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Minefield Shows the (Really) Fast Future of Firefox
zootropole writes "If you are using Firefox 3 (or even Chrome) you should consider taking a look at Mozilla's Minefield. This browser (alpha version yet, but stable) would give a new meaning to 'fast browsing experience.' Some Firefox extensions aren't supported, but riding the fastest javascript engine on the planet definitely worth a try. Minefield's install won't affect your Firefox, so there's no risk trying it. It's fast. Really. And I'm loving it."
Reviews popping up around the web are overwhelmingly positive, calling the upcoming browser crazy fast, blisteringly fast, etc.
Are you crazy? If you want to be a little risky, try the 3.1 beta. Nightlies shouldn't be used by those that want to use extensions or avoid crashes.
OK, it's time for us to start educating users and the media of when to properly use the monikers Java and JavaScript.
The article linked to from the summary says "Handles Java Well" in the subtitle, but then never mentions it again - only JavaScript.
These are NOT THE SAME.
This is, of course, CBSNews.. but I have seen the same mistake in so-called "tech" media lately, too.
That was their intention.
It keeps idiots like you who look at the name only away from the nightly builds, and anyone with enough of a clue to not judge it by its name is also by extension usually intelligent enough to read the fucking warnings not to use it in the first place.
I don't think anyone is encouraging the masses to use a nightly. However, slashdot is "News For Nerds" right? Nerds should be able to use a nightly without destroying their computers beyond recognition, if not they need to give their badges back.
Seems pretty quick to me, but that's probably cause it's not running my 15+ extensions.
There is a war going on for your mind.
The biggest advantage of firefox is the ability to block out javascript via NoScript. Why would I want to give that up?
Its either via donations made by companies who earn their money via the capitalist system you so dislike or its students writing code for free while they earn money through other jobs or , more likely, are supported by their parents.
You need to get real - nothing in life is free apart from the air (and not even that if you work under the sea!)
You've just learned an important lesson:
Capitalism has room for socialist enclaves. It all works well as long as there is a choice. Sometimes, as in this case, the competition is good for everyone.
It's the socialist society that can't survive without eliminating choice.
I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
This isn't against capitalism at all. You just have to look at what they are really selling.
Very few people want to pay for a browser. If you see the browser itself as the product, this can be a real problem. So what do you do if you are a browser maker? Opera's browser is their product. They focus pretty heavily on selling it for embedded/small/portable systems.
Mozilla on the other hand launched their campaign to build and promote Firefox. They give the browser away for free because that's how they increase the value of the actual product that they are selling to supporters: marketshare and openness. Investing in Firefox is investing in a new standard that everybody has nearly equal access to. It's building a more open web based market across which to conduct other business.
Some companies may shy away from investing because they don't own the results. But other companies may invest specifically because of how equal the access is to the results.
1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
And what's amazing, and completely against capitalism, none of these web browser makers are charging any money for their products! All this great software is being developed and given away for free!
Capitalism and OSS are orthogonal concepts. Companies like IBM and Red Hat make money out of Linux and Mozilla with hardware and services (not by selling the Linux kernel or the Firefox browser), and would carry on investing in free software even if Microsoft suddenly went bankrupt. My company develops instrumentation using GNU tools, and we also support OSS.
Capitalism by definition is the free market, which when taken to the extreme is anarcho-capitalism. Thanks to Marx's poor definition of value (which is too dependent on labor) and his class war ideology, the concept of capitalism has been associated with fascism. As Hayek wrote, the easiest way to convince people of something is to redefine the meaning of words. Don't fall into this trap.
Capitalism is a system which allows people to be free to exchange goods and services for mutual benefit and to cooperate on projects such as Mozilla. What we see on Washington, Wall Street and in central banks is a huge money laundering machine, where we can't tell apart where the government ends and where the corporations begin. This is the very definition of fascism.
It saddens me that every time someone on /. states that capitalism is not the end-all, there are always people that seem to think communism is the only other option. And they seem for the most part to be coming from the USA.
Does having only 2 relevant political parties make people limited in their views and reasoning or something?
Wenn ist das Nunstueck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
"DISCLAIMER: Use of this advanced computing technology does not imply an endorsement of Western industrial civilization."
Actually, yes, it does. You're just too much of a hypocrite to recognize it.
-Styopa
Faster javascript is nice but what I really want it a multi-process sort of firefox like Chrome has. I want to see which tab is slowing me down and kill it. I want all of my tabs to run independently on multiple cpu's. I want the memory leakage of any one process to go away when I kill it instead of restarting the whole browser. I spend very little time waiting on the results of javascript execution.
How/why do you hate capitalism? That is about as specific as saying you hate socialism, when in reality most people hate poorly implemented socialist governments.
As far as I can tell, the fact that you enjoy competition and therefore the fruits of competition is a direct endorsement for capitalism, at least at a basic level. Add another layer, that you agree to the negotiable exchange of value, and you have capitalism right there.
How can you hate that? IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera all happen to give you a free web browser in exchange for different goods OTHER than money, which means they all play in the capitalist system.
IE for control of the internet
Safari to prevent Microsoft controlling the internet
FireFox in exchange for investments from Google
Chrome in exchange for more data mining
Opera in exchange for license fees
GPL Deconstructed
Those extensions are written with Javascript and XUL. If Javascript is sped up, the extensions should also benefit.
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
I don't know what's wrong with the internet recently, but Minefield IS Firefox, it's the development trunk. As such, it WILL NOT run when Firefox is already running, and it WILL mess with your Firefox profile. I'm not sure which useless blog started the Minefield circle-jerk but it's ridiculous. People who have been testing nightlies for a while know to make a new profile for the nightlies because it can interfere with Firefox's profile, but random people who just see it on a website aren't going to know that, and it's going to be a headache for the people over at Mozillazine. If you really want to test nightlies, then great, but do it the right way and don't complain when it eats your profile or dies on your favorite site.
All your base are belong to Wii.
My point is that they will work eventually, and will see the speed benefit from the improved javascript performance, rather than your extensions making Firefox run like a Pinto towing a ton and a half of scrap iron.
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
The crux of this BTW is your statement:
"So we can be fairly certain that the average real cost of delivery of excellent health care runs to less than $1,500 per man, woman and child"
Which is just some bullshit figure you MADE UP without any cites whatsoever based on one INDIVIDUAL case i.e. an anecdote. Hint the plural of anecdotes is not data., and the costs of health care varies VASTLY across different demographics, I have already given the DATA that the U.S. spends a greater percentage of it's GDP which is data, get i?. Not only do you lose but you are a stupid and cruelly self centered ASSHOLE who obviously doesn't give a rats ass if other people lay sick in the gutter as long as YOU are waited on hand and foot.
Tired of all the isms, don't exploit people as an employer, or a government, mmmmK?