Why I May Fire the 'Fox

I’m all about cool new Web browsers that are super fast and have features that aren’t available in Safari (the ability to control cookies on a site by site basis comes to mind) but Firefox has got me hopping mad.
The alt-browser of choice at PowerPage World Headquarters has been Firefox for a while now, but some of its annoying issues have got me ready to run back to Safari.
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I’m all about cool new Web browsers that are super fast and have features that aren’t available in Safari (the ability to control cookies on a site by site basis comes to mind) but Firefox has got me hopping mad.
The alt-browser of choice at PowerPage World Headquarters has been Firefox for a while now, but some of its annoying issues have got me ready to run back to Safari.
Some of the things that annoy the hell out of me about Firefox:
– Destructive windows. Clicking an URL in an email refreshes the currently open Window or tab in Firefox rather than spawning a new one like Safari does. This is even more annoying when you’re in the middle of some sort of e-commerce transaction and it gets completely wiped out.
– Firefox of death. This occurs when Firefox won’t load anything when I click on a link in an email. Firefox comes to the foreground but stares back at me with a blank window.
– Browser locking. Sometimes Firefox won’t quit and clicking over to Safari somehow brings me back to Firefox with no window open. This persists until I force-quit Firefox, which is now a daily occurrence.
– Daily builds. I was optimistic that downloading newer (daily) builds from Mozilla.org would remedy at least some of the problems, but they only appear to get worse! To add insult to injury, Reinhold Penner’s FireFix program which downloads the new nightly builds has never worked properly despite configuring the correct download URL.
I’ve come to realize that I rely on my Web browser more than I thought and I need it to be rock solid – all the time. I have so many nits with Firefox that I am changing my default browser back to Safari, at least for now.
Speaking of Safari, all has been pretty quite with the venerable browser of late. Apple hasn’t released an update since version 1.2.4 was released last year and Dave Hyatt’s Surfin’ Safari blog is quieter than a church mouse. What’s up with Safari? Has Apple moved all the Safari developers over to the company’s new productivity application to “iWork” on the impending Microsoft Excel killer, Sheets? I don’t know, but Safari is even questionable at this point.
So where did does that leave us? Without Safari and Firefox we’re relegated to using second string browsers Opera and iCab. Internet Explorer? Please…