RasterWeb!
Remember when I said Chrome was annoying (and probably hinted they were evil) because they hid the ‘view source’ command?
Welcome to evil Firefox!
And yeah, Firefox also hides the protocol in the latest versions. Luckily it’s fairly easy to unhide it.
Still, I’m not a fan of the layer of chrome being applied to Firefox.
One more than one occasion, people have asked why I don’t use Google Chrome, or Apple’s Safari, or even Opera or Microsoft Internet Explorer… I think this sums it up pretty well:
Mozilla’s mission is to build user sovereignty into the fabric of the Internet. We work to ensure that the the Internet remains open, interoperable and accessible to all. To do this we build products, we build decentralized participation worldwide, and we build the ability for people to create their own experiences in addition to consuming commercial offerings.
As the “web” changes, I think it’s probably necessary for Mozilla to change as well.
Read the whole thing: Mozilla in the New Internet Era – More Than the Browser.
I happened to visit the Chrome Web Store using Firefox, and I was greeted with the following message:
Sorry, we don’t support your browser just yet. You’ll need Google Chrome to install apps, extensions and themes.
Wait… I was using Mozilla Firefox to visit the Chrome Web Store, so why am I posting this?
Because Google has given me hope. See, they said “we don’t support your browser just yet” and with that “just yet” part, I’m going to assume that they will support my browser at some point in the future.
I plan to revisit this post every few months to see if the status has changed.
Dave is a cranky old man, and I say that in the nicest possible way, because really, I’m one too. Cranky old men like things the way they like them, and sometimes that means, the way they were before you damn kids came and messed everything up. And you did, really, you did.
Dave is not happy with the Mozilla folks and their Firefox browser.
Personally, I don’t think browsers are done or feature-complete yet. I say this because I’m dealing with developing web sites, with HTML5, with the <audio> and <video> tags, with codecs, with multiple computers/devices, etc. and it’s not perfect yet. Firefox 4 was a welcome upgrade from Firefox 3.x in my mind. Speed increases, Mozilla Sync, and a few other features were worth the small inconveniences I faced along the way. (Granted, I was running the beta for more than 6 months on one machine, so I wasn’t surprised by anything new.)
I’d admit that I am definitely a fan of Mozilla. I may even know a few people who still work there, but I’m not a Mozilla developer, or part of their marketing department, I’m just someone who wants to see them succeed.
And why do I want to see Mozilla succeed? If you notice the graphic above it says “We Believe in an Open Web” and while Apple and Google both have browsers, they’re both in a constant battle for mindshare and eyeballs, and ultimately are interested in making a profit. Mozilla is a non-profit organization that (and I hope I don’t sound naive) has an interest in keeping the web open and free. (I didn’t even mention Microsoft because they only make a browser for one single platform, and it’s a platform I don’t even use, except for testing.)
I’m a fan of freedom, and ultimately I believe that freedom (on the web) is better served by Mozilla than by Apple or Google. I fear the closing of that freedom, and think that supporting Mozilla may help prevent it.
And oh, the beauty of open source! If Dave really wants the keep using Firefox 3.x, there is nothing stopping him. It’s open source. The code is available. Hell, look at what the TenFourFox team is doing. You want Firefox 3.6 to live on forever? Start working on it, or hire some developers. This may not be entirely realistic, but it is completely possible.
I should note something here about Mozilla providing Firefox (software) for free versus Osbourne selling computers (hardware) for money. Maybe I’ll fill it in later.
Years ago when things were looking grim for the web, I always though some company would come out with a web browser that would do away with the ‘View Source’ command. I mean, sure, Chrome hides it, but Apple finally managed to get rid of it with Mobile Safari. Ugh, Mobile Safari… I wish I could run Firefox on an iOS device. This closing of the web concerns me.
I know all the cool kids abandoned Firefox, but to me, that’s like abandoning freedom, and I just can’t see doing that yet…
Here’s a Chrome annoyance… I don’t like that the ‘View Source’ command is under a menu titled ‘Developer.’
It’s bad enough that it’s a submenu and not readily apparent at a top level, but to stick it under ‘Developer’ seems almost as bad as putting it under a menu titled ‘WARNING!’
I’m sure the people behind Chrome believe they are making things simpler for users, right? I mean, such things should be hidden from the “normal” people, as they wouldn’t understand it.
But the thing is… when I learned to write HTML, the number one tool to aid in learning was the ‘View Source’ command. I know this was 15 years ago, but I’m not convinced a better method has come along yet. (If it has, let me know.) I’ve always liked that the ‘View Source’ menu was up front, easily available, calling out to anyone curious as to how a web page worked. Just a click away…
I always feared that a browser would come out that didn’t include a ‘View Source’ option, but I’m pretty sure even Internet Explorer has one.
Oh, and another thing (consider this #138) why do they hide the protocol? I actually like to know if it’s http or https and have the ability to easily toggle between the two. I guess I’m just a developer and these things scare and confuse normal people though…
(And yes, I know the screenshot is Chromium and not Google Chrome but the UI is the same in both.)