Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Internet Tools
Open letter to Mozilla: Where Firefox goes wrong on OS X
Firefox,
inarguably, is one of the coolest browsers available and a necessity if you're using Windows. On OS X however, I've
been on the fence during Firefox's existence as there are a number of ways that Firefox and Mozilla have gone wrong and
ruined the browser's user experience.First up is Mozilla's directory of addons. Useful as they may be, these sites are still clunky as you have to always have to adjust what you're searching for - even when you're already browsing a specific section. Further, with the mountain of extensions and themes piling up, there really needs to be a way of limiting what addons you see to the version of Firefox you're using. Before I found Foxmarks, I was browsing the addons directory for a bookmark synchronizing extension, and Bookmark Synchronizer kept appearing in the results, even though it only works with Firefox 1.0. While this frustrates me, I'm sure it's even more confusing for all those users out there who can barely tell the difference between Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Next on the list is Firefox's lack of OS X-ability. While Windows XP is lagging behind with barely 20th century technology (hence the need for things like Firefox's password management), OS X already has a bunch of goodies baked in - like the Keychain and universal spell checking - that Firefox really needs to take advantage of. Virtually all other OS X apps place application and web passwords in OS X's Keychain, a centralized resource the whole OS can use. One merely needs to copy the keychain database file (and know its password, of course) in order to back up a record of all the passwords they need to remember. Throw in .Mac service which can effortlessly sync your Keychain (amongst other things) with multiple Macs and you'll be on the next level of synchronization heaven. Let's also not forget OS X's built in, universal spell checking engine which offers a simple keyboard shortcut for a pop-up definition window. In other browsers like Safari, OmniWeb and even Camino, there are no plugins or extensions needed to gain any of these essential 21st century computing features.
So please, Mozilla, answer the call of us Firefox fans who are hoping for a more OS X-ified and more powerful version of your most fantastic of browsers. Mac users everywhere will thank you, and I bet we'd even buy a few tshirts too.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Twist said 2:10PM on 1-03-2006
I would say then need to improve on the slow launch times and get some officially supported CPU specific compiles as well. The unofficial G4 compile runs noticeably smoother on my iBook than the general release version.
Reply
Elroy Jetson said 2:15PM on 1-03-2006
Oh no! You have spoken out against Firefox. Your doomed. Next thing you are going to do is tell us that Google really is a for profit company bent on controlling all information!
Heretic.
By the way, I agree with you, but feeling the rage of the blind "Firefox is flawless" crowd, just seems like to much trouble.
Reply
LD said 2:20PM on 1-03-2006
I think those are legitimate gripes, but I think you should focus your frustrations towards Camino. The Camino developers are taking the power of Firefox and making a true OS X browser. Unfortunately they miss out on some of the best features of Firefox such as extensions.
Camino shoul really allows Firefox extensions to be integrated into their flavor of Firefox. That way users get the OS X experience and the Firefox developers can focus on their main goal rather than trying to optimize for one OS only.
Reply
Ed Kapuscinski said 2:21PM on 1-03-2006
My biggest firefox complaint?
That there is no way to turn off "sideways scrolling" to the next or last page in your "history".
I have a powerbook with the excellent two fingered scrolling trackpad, however I can't use it in firefox because it always sends me forward or backward when I try.
If I were able to turn that off, Safari's days on my dock might be limited.
Reply
Dan Siercks said 2:27PM on 1-03-2006
The main developers have much to do before they worry about OS specific functionality. That is why there is one source that can be downloaded and built on any platform.
This is the reason that the application is open source. It is free, so lose the "I want" mentality. If you're interested in additions to the app, download the source, make the changes, and either offer them as plugins, or apply to get your changes checked into the source. If anything, ask the modding community, not the developers themselves.
Reply
Dan said 2:28PM on 1-03-2006
Many of those 'OS X' features like built in spell check (which i can't live without) are part of the Cocoa framework. Firefox is built on Carbon.
Reply
Kevin said 2:29PM on 1-03-2006
Mozilla's goal for Firefox on OS X is to use Cocoa.
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/josh/archives/2005/07/intel_mac_build.html
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/josh/archives/2005/07/screenshot_of_f_1.html
Reply
David Chartier said 2:37PM on 1-03-2006
Ed Kapuscinski: check out my post addressing that exact problem:
http://www.tuaw.com/2005/11/21/reclaim-two-finger-scrolling-in-firefox/
I finally found a fix for the issue in the depths of their horrible-to-navigate forums. It's an easy fix, but it might take a little playing around with; you'll understand if you check out the post. Hope this helps!
