Author Topic: Firefox 29 - soooooo similar to Chrome (Read 37,222 times)

anandcoral · « **on:** April 30, 2014, 07:24 AM »

Firefox upgraded to 29 and it looks so similar to Chrome now that I have to take a closer look at the extension icons on top-right to assure I am in FF and not in Chrome.

At least it should have the 'fox' icon some where to differentiate it.

Regards,

Anand

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #1 on:** April 30, 2014, 07:50 AM »

Quote from: anandcoral on April 30, 2014, 07:24 AM

Firefox upgraded to 29 and it looks so similar to Chrome now that I have to take a closer look at the extension icons on top-right to assure I am in FF and not in Chrome.

At least it should have the 'fox' icon some where to differentiate it.

Regards,

Anand

Wow Anand is right. I tend to stay a version or two back. This new one is such a mess I might try to downgrade maybe Version 28 or something.

At least PaleMoon is sensible ... but I haven't updated that one yet!

eleman · « **Reply #2 on:** April 30, 2014, 07:52 AM »

Fortunately, there is this add-on.

If I wanted a browser that looked like chrome, I would either use chrome, or one of the clones such as yandex (which probably does the reporting to KGB, instead of CIA). Would I use firefox? doubt it.

Anyway, the ESR (Extended support release) channel is still based on 24, so I'll be fine for half a year or so.

skwire · « **Reply #3 on:** April 30, 2014, 01:09 PM »

As eleman mentioned, there is the Classic Theme Restorer add-on. Martin, over at gHacks, recently did an article on it.

http://www.ghacks.net/2014/04/26/turn-new-firefox-29-old-firefox/

40hz · « **Reply #4 on:** April 30, 2014, 02:40 PM »

Shades of the tablet mindset and overall hubris that drove Win8/Metro! (And mostly into the ground AFAIC.

)

Did Mozilla hire Sinofsky or something?

MilesAhead · « **Reply #5 on:** April 30, 2014, 03:07 PM »

Quote from: TaoPhoenix on April 30, 2014, 07:50 AM

Quote from: anandcoral on April 30, 2014, 07:24 AM
Firefox upgraded to 29 and it looks so similar to Chrome now that I have to take a closer look at the extension icons on top-right to assure I am in FF and not in Chrome.

At least it should have the 'fox' icon some where to differentiate it.

Regards,

Anand

Wow Anand is right. I tend to stay a version or two back. This new one is such a mess I might try to downgrade maybe Version 28 or something.

At least PaleMoon is sensible ... but I haven't updated that one yet!

For Firefox Portable I recommend 27.0. Even 27.01 introduced funky behavior. I tried 28, then went back to 27.0. Pale Moon latest(24.5.0) seems ok. I notice Opera now is basically chrome while maintaining the old "click x times to copy a line" mouse actions. Although the x64 Opera is fast. Still I find FF/Pale Moon lets me have the FF AddOns.

Edit: I find Firefox Portable 27.0 plenty fast. The main reason I have Pale Moon is so I can install it as the default browser. As far as speed goes I really can't distinguish between them.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #6 on:** April 30, 2014, 03:13 PM »

Quote

At least it should have the 'fox' icon some where to differentiate it.

I hate it when they do the ribbon bit. The first thing I have to do is enable the menu bar. Now it just wastes vertical space. The only compensation is if you are running Glass.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #7 on:** April 30, 2014, 04:25 PM »

Quote from: 40hz on April 30, 2014, 02:40 PM

Shades of the tablet mindset and overall hubris that drove Win8/Metro! (And mostly into the ground AFAIC. )

Did Mozilla hire Sinofsky or something?

Well, after reading skwire's Ghacks article I'm inclined to agree with you. Here's why:

Quote from: GHacks

The Firefox button is gone. It has been replaced with what web designers call a Hamburger button

Um... Hamburger Button? Is that the new shit design excuse paradigm being used these days, to just give something a catchy sounding name to explain away why stuff just got piled together in a corner instead of putting in the time to find a right way of doing it?

