still the way to go. I find I can operate without the Addons/Extensions so obviously don't have too many problems with installation of Updates. Neil.

 

retiredlearner,

Thanks for the input. At my age when something is working just fine for me, I hate to change things in the name of progress.

 

Just installed firefox 5.0 and am happy to say that it works with Norton toolbar 5.6. I updated my liveupdate for Norton just before I installed Firefox 5.0. Still not compatible with Microsoft. Net Framework Assistant 1.21. Do I have any need for it. When I started to install firefox 5.0 it told me that add on Net framework Assistant would be disabled. In firefox I can find the active add ons, but, now cannot find the disabled addons?

 

I don't know all the details, but using the Nightly Tester Tools addon I have been able to use all my add-ons, and they are reported incompatible, if they are. I am using Firefox 6 beta1, and three of add-ons are marked incompatible. I have disabled add-on compatibility checking.
Of course, as soon as a certain add-on is updated, it will be marked so, and be compatible after restarting the computer.