Thane's posting gives voice to my recent dissatisfaction with Firefox. I have used Firefox since when it was still Netscape. And when it became Open Source I decided it was by far the most trustworthy browser around (especially given the existence of NoScript and the like).
Starting even before the rise of "Quantum", unfortunately, it has taken a path of rapid change, too often for the worse. Many features have been "simplified", and even removed. Configurability and thus usability has suffered as a result. It's great that Firefox emulates the speed of Chrome (and Chromium), but I, at least, don't like the Chrome/Chromium UI, and I like the Firefox UI less and less the more it emulates the Chrome/Chromium UI. For example, Why has the traditional Windows/Mac menu been deprecated in favor of unintuitive icons? Why are tabs *only* on top like Chrome? (Google probably wants tabs on top so the user forgets it's a general purpose computer, and thinks it's just a gateway to Google, like Chromebook is.) And why can't the overall appearance be configured for readability? (Remember Classic Theme Restorer, Classic Toolbar Buttons and CCK2?) The worst change in recent memory, of course, (which many have commented on) was the change where upgrading Firefox installed a brand new profile that lost the user's bookmarks. Was the thought that everybody was saving bookmarks online at Mozilla? (Besides the lack of personal privacy implied, there are enterprises that would never allow this.) For now, I'm sticking with Firefox, because I still think it's the most trustworthy. But every new release fills me with dread, since I wonder what feature or behavior I depend on is going to be removed or degraded. On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 14:29:39 -0400 "Thane K. Sherrington" <[email protected]> wrote: > Mike, my complaint (and the complaint I get from my clients) is the lack > of Simplify Printing. I get that it's "coming soon" but that's not > the way to roll out a brand new printing system. Finish it, then roll > it out. The regular complaints I get about Firefox changes is "too many > changes to UI" and "they removed feature X". It's great to get feature X > back later, but by the time that happens, you will have lost a > percentage of your users, and they may not come back. > > For Firefox to succeed it needs three things - more and more speed > (nobody likes waiting) and compatibility with websites (I'm hearing more > and more about "this site doesn't work in Firefox" from clients), and > more security/privacy (the raison d'être of Firefox. > > It sort of seems like Firefox is making UI changes for the sake of > making changes. Changing the UI creates friction which creates > frustration among end-users. UI changes should be very few and far > between. The new printing system looks prettier than the old one, but > it's less functional, and it requires relearning. > > Sorry to gripe, but I'm a massive Firefox fan and I push it to all my > clients. Recently, I'm getting more and more push back for the above > reasons. > > At the very least, when you make a UI change like this that is missing > features in it's initial release, put a very obvious button that says > "Want the old version back? Click Here." > > Thane K. Sherrington > > Computer Connection, Ltd. ...taking the mystery out of computers since 1982. > Winner of the 2012 Ian Spencer - Excellence in Business Award > *Thanks for making us the Reader's Choice Best Computer Store in 2016, > 2017, 2018 and 2019!* > 95 College St., Antigonish, > NS B2G 1X6 > 902-863-3361 (phone) > 902-863-2580 (fax) > [email protected] _______________________________________________ Enterprise mailing list [email protected] https://mail.mozilla.org/listinfo/enterprise To unsubscribe from this list, please visit https://mail.mozilla.org/listinfo/enterprise or send an email to [email protected] with a subject of "unsubscribe"