Yeah, that's a finger-rific design alright ... And I know just what finger to use too.

app103 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 30, 2014, 05:03 PM »

Alrighty then, Firefox is no longer my default browser. Pale Moon it is. Firefox shortcut moved into 5th place among browsers, after IE.

Cloq · « **Reply #9 on:** April 30, 2014, 05:18 PM »

As skwire mentions, Firefox 29 - Classic Theme Restorer is a must. Unless you like chrome like interface..

Took me awhile to set everything back (interface) to pre-FF 29 (update various plugins and settings).

rgdot · « **Reply #10 on:** April 30, 2014, 05:48 PM »

Mozilla have done one of the sillier things I have ever seen online. To quote Gump ... That's all I have to say about that.

rjbull · « **Reply #11 on:** April 30, 2014, 08:49 PM »

Quote from: app103 on April 30, 2014, 05:03 PM

Firefox is no longer my default browser. Pale Moon it is.

Do you still use K-Meleon?

Deozaan · « **Reply #12 on:** April 30, 2014, 09:57 PM »

I don't mind the new look. In fact I think I kind of like it.

What I don't like is how every few seconds the CPU usage spikes up and Firefox becomes unresponsive for a second or two. What's up with that?

[attachimg=#]

tomos · « **Reply #13 on:** April 30, 2014, 10:08 PM »

Quote from: Deozaan on April 30, 2014, 09:57 PM

What I don't like is how every few seconds the CPU usage spikes up and Firefox becomes unresponsive for a second or two. What's up with that?

us being the final beta testers?

I havent tried 29 yet (but now I've checked the 'About', it looks like I will after the next restart...)

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #14 on:** April 30, 2014, 10:09 PM »

Quote from: Cloq on April 30, 2014, 05:18 PM

As skwire mentions, Firefox 29 - Classic Theme Restorer is a must. Unless you like chrome like interface..

Took me awhile to set everything back (interface) to pre-FF 29 (update various plugins and settings).

Well that's a start, though it's different from the way I had it before, but I only use FF proper for a few things so I'll think about it.

mwb1100 · « **Reply #15 on:** April 30, 2014, 10:46 PM »

Regarding the the Firefox button changing to a "Hamburger button" - I'm running FF 28 and I don't see a Firefox button, so I guess I won't miss it.

In fact, from looking at the screenshots in the GHacks article, it looks like the only thing I'd notice in a move to v29 is the new rounded corners on the tabs. I wonder what's wrong with my v28 install?

app103 · « **Reply #16 on:** April 30, 2014, 11:27 PM »

Quote from: tomos on April 30, 2014, 10:08 PM

Quote from: Deozaan on April 30, 2014, 09:57 PM
What I don't like is how every few seconds the CPU usage spikes up and Firefox becomes unresponsive for a second or two. What's up with that?

us being the final beta testers?

I havent tried 29 yet (but now I've checked the 'About', it looks like I will after the next restart...)

That's what I thought too, then I went and changed my settings to ask before installing any updates and then deleted the contents of the folder whose name was in all caps, sitting in C:\Users\[NAME]\AppData\Local\Mozilla\updates before restarting Firefox.

That will stop the update dead in its tracks, if you have accidentally triggered it and haven't restarted your browser yet.

Quote from: rjbull on April 30, 2014, 08:49 PM

Quote from: app103 on April 30, 2014, 05:03 PM
Firefox is no longer my default browser. Pale Moon it is.
Do you still use K-Meleon?

On occasion, I do, but for the most part, I have been using Firefox for quite awhile. It depends on the specs of the machine I am using at the moment, and what work I am required to do.

Quote from: mwb1100 on April 30, 2014, 10:46 PM

Regarding the the Firefox button changing to a "Hamburger button" - I'm running FF 28 and I don't see a Firefox button, so I guess I won't miss it.

In fact, from looking at the screenshots in the GHacks article, it looks like the only thing I'd notice in a move to v29 is the new rounded corners on the tabs. I wonder what's wrong with my v28 install?

Oh, it would be a MAJOR change for me.

