Help Make Firefox On Mac Suck Less

bluephone writes "Colin Barrett, one of the new Mac geniuses, and an Adium developer, has posted an entry on his blog offering an open call to all Mac users of Firefox asking them, 'What sucks about Firefox on the Mac?' He says he already knows about and is trying to solve such things as: 'Native Form Widgets (currently scheduled for Firefox 3), Keychain Integration, Firefox should have a Unified toolbar (not completely hopeless, it turns out), Performance...', but he wants to hear what else Mac users want from Firefox. So please, if you're a user of Macs and the interwebs, then RTFA, unclog your tubes, and send him your ideas."

Comments

Camino

[daveschroeder]

Isn't this what Camino is for? Like, the very reason for its existence?

I.e., taking the Mozilla/Gecko codebase, and making a lean, fast browser with Mac widgets, tight Mac OS X integration, Keychain support, and so on?

I understand the goal of trying to get more Mac-specific functionality into Firefox, but with a fundamentally cross-platform browser, inasmuch as it goes, it's been harder to integrate platform-specific features and functionality into Firefox proper. That's the reason Camino was born: to be a more agile project that is focused on making such a browser for Mac OS X using Mozilla/Gecko. For folks who don't need specific Firefox functionality or Firefox extensions, Camino is already the answer.

Re:Camino

[kadat]

Although I'm not a Mac user myself and can't say anything in the matter of usability on Mac OS, I use Firefox on both Windows and Linux mainly because of its extensions as they provide great functionality. Firefox without the plugins is not Firefox anymore, they're one of its most significant features.

Re:Camino

[GundamFan]

This is exactly why I love Firefox, no mater what OS I am currently using on a box, I have access to a browser I know how to use. In this way projects like Firefox and OO.org may contribute to the end of desktop OS monopolies.

Re:Camino

[daveschroeder]

Uh, Camino is not ghetto. Many people who work on it are the same people who also work on Firefox. The lead Camino developers already work for the Mozilla Foundation. And since its purpose is to take the preexisting Mozilla/Gecko codebase and simply add the Mac OS X-specific functionality, I can't see any logic in your answer: most of what makes up Camino is what you're already using in Firefox.

And since when do we denigrate open source software as "ghetto" if everyone on the project isn't paid (which is frankly the same as a lot of the work product that goes into Firefox)? How did this even get modded up? Have you ever even used Camino?

Re:Camino

[constantnormal]

mod the parent posting up!

Mr Schroeder is EXACTLY correct -- Camino uses the same Gecko core as Firefox, but eschews the Firefox plugin madness in favor of OS X integration, supporting the OS X Services menu, Keychain, and all the other things that tie an OS X application into the body of OS X.

If a person wants to use the same browser across Windows, OS X, and Linux -- or has the desire to customize the hell out of it via plugins, then Firefox is the way to go. If a person wants a lean browser that takes advantage of the feature-rich environment of OS X, then Camino is the right answer.

But if a person wants a lean, fully-integrated-with-OSX browser that looks and behaves like Firefox and supports a zoo of customizing plugins, they're in a world of hurt, as they are looking for the same thing as those seeking a rich, sugary, calorie-laden diet that they can lose weight with.

The whole notion of Firefox is to make the best cross-platform browser possible. By definition, this means not tying it to the feature set of any particular platform. However, to permit users to tailor their own favorite features into Firefox, they have an excellent plugin system of extensions.

The idea of Camino is to take the excellent Gecko core from Firefox, and tie it into a particular feature-rich environment (i.e., OS X), making it as fast and powerful as possible. You don't do that by allowing the user to load it down with a bunch of plugins.

The problem posed by the topic has already been solved. If the Firefox developers want to make it better for OS X users, they should ask the Camino developers (metaphorically across the aisle) what they would like to see changed in Firefox to make Camino development better. Camino IS the end result of optimizing Firefox for OS X.

Re:Camino

[Clock Nova]

Why don't the just add in the plugin architecture to Camino and let the users decide whether or not they want to "load it down" with extensions. Seriously. There's no logic in their decision at all.

Re:Camino

[Oktober Sunset]

It's not so much being able to use a browser, it's more to do with using a browser without being consumed by an all encompassing rage, which causes you to scream curses upon the soul of whoever designed the interface.

Nice idea...

[Rufty]

Any chance of something like this for Thunderbird?

Sure, I've got one

[pongo000]

Fix the damn file associations dialog so that you can not only add file associations and actions from the GUI (rather than digging down into an .rdf file), but that files of the same type open consistently without constantly having to deal with the "open with" dialog.

Oh, wait...same problem on Linux too! Never mind...

PDF integration anyone?

[cbc1920]

I can't believe this hasn't been harped on before. Why can't I open a PDF in my browser window? I'm on a Intel Mac and as far as I know there is no way to do this. Macs have so much built in that already uses the pdf format- why is this so difficult?

Re:Here's a few (more)

[MachineShedFred]

Recognize when someone changes the network location, and adjust proxy settings accordingly.

This bugs the crap out of me, and is the primary reason why Firefox isn't used on my MacBook Pro.