Reply
Tomm said 2:38PM on 1-03-2006
FYI Ed Kapuscinski Firefox doesn't sideways scroll through the history any more. Download 1.5 and you'll be fine. I still prefer Safari, though.
Reply
systemsboy said 2:59PM on 1-03-2006
A correction:
Actually, though Camino is a Carbon app, it unfortunately does NOT use the Mac OSX Dictionary and does NOT have built-in spell check. (Try it if you don't believe me.)
Firefox has all kinds of other cool features built in that other browsers don't. I actually agree that Firefox doesn't match the user experience of Safari, but Safari's functionality is so limited these days, I find myself never using it (sadly). The truth is, there is no perfect browser for me, and there probably never will be for anyone except the most casual of surfers.
Reply
rishabh said 3:10PM on 1-03-2006
A Windows Media player plugin for firefox is much needed.
Reply
Robert Prince said 3:10PM on 1-03-2006
So really, half of your complaint is that the extensions web site isn't organized well enough ... er, okay. That's not really the browser itself, it's the community that's organized around it.
Firefox certainly isn't flawless, but it's waaaay better than Good Enough. Good Enough is the benchmark for most commercial software - which is why so much of it is so terrible. Yes yes, of course much open source is terrible too. But the price is right, yeah?
Soapbox time: If you don't like something about it, contribute and help solve the issues. Complaining about something free is, well, kind of dorky.
Reply
Thomas said 3:11PM on 1-03-2006
You can get SpellBound, a Firefox spell check extension or wait as inline spelling (like Thunderbird 1.5) will be on it's way.
Firefox is still relatively new so there is a lot of work to do. Hold out, a more Mac-ish one will arrive.... someday.
Reply
Edac2 said 3:16PM on 1-03-2006
Simple OSX conventions, such as being able to command-up arrow to the front of a URL, or command-down arrow to the end of the URL, would be nice. And why doesn't Firefox support Aqua buttons and pop-up menus?
Reply
Allan White said 3:53PM on 1-03-2006
I agree with LD - Camino, which is otherwise excellent, needs to be Extensions-savvy. If that happened, the issue would be solved. One of the priorities of Firefox develoment is a focus on cross-platform...ness; something Camino isn't hampered with.
Reply
John said 3:57PM on 1-03-2006
I would use Safari but I can't stand the way it handles bookmarks, it is just confusing to me. I hate how when you click the bookmarks button it opens a manager over the current webpage. If I could open a Firefox-esqe bookmarks side panel I would use Safari all the time. Also how you have to put bookmarks in folders to organize them in Safari bugs me. If it could show all the folders with an option to expand them, and be able to look at them all at once then it would be perfect.
Reply
Frank said 4:17PM on 1-03-2006
My BIGGEST gripe with Firefox is its Proxy/Firewall support. Instead of ushering you nicely to System Preferences' built-in Proxy config like Safari does, it insists on adding it's own redundant layer of proxy support. This is how Netscape and IE used to do it. But even IE figured out the right way to do it in v5.2.
The two levels of proxies can (and will) conflict with one another, causing all sorts of gloriously stupid behavior. Makes it all but useless for corporate or academic deployments.
Haven't tried Camino in a while, maybe that's better.
Reply
Scott Hughes said 4:59PM on 1-03-2006
Am I the only Mac user (a switcher, mind you) who is very frustrated by the number of items which are not tab-able in firefox? i.e. I can't tab to radio buttons or drop-down select boxes. I have to take my hands off the keyboard and click! You can enable this feature in Safari (why isn't it default!?), but not in Firefox.
I only use Firefox on my Mac because it makes it easier to go back and forth between browsing on the Mac at home and the PC at work. There is no crossplatform browser which is better.
Reply
BJ Gilbert said 5:55PM on 1-03-2006
I completely agree. I really love the firefox community, and consider myself an big firefox advocate. I love working with it on windows, and would love to see these improvements for the mac. Right now, however, I find few flaws with Safari. It integrates very well with OS X. I created this the other night with a little wishful thinking.
Reply
BJ Gilbert said 5:56PM on 1-03-2006
I completely agree. I really love the firefox community, and consider myself an big firefox advocate. I love working with it on windows, and would love to see these improvements for the mac. Right now, however, I find few flaws with Safari. It integrates very well with OS X. I created this the other night with a little wishful thinking. http://www.freewebs.com/bjtreblig/safarifox3.jpg
Reply