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Firefox 3.5 Mac Glitches

Posted by GNC at 6:48 AM on July 9, 2009

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 Release NotesI upgraded to Firefox 3.5 about a week ago.  To be honest I have been unimpressed.  I am sure that somehow there is better protection under the hood.  Perhaps even a slight speed increase.  However, I have found more problems than obvious cures.

  1. Upon opening it freezes if having trouble loading the home page for some reason.  The standard “X” in the corner is unresponsive along with the normal top menu. Leaving no choice but to force quit the application and relaunch.  It used to crash and relaunch itself at least.
  2. Firefox will sometimes hesitate and freeze while opening a new tab.  For instance, I have three tabs running and click a link to open in a new tab.  Generally, I keep reading the prior open tab’s article while the new tab finishes loading.  On occasion my current tab freezes not allowing me to scroll down.  It stays frozen until the other tab finishes rendering.  Not all of the time, just part of the time.
  3. Most recently it started to runaway with the processor.  I had one tab open on a very basic text only page.  There was nothing trying to auto-refresh on the page.  And yet it ran away with 80% of both cores.  Yikes.  Something in there went horribly wrong.  Once again a force quit and relaunch.

So as a whole, every day I eagerly await an update to this update.  Granted I am still a fan, just a bit frustrated not unlike when portions of my favorite highway go under construction.  I’ll be patient, but please hurry.

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Posted in Firefox, Information

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WebnoteHappy – Strange Name, Great Program

Posted by fogview at 4:27 PM on June 30, 2009

WebnoteHappy_128I’ve been using WebnoteHappy for the Mac for a few weeks and love it. I’m always surfing the Internet researching things and have tried various ways of capturing content on web pages that I visit and want to remember. The common way to do that is with your browser’s bookmark feature. I used that for a while but wasn’t happy with the results. In the Windows world I use a program called Azz Cardfile, that allows me to paste the contents of a web page or a link to the page in what looks like an electronic card file. I can then add notes about the site and click on the link within the card file to go back to the site in my browser. The notes are searchable too.

When I moved over to the Mac world, I missed Azz Cardfile, but I finally found something better from HappyApps.com. WebNoteHappy works with your browser to capture (bookmark) a link to a web page you find interesting. You can then add notes and other information and even search your links and notes and launch the web page in your browser. This program also allows you to create folders to help you organize what you find. You can even create Smart Folders where you set up rules to automatically move items into folders. All the links and notes are stored in a common library and only pointers are stored within the folders so items can reside in multiple folders. As an example, I have a Photographer folder with a Wish List subfolder. I also have Wish List folder under Gadgets and the program allows me to store the same item in both places (if it’s photography related).

WebnotHappy

When you install the program it places a “bookmarklet” in your browser’s toolbar. When you find a web page that you want to remember, just click the “Webnote It” bookmarklet, and it opens up WebNoteHappy and generates an entry. You can then type any notes you want about the site and even add tags.

The program sells for $24.95 USD and you can try it for 30 days before you buy it. There is also a free WebnoteHappy Lite program that works the same way except it doesn’t have folders to organize your bookmarks. The program works with both Firefox and Safari browsers.

I started out with the Lite version and moved up to the paid version because I found the program was a great time-saver for me. When I installed the paid version it found all the items I had saved in the Lite version and I didn’t loose a thing. After I upgraded to the paid version I had a few questions and received very fast response to my questions.

If you use a Mac and want to get a little more organized, give WebnoteHappy or WebnoteHappy Lite a try.

73’s, Tom

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Posted in Firefox, Information, internet, mac, review

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Intrusion Alert!

Posted by susabelle at 9:08 AM on June 1, 2009
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I’ve spent a good amount of time this morning tracking down what I thought was a rumor about Microsoft forcing a .net add-on to Firefox.  Turns out the rumor was true.  And it’s not a pretty thing to contemplate.

Any Firefox user receiving a Microsoft update to either XP or Vista (and possibly Windows 7 but I cannot confirm this) in the last two weeks will have gotten this forced push, right into Firefox, and wouldn’t even have known it.  If you go to Tools > Add ons, you should see an entry for Microsoft .net Framework Assistant 1.0.  You will notice that you can disable it, but that the “uninstall” option is grayed out, meaning it is stuck there unless you do some fancy footwork to remove it.

This particular add-on is not something you want to have installed, in my opinion.  Upon installation, it provides a ClickOnce capability that pretty much lets Microsoft do what it wants when it comes to your browser, as well as opening you up to all kinds of other nasties out there, since we all know the .net Framework is riddled with bugs that are not always fixed as quickly as they should be.  The biggest security flaw with the ClickOnce install is that it allows easy installation of malicious software from websites, without your permission and knowledge.

Microsoft claims they were “helping” by providing a plug-in that “people were asking for.”  This is not something I would have asked for, and to be honest, I don’t trust Microsoft all that much to begin with so find this explanation a bit questionable.  One of the reasons I use Firefox instead of IE is the level of security Firefox offers, as well as an understanding that Firefox will continue to keep their product a safe alternative to less secure browsers.  For Microsoft to provide a “fix” I didn’t ask for is intrusive, at the least.

As of this morning, Microsoft will be sending out a patch to the patch which will make the add-on easy to uninstall, but if you just can’t wait to have this thing gone from your system, I located these instructions (the aforementioned fancy footwork).  I tested the removal steps and they do work.

  1. Open Registry Editor (type regedit in the Start menu Search box in Vista or in XP’s Run window).
  2. Expand the branches to the following key:
    • On 32-bit systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Extensions
    • On x64 systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Wow6432Node \ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Extensions
  3. Delete the value named {20a82645-c095-46ed-80e3-08825760534b} from the right pane.
  4. Close the Registry Editor when you’re done.
  5. Open a new Firefox window, and in the address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
  6. Type microsoftdotnet in the Filter field to quickly find the general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet setting.
  7. Right-click general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet and select Reset.
  8. Restart Firefox.
  9. Open Windows Explorer, and navigate to %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\Windows Presentation Foundation.
  10. Delete the DotNetAssistantExtension folder entirely.
  11. Open the Add-ons window in Firefox to confirm that the Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant extension has been removed.

Posted in Firefox, ie, Microsoft

Comments 4 Comments

Intrusive Behavior in Software

Posted by susabelle at 6:02 AM on May 28, 2009

yahooA couple of days ago, I received some pushed upgrades here at work that caused a few things not to work, among them, Yahoo Instant Messenger.  I use Messenger a lot, not only to communicate with my children and husband during the day (they are home and there are the inevitable “Mom, have you seen my soccer cleats/socks/glasses/notebook/library book” questions on a near-daily basis), but to communicate directly with two developers and one trainer that are working on a project with me.  Having YIM fail to load is not acceptable, so I did the first thing that made sense:  downloaded and installed the upgrade to YIM.  So now it loads and logs in and works, albeit with a much bigger screen footprint than it had before (one of the reasons I’d not upgraded previously).

However, even though I un-clicked the check-box asking me if I wanted to install the Yahoo Toolbar and set Yahoo as my home page, I am getting daily reminders from Yahoo, every time I open Firefox, asking me if it can turn on Yahoo Toolbar and set Yahoo as my home page.  I checked installed programs, and removed the Yahoo toolbar that it installed without my permission, and when I got the popup box in Firefox asking me if I wanted to turn on the toolbar and reset the home page, I checked NO and also marked the box that says “don’t ask this again.”   Yet, this morning I booted up, logged in, and guess what?  Yup, the little box comes up asking me if I want to turn on the Yahoo toolbar and blah blah blah.  And this is in addition to the daily popup I get when opening Firefox asking me to “update extensions” and the only one on the list is the Yahoo Toolbar, even though I do not have it installed on this machine.

Then there’s the ongoing thing with iTunes.  Every time I turn it on, or just randomly when it is running, it asks me if I want to install Safari and the “Mobile” something-0r-other.  I always say no, but it just keeps asking me, over and over and over.

This type of pushy, intrusive behavior on the part of the software is just flat-out annoying.  No means no.  Once I say no, that should be it, and I should never be asked again.  I’m still looking for a fix for the Yahoo toolbar/Yahoo home page thing that has only been occurring since I upgraded YIM on Tuesday, and hopefully I’ll find one.  I don’t believe there is any kind of fix for the iTunes issue.  If anyone knows of a fix for either of these (and no, I’m not giving up YIM or Firefox, sorry), I’d love to hear about it.  Feel free to leave me a comment!

Posted in application, Firefox, itunes

Comments 1 Comment

Listen to Youtube

Posted by GNC at 3:50 PM on August 31, 2008

I like online videos but I don’t have time to watch as much as I like. At work I can listen to podcasts as much as I like until it is time to go home. I have yet to figure a way to watch videos while I work so audio only is for my situation. The difference between video and audio is video requires complete attention. Audio can be enjoyed while actually doing other tasks. Well there are tons of online videos that are not action based that I would like to hear just the audio. Interviews, standup comedy, etc are in video format but work just as well as audio only formats. A Firefox add on helps me with this is media convertor. I can download a video & convert it to mp3 format to go on my mp3 player. It is a two step process so it is simple enough for anyone to use. You can convert into many more formats so it is as versatile as you need it to be. Youtube is full of stuff that does not need to be seen to be enjoyed. Audio only stuff will always be a huge market for new media producers. People have to work so listening to audio is possible for them while videos at work are not always possible. Firefox is turning into one stop shopping for anything internet related.

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Posted in Firefox, Media

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What bugs will FF3 fix?

Posted by todd at 11:50 PM on June 12, 2008

Susabelle posted earlier today about the release of Firefox 3 next week. I am wondering whether Flash will work properly now and end my extreme frustration. Since at least January I have had the intermitent problem that many other firefox users have had where flash video will play for 2 seconds then stop. The only way to get out of this is to stop and start firefox and then things start working again. Very annoying when you have a lot of tabs open, so I have taken to killing the process so that I can use the auto recover feature to get back to exactly where I was. This all takes time though, often longer than the video clip I have been unable to watch.

I have also found that sites with flash embedded apps (Slashdot in particular) will sometimes slow ff down so much it needs to be killed which I think may be related. The issue I have with Firefox is that the problem has been around for nearly 6 months, it is prevelant and hardly a secret, yet there seems to be nobody from Mozilla or Adobe taking it seriously enough to work on it. If they are doing anything they are being awfully quiet about it. The problem apparently goes away if you downgrade to an earlier version of Flash 9, which tells me that it should be relatively easy to narrow down what causes the problem to the changes made between those versions, and back out whichever is the culprit.

Although they are not being blatent about it, there is a tone on the support forums that Adobe and Mozilla each believe it is the others problem. What should be happening is the two companies working together to fix this. Flash video is a very small part of my web browsing time so for me the issue has only been a mild annoyance so far. With a major update I am expecting this to be addressed however. What happens with this issue will be a big indicator as to the maturity of the Mozilla support model, which is a big factor in the corporate sector supporting use of firefox on corporate workstations.

If you are experiencing this issue yourself here are some helpful links

Mozillazine support forum thread 1
Mozillazine support forum thread 2
Mozillazine Knowledge Base article
Firefox support forum thread
Adobe support forum thread

Posted in Firefox

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Firefox 3 Being Released Tuesday

Posted by Matthew Greensmith at 11:56 AM on June 12, 2008

Firefox 3 is ready to jump out of Beta and onto our laptops starting Tuesday. Improved features include being able to add keywords to bookmarks to more easily sort them, as well as a new feature that allows users to add “places” and easily access websites they visit regularly but haven’t bookmarked.

Firefox also has improved their download feature, allowing downloads that have been interrupted due to power or connection failure to resume where they left off. This single feature is the most relevant for me, as I often am trying to download something “heavy” and chew up my home network’s wireless connection and have to start over.

Security features have also been improved, including outright blocking of phishing sites, rather than just warning about them to the user.

FF3 is also going to be a little speedier, eat up a bit less RAM when left running for long periods of time, and offer easier and more visible navigation. I’m a keyboard person myself and will not notice the difference in navigation with buttons, but I know others will.

I’ve been using Firefox since it first came out, and have no intention of ever using Internet Explorer again.

Posted in Firefox

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