Imported my Firefox profile to Pale Moon and it is about identical now to what I had in Firefox (with the addition of the RSS icon in the address bar):

And I just cleaned up the bookmarks toolbar, today. So it's only 2 rows, instead of 3 showing and scrolling to see the rest, which is what it was when I woke up this morning.

But you guys should expect as much from me, knowing how I keep my taskbar.

Edvard · « **Reply #17 on:** May 01, 2014, 02:19 AM »

http://nightly.mozilla.org/

As of this writing, Nightly is at ver. 32.0a1, so I've had rounded tabs and "hamburger button" for a few months now. I do have the Nightly app icon in the upper left though, so I can tell it's not Chrome (-ium).
Meh. It's still Firefox, Classic Theme Restorer mentioned above should do the trick.

dr_andus · « **Reply #18 on:** May 01, 2014, 11:58 AM »

Quote from: skwire on April 30, 2014, 01:09 PM

As eleman mentioned, there is the Classic Theme Restorer add-on. Martin, over at gHacks, recently did an article on it.

http://www.ghacks.net/2014/04/26/turn-new-firefox-29-old-firefox/

Does anyone know what option to choose to restore the "plus" button next to the tab for "Open a new tab" (as in this image)?

https://addons.cdn.mozilla.net/img/uploads/previews/full/118/118358.png?modified=1396443041https://addons.cdn.mozilla.net/img/uploads/previews/full/120/120042.png?modified=1396443041

MilesAhead · « **Reply #19 on:** May 01, 2014, 02:12 PM »

Quote

That will stop the update dead in its tracks, if you have accidentally triggered it and haven't restarted your browser yet

Thanks for that tip App. I hate that when it tries to update even though I have it set to ask me first. I haven't bothered to look if that bug is already registered. If I do "check for updates" just to see if there is one, it tries to install it if it finds it. Really annoying.

tomos · « **Reply #20 on:** May 01, 2014, 02:35 PM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on May 01, 2014, 02:12 PM

Quote
That will stop the update dead in its tracks, if you have accidentally triggered it and haven't restarted your browser yet

Thanks for that tip App. I hate that when it tries to update even though I have it set to ask me first. I haven't bothered to look if that bug is already registered. If I do "check for updates" just to see if there is one, it tries to install it if it finds it. Really annoying.

+1

oddly, in my case, the update didnt work anyway

MilesAhead · « **Reply #21 on:** May 01, 2014, 07:38 PM »

Quote from: tomos on May 01, 2014, 02:35 PM

Quote from: MilesAhead on May 01, 2014, 02:12 PM
Quote
That will stop the update dead in its tracks, if you have accidentally triggered it and haven't restarted your browser yet

Thanks for that tip App. I hate that when it tries to update even though I have it set to ask me first. I haven't bothered to look if that bug is already registered. If I do "check for updates" just to see if there is one, it tries to install it if it finds it. Really annoying.

+1

oddly, in my case, the update didnt work anyway

Somebody needs to take that mechanism out of the portable builds. When you click to install the update on a portable it should pop up a dialog saying "We don't need no stinkin' updates! 'dis is da' portable version!"

tomos · « **Reply #22 on:** May 02, 2014, 01:08 AM »

Well, I've nothing against the new chrome style (I value vertical space), but finally got around to installing PaleMoon x64 (ver.24.5 on Win7). I seem to have been able to install or replace my most important addons, I'm even sharing a Session Manager folder with Firefox, so a fairly seamless move...

So far I'm happy with a noticeable improvement in performance (my main complaint with FF for a good while now). With about 60 tabs 'open' (only about 10 loaded) CPU usage a *lot* better than same session in FF; GPU (mainly dwm.exe) same or lower with videos playing

Apologies for veering slightly off-topic ;-)

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #23 on:** May 02, 2014, 01:19 AM »

Quote from: tomos on May 02, 2014, 01:08 AM

Apologies for veering slightly off-topic ;-)

Heh I'd argue that it's not - "FF-Chrome" is sending lots of people here to PaleMoon!

CleverCat · « **Reply #24 on:** May 02, 2014, 06:14 AM »

Took me 3 hours yesterday to get FF 29 to the way I like